Cruising with an I-94 work permit

Hi, I'm hoping someone can give me some first hand experience. I talk about my addition to cruises at work ALL the time, and some of the people I work with are from India. They have asked me to find out if they would be able to cruise with a non-immigrant I-94 form with a work permit and an expired visa. I don't even know how to search for that, let alone really what it means. I know they aren't here illegally, since we work for a Fortune 500 company.

Any one have idea what I might tell them? I would love to help them so they can share my love of cruising!

Hi, I'm hoping someone can give me some first hand experience. I talk about my addition to cruises at work ALL the time, and some of the people I work with are from India. They have asked me to find out if they would be able to cruise with a non-immigrant I-94 form with a work permit and an expired visa. I don't even know how to search for that, let alone really what it means. I know they aren't here illegally, since we work for a Fortune 500 company.

 

Any one have idea what I might tell them? I would love to help them so they can share my love of cruising!

You say that they are there with an expired visa, so it sounds like their status is somewhat suspect. Assuming that they have valid passports, would they not need a current visa to re-enter the US? The fact that they won't look into it for themselves also raises some doubts in my mind.

You say that they are there with an expired visa, so it sounds like their status is somewhat suspect. Assuming that they have valid passports, would they not need a current visa to re-enter the US? The fact that they won't look into it for themselves also raises some doubts in my mind.

Nope, totally on the up and up. They have India passports, but are in the US with a work permit with some I-94 form. No doubts at all about that. They will look into it themselves, I was just hoping to hear from someone else who might have been in that situation. So much good info here, just thought I'd try. :)

Nope, totally on the up and up. They have India passports, but are in the US with a work permit with some I-94 form. No doubts at all about that. They will look into it themselves, I was just hoping to hear from someone else who might have been in that situation. So much good info here, just thought I'd try. :)

You did mention expired visa. In my experience, someone in a foreign country with an expired visa has status issues. If not in this case, good for them.

You did mention expired visa. In my experience, someone in a foreign country with an expired visa has status issues. If not in this case, good for them.

Yeah, they said it was a very common thing. I don't know. I just work here. :) Anyway, i'll keep researching. Thanks!

As someone who is in the private air charter industry, I would have to say no. When I enter the passenger information into the US Customs website eAPIS, the passport and Visa information will go in along with any work permit. Customs will flag any expired documents.

As someone who is in the private air charter industry, I would have to say no. When I enter the passenger information into the US Customs website eAPIS, the passport and Visa information will go in along with any work permit. Customs will flag any expired documents.

Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!

A quick google search yielded this information:

US Visa Vs. Form I-94: An Overview

A US visa is a permit to seek entry into the US. The I-94 card gives you permission to enter and remain in the US. A visa allows you to appear at the US port of entry and seek entry into the country. The I-94 form is your actual admission ticket, telling you how long can you stay in the US during that visit, and what you can do while you are here.

Many foreign nationals are unaware that their authorized stay in the US is controlled by the I-94 record and not by their US visa. It is the I-94 record that says how long can you stay in the US, and in what status you were admitted. Incorrect interpretations of the dates on the I-94 record or visa could cause problems.

I know that information found on the internet is not always trustworthy, but there were several sites that had this same info, including one that was a government customs and border patrol site.

I would think that your place of employment might have immigration lawyers who could help them. Your friends may have already asked them questions about other matters.

Jan

Your colleagues are citizens of India. The countries on a cruise ship itinerary don't care about their arrangement with the US - whether it's a visa, I-94, or green card. They will need to travel on valid Indian passports and obtain any visas required for citizens of India for each and every country on a ship's itinerary. It makes no difference whether they plan to go ashore or not - they will be "in" that country the moment the ship enters its territorial waters. Lack of proper visas will result in being denied boarding at the pier.

In addition, they would need to check if their I-94 is current and valid for re-entering the US.

Your colleagues are citizens of India. The countries on a cruise ship itinerary don't care about their arrangement with the US - whether it's a visa, I-94, or green card. They will need to travel on valid Indian passports and obtain any visas required for citizens of India for each and every country on a ship's itinerary. It makes no difference whether they plan to go ashore or not - they will be "in" that country the moment the ship enters its territorial waters. Lack of proper visas will result in being denied boarding at the pier.

 

In addition, they would need to check if their I-94 is current and valid for re-entering the US.

This is a good point. If someone is a legal resident of India, they may require visas to get into Caribbean or South American countries that Americans and Canadians and people from the U.K. Etc don't require. They should check that to be sure they can travel to the ports of call.

Second, while the I94 allows them to remain in the US as long as they are employed by the approved employer, the visa is what gets them into the American port of entry, so if they leave America to go travel, they can't get back in.

Given they have the valid I94 they can probably update their US visa at the same time they apply for any other visas they'll need for the countries their cruise will visit.

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Second, while the I94 allows them to remain in the US as long as they are employed by the approved employer, the visa is what gets them into the American port of entry, so if they leave America to go travel, they can't get back in.

I know there is an option for "expired" J1 (aupairs in their second year extension) to visit Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas and get back in even though their visa is expired.

An extension of stay is for continued participation in the au pair program. However, the J-1 visa in your passport is at most a one-year visa. This means that during your program extension, it is likely that your visa will have expired.

[...]

There are certain situations that would permit an au pair to travel during her extension year. When traveling outside the U.S. or to U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands) during your extension term, you should bring the following documents: a valid extension DS-2019 that has been signed for travel, your I-94 card, and your valid passport with J-1 Visa.

[...]

With some exceptions, you may not exit and re-enter the United States during your extension year after the expiration of your J-1 visa. The exception is a process known as automatic visa revalidation, which entitles many non-immigrants to travel to Canada, Mexico and the adjacent islands for up to 30 days. Please click here for a copy of the automatic revalidation fact sheet, which you should bring with you if you travel to Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean Islands during your extension term. If you require a tourist visa to enter Canada, Mexico or islands adjacent to the U.S., you are responsible for applying for that visa.

OP's coworkers would need to check if the automatic revalidation would apply to them.

@ tgwabd

If you knew how difficult it was to get a work permit for the US you would be able to guess how highly qualified, skilled and specialised OP's coworkers most likely are.

I don't know where your coworkers are from, but I would most definitely not take a cruise, even WITH a visa, with the new ruling on not allowing people to re-enter the US if they are from certain countries. I know that's probably stating the obvious.

Nevermind: I see they're from India. I had to re-read the original post since I hadn't read this thread for a while. I just thought about it after reading news about people trying to get trough our airport who went on vacation and couldn't get back in.

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I know there is an option for "expired" J1 (aupairs in their second year extension) to visit Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas and get back in even though their visa is expired.

 

 

 

OP's coworkers would need to check if the automatic revalidation would apply to them.

 

@ tgwabd

If you knew how difficult it was to get a work permit for the US you would be able to guess how highly qualified, skilled and specialised OP's coworkers most likely are.

Not true. It depends on how much your company is willing to "pay to play." I had an entry-level manager at my former hotel who was from Taiwan. She had no special skills that required a foreigner instead of a capable American. This was her first manager position with the company, before she had been an hourly employee. BUT, the company kept sponsoring for her visas. She is a 20-something, playing in the US through the largess of the company. This last one, she had to leave the country for 6 months before being re-admitted on the work visa. The company arranged for her to work at a sister hotel in Singapore during that time, and filled her position at my hotel with someone else for that time (so she really wasn't that important). When I worked in the tech business, my department was 100 people, only 2 of us not from India or China or Taiwan. My company had satellite offices in Vancouver and Mexico City; when those highly-qualified people had to leave the country in order to get the work visa again, my company would just re-assign them to one of the satellite offices until their paperwork was approved.

To the OP: your co-workers need to contact the HR department of the company to ensure that they are indeed still in compliance. And, then contact the correct government agencies of the US, India, and any countries they want to visit to be sure all is in compliance. With the environment we are in now, I would not travel unless I was positive all my "ducks are in a row."