June 22 Proclamation

[curiousness]

I am currently in India and have a 797 valid until 2023. I have a visa appointment scheduled as well for my H1 extension. Section 3 point iii of the new proclamation states:

The order does NOT apply to anyone who has “…an official travel document other than a visa (such as a transportation letter, an appropriate boarding foil, or an advance parole document) that is valid on the effective date of this proclamation or issued on any date thereafter that permits him or her to travel to the United States and seek entry or admission.”

My question is- a valid 797 will suffice? Please advise.

Thanks!

[curiousness]

Additionally, this is not my first H1. Been on H1 since 2012. Second or the third extension with the same employer (big 4 firm). Just a case of expecting visa stamping (for extension) through consular processing. 

 

[Nitin Gadgil]

I have a same question.

[skmmsk123]

@curiousness  I do not think I-797 counts as an official  travel document. Checkout following links:

Can I know when is your visa appointment scheduled? (as the consulates are currently closed in India)

https://www.uscis.gov/travel-documents

[gopalakrishnach]

A valid 797 is not an official travel document. So it will not suffice as travel document.

[pappu2003]

Unfortunately, not. I-797 is not a travel document. You need a valid visa.

Paradoxically, if you were in the US, at this time, you would be excluded from the ban. That is why this seems so unfair.

This was answered on a different forum last night.

[newacct]

No.

[veni001]

On 6/22/2020 at 5:02 PM, curiousness said:

I am currently in India and have a 797 valid until 2023. I have a visa appointment scheduled as well for my H1 extension. Section 3 point iii of the new proclamation states:

The order does NOT apply to anyone who has “…an official travel document other than a visa (such as a transportation letter, an appropriate boarding foil, or an advance parole document) that is valid on the effective date of this proclamation or issued on any date thereafter that permits him or her to travel to the United States and seek entry or admission.”

My question is- a valid 797 will suffice? Please advise.

Thanks!

 

10 hours ago, Nitin Gadgil said:

I have a same question.

You need valid H1 Visa stamp in your passport to travel to US, presidential proclamation prohibits issuance of new H1 Visa's by US consulates abroad until Jan 01, 2021.

[curiousness]

On 6/23/2020 at 8:04 PM, skmmsk123 said:

@curiousness  I do not think I-797 counts as an official  travel document. Checkout following links:

Can I know when is your visa appointment scheduled? (as the consulates are currently closed in India)

https://www.uscis.gov/travel-documents

Thanks! Appreciate it. I booked back in March - The dates I got were Oct 1 and Oct 7. I have appointment confirmation as well. Includes Bio-metrics also which is odd because I always use drop-box. I might have given my finger prints to US a trillion times as it's not my first rodeo.

I do see availability on traveldocs daily. Some days it shows Feb 2021 and some days it's October 2020. However, I feel these dates are a system refresh issue/glitch due to lack of updates in the back-end - they change on the daily. Anyway, it will let you book so just book it. 

If I don't receive a cancellation I am just going to show up 🙂 I don't care.

 

[curiousness]

On 6/24/2020 at 2:16 AM, pappu2003 said:

Unfortunately, not. I-797 is not a travel document. You need a valid visa.

Paradoxically, if you were in the US, at this time, you would be excluded from the ban. That is why this seems so unfair.

This was answered on a different forum last night.

Thanks. Extremely unfair.  Makes cases like mine (who have already been working in the US since years) fall under collateral damage category. Well clearly they will suffer if at scale (if there are more cases like me) because I just downgraded my ATnT plan to peanuts, deferred my car payments for later (might even give the car back to the financial institution), etc. etc. If credit score gets hit then I will take it up with the credit bureau stating the proclamation. Harming his own economy.