Travelling to Canada without H1b visa stamp

[Abhijit Wander]

Hi, I got my h1b visa last year and don't have a stamp in my passport for it. I need to travel to Canada for a week and come back. Would this be covered under the automatic revalidation of visas ?

 

[pontevecchio]

Yes. You do need a visa for Canada.

[Abhijit Wander]

Okay, thanks. Yes, I do have a Canadian visitor visa with me. Just wanted to make sure that I can travel to Canada and come back without H1b stamp in my passport. I have an expired f1 visa stamp and h1b approval notice with me.

[pontevecchio]

You will retain the I94 and use that to return.

[premkalyan521]

10 hours ago, Abhijit Wander said:

Okay, thanks. Yes, I do have a Canadian visitor visa with me. Just wanted to make sure that I can travel to Canada and come back without H1b stamp in my passport. I have an expired f1 visa stamp and h1b approval notice with me.

Please dont forget to  share  us your experience once you get back from

your trip

[satya2k1]

On 7/5/2017 at 11:21 AM, Abhijit Wander said:

Hi, I got my h1b visa last year and don't have a stamp in my passport for it. I need to travel to Canada for a week and come back. Would this be covered under the automatic revalidation of visas ?

 

Hi,

I believe you need to have an EXPIRED H1 visa in your passport and approved I797 with new I94 to use automatic revalidation entry.  I used this a couple of years back with my expired H1 visa and approved I797 with new I94.

[Abhijit Wander]

Even an expired f1 visa would work. I had one more question - what does the statement "applied for a new visa which has not yet been issued" means in automatic revalidation?  Because i am going to canada tomorrow for one week but i also have applied for h1b stamp appointment in november. Does h1b appointment count under applied for a new visa?

[pontevecchio]

It means that if you enter Canada to pursue a visa during that visit, you cannot use AVR if the visa is denied. In your case a weeks trip for pleasure is fine for AVR.

[satya2k1]

On 7/14/2017 at 7:57 AM, pontevecchio said:

It means that if you enter Canada to pursue a visa during that visit, you cannot use AVR if the visa is denied. In your case a weeks trip for pleasure is fine for AVR.

If you attend H1 visa stamping in Canada and unfortunately gets rejected, then you cannot enter USA using AVR.

[satya2k1]

On 7/13/2017 at 8:20 PM, Abhijit Wander said:

Even an expired f1 visa would work. I had one more question - what does the statement "applied for a new visa which has not yet been issued" means in automatic revalidation?  Because i am going to canada tomorrow for one week but i also have applied for h1b stamp appointment in november. Does h1b appointment count under applied for a new visa?

Yes, you can use F1 visa to enter the USA using AVR, but you will get F1 status not H1 provided you have a valid I-20 with DSO's signature for travel purpose.

[lovely]

Could you please share your experience as well as POE & few additional details?

[Cloud*9]

After all these changes in immigration policies is Automatic revalidation still being done? Has anyone did it recently?

[pmantri]

Hi, I was on F1 visa, and my H1B visa recently got approved and I have I797 document with me.  Also, my F1 is not expired yet, I am scheduled for H1B stamping next month in India. Same applies to my wife with depending h4 visa. Can I go to Canada (having valid Canadian visitor's visa) with above situation.

[visavisa007]

Hi

Anyone travelled to canada and came back without needing to get visastamp recently?

I have a valid canada visa and approved i797 with valid i-94 on it. Need to visit Canada for a week, can I travel back without going to visa stamping. Planning to travel back through the airport.

 

Regards

[Prashanth P]

Hello everyone,

I am too in a similar situation. Expired F-1 visa stamp and no H1-B stamping. But I do possess a valid I-797 and an unexpired I-94. Can I still travel to Canada for a week and return using AVR? Any assistance will be much appreciated.

[JoeF]

On 5/31/2019 at 10:26 AM, Prashanth P said:

Hello everyone,

I am too in a similar situation. Expired F-1 visa stamp and no H1-B stamping. But I do possess a valid I-797 and an unexpired I-94. Can I still travel to Canada for a week and return using AVR? Any assistance will be much appreciated.

Yes.

[ican&iwill]

Can i travel to Canada from USA and used the automatic revalidation program to get back to the USA? I have an approved H1B but I don’t have it stamped. Will the recent H1B travel ban affect the automatic revalidation program?