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?

[TejaswiVemuri]

Hello, 

My f1 visa expired in 2017 and never got stamped for H1b after that. I do have a valid i-797 copy and canada visitors visa. If I go for a brief travel to canada, Can I re-enter USA using Automatic revalidation

[Ash8402]

I have an expired F1 visa but an approved H1B visa, and I haven't gone through the stamping process for the H1B yet. My I-94 indicates F1 status with validity D/S. Can I travel to Canada and return to the USA?

I have canadian visitor Visa.

[pontevecchio]

Do you have an approved H1 Petition with an I94 with dates of validity? If so you will travel to Canada for less than 30 days and return showing your H1 I94 and specifically stating to the Officer that you are using AVR.

[Ash8402]

No I don't have any date on my I94, Its DS only and its F1. Yes I do have h1b approved.

Edited November 2 by Ash8402

[newacct]

On 11/2/2024 at 4:45 AM, Ash8402 said:

No I don't have any date on my I94, Its DS only and its F1. Yes I do have h1b approved.

I think you are getting confused about your I-94. When you got an H1b petition approval that came along with a Change of Status approval, it should have been an I-797A approval notice, which has a new paper I-94 as a corner of the page. That I-94 supersedes any previous I-94s you may have had, including the electronic I-94 you got at entry. CBP's electronic I-94 website is not going to show your new I-94, because it only shows the I-94s from entry. But you should not look at the I-94 from entry anymore, since you got a newer (paper) I-94 from USCIS from the Change of Status approval. That paper I-94 is what you should present as your I-94 for the rest of this stay, and on your re-entry on Automatic Revalidation.

And to answer your question, Yes, you can re-enter the US on Automatic Revalidation into H1b status, even though you don't have an H1b visa, because for people who did Change of Status, Automatic Revalidation automatically converts the type of visa to the right type. See 22 CFR 41.112(d)(1)(ii):
 

Quote

 

(1) Provided that the requirements set out in paragraph (d)(2) of this section are fully met, the following provisions apply to nonimmigrant aliens seeking readmission at ports of entry:

(i) The validity of an expired nonimmigrant visa issued under INA 101(a)(15) may be considered to be automatically extended to the date of application for readmission; and

(ii) In cases where the original nonimmigrant classification of an alien has been changed by DHS to another nonimmigrant classification, the validity of an expired or unexpired nonimmigrant visa may be considered to be automatically extended to the date of application for readmission, and the visa may be converted as necessary to that changed classification.

 

 

[pontevecchio]

what is your current status in the USA? was your H1 petition approved from October,1 with a COS?

[Ash8402]

I got it.

Thank you.