How early before my visa expires should i travel back to US

[rolipoli85]

My H1B visa expires on Feb 05, 2014. I plan to travel to India in the 1st week of December and get back to US on Jan 1, 2014 (35 days before my visa expires). Is it fine to do so?

Secondly, i plan to file for an extension. Is it fine to file for it now or do i wait until i get back?

[raghvi]

My H1B visa expires on Feb 05, 2014. I plan to travel to India in the 1st week of December and get back to US on Jan 1, 2014 (35 days before my visa expires). Is it fine to do so?

Secondly, i plan to file for an extension. Is it fine to file for it now or do i wait until i get back?

Travel before Feb would be fine.

Extension is considered abandoned when one files it and then travels while it is pending, so no point filing it before travel. One should file it and travel only after getting it approved. And you should do that only if one is planning to go for stamping which I assume you are not very keen on right now.

Extension/COS filing + travel generally don't go well together.

Advisable to file for extension after coming back.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[navaskhan17]

My visa expires soon and I want to travel india

Hi,

I am also in the same situation but my timeline is even close.
My visa expires on December 31 2013 and due to family emergency I have to travel to India on December 15 and will travel back on December 22.
In this case will I be able to travel back without "Stamping". When I travel back I will have only 9 days left for my visa expiry, Will I have any issues in POE?

Regards,
Navas

[raghvi]

Hi,

I am also in the same situation but my timeline is even close.
My visa expires on December 31 2013 and due to family emergency I have to travel to India on December 15 and will travel back on December 22.
In this case will I be able to travel back without "Stamping". When I travel back I will have only 9 days left for my visa expiry, Will I have any issues in POE?

Regards,
Navas

Technically you can but its touch and go. I really doubt if they will deport you back just because of this. If you dont have an approved extension petition, upon return you will get I-94 only till Dec 31st 2013. In which case you have to file extension as soon as you return. If that happen with holiday season I really don't know if you will be able to find right lawyers and time to do so. So plan ahead, talk to right lawyers and take your decision.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[navaskhan17]

Technically you can but its touch and go. I really doubt if they will deport you back just because of this. If you dont have an approved extension petition, upon return you will get I-94 only till Dec 31st 2013. In which case you have to file extension as soon as you return. If that happen with holiday season I really don't know if you will be able to find right lawyers and time to do so. So plan ahead, talk to right lawyers and take your decision.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

Thanks Raghvi,

I am planning to apply H1B transfer and Extension in premium process within two days.
Since I am applying it in premium I assume that I will get the extension before my travel. Am I right?
Considering this, am I good to travel with out any concerns?

Regards,
Navas

[raghvi]

Thanks Raghvi,

I am planning to apply H1B transfer and Extension in premium process within two days.
Since I am applying it in premium I assume that I will get the extension before my travel. Am I right?
Considering this, am I good to travel with out any concerns?

Regards,
Navas

If you travel with an approval in hand, you have a strong reason to seek I-94 as per the approved petition rather than the visa expiry. But then again, upon your return, if you dont attend a fresh stamping, it depends upon the officer to the POE to grant I-94 as per the petition or as per the visa.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[rama16]

H1 visa expires in 1mon Can i travel outside US & return bak 4 days before visa exp

Hello I'm in a similar situation. I want to give a little history though, when I entered USA last time from vacation, the POE officer gave me a i 94 uptill my visa expiration and not my i 797 which expires in Aug 2015. Now my visa expires in sep, can i travel outside the country with my return date just 4 days or at the max a week before my visa expiration date. Also my H1B extension is in process right now. Can i travel with my older i 797B so close to my visa expiration date. My old i797 is i797B and not I797A.

Please suggest.

[raghvi]

Never advisable to travel while extension is pending. What confuses me, is thta you are saying your older H1 extension is I797B, hence it implies that it didnt come with a new I-94, in that case, advisable to go for stamping and return, otherwise you might end up with only 4 Days of I-94 validity upon return.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[ggrover]

Hi. I am in a similar situation. I have an L1 visa expiring in Oct 2015 and I am planning to travel back to US on 24 aug 2015. Please advise if there could be any issues at Port of Entry.

Most of the replies on this thread are from 2012/2013. Can anybody tell me about the current scenario? Is it still fine if I return back on this date or do they have strict rules now?

[vanamasiva]

H1B expiring this month end.

H1B expiring this month end, Please let me know If I have eligible to travel in this week.

[Fromthestates]

H4 expiring, applied for extension and will receive soon. Want to visit Canada.

Never advisable to travel while extension is pending. What confuses me, is thta you are saying your older H1 extension is I797B, hence it implies that it didnt come with a new I-94, in that case, advisable to go for stamping and return, otherwise you might end up with only 4 Days of I-94 validity upon return.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

Hi Raghvi,

I came to the US as a dependent, on my husband's H4 visa. Our visa expires on 24th Sept this year. My husband has already filed for extension and we should get it by May end.

I want to travel to Canada from July 15-24 this year. In my case, will I face any problem at port of entry ? I do not intend to do visa stamping in Canada. Will do it from India in 2017.

Many thanks in advance for the help

[raghvi]

Hi Raghvi,

I came to the US as a dependent, on my husband's H4 visa. Our visa expires on 24th Sept this year. My husband has already filed for extension and we should get it by May end.

I want to travel to Canada from July 15-24 this year. In my case, will I face any problem at port of entry ? I do not intend to do visa stamping in Canada. Will do it from India in 2017.

Many thanks in advance for the help

The biggest risk I see is that upon re entry the POE officer might grant I-94 only till visa expiry and you would end up with having to refile extension in order to get I-94 till I797.

This is my opinion not legal advice.

[amitbawri]

US Visa expiring need to travel to India for an emergency

Dear All -

My H1B is expiring on 1st Mar 2017 however my I-94 validity is till 03/11/2017 and I am planning to travel to India in 2nd Week of Jan 2017 and will be back on 28th Jan 2017. I have already filed my H1 extension. Is it advisable to travel to India? My Gobal immigration team told me that I need atleast 8 weeks of visa validity to travel?How true is that? Can anyone please share your recent experiences?

Thanks
Amit

[Abhijit.Deshmukh]

H1B Visa Expiring on July'17 - Travelling in Jan-Feb'17

Hi All,

My H1B visa is valid till 16 Jul 2017. I am planning for India trip sometime between Jan/Feb'17, possibly return by Mid Feb'17.

1) So by the time I return back from India, my H1 visa will be valid for 5 months ( Mid Feb to Mid Jul), will that cause an issue at immigration/POE?

2) When should I file extension, before or after my said travel?

Thanks in Advance!

Abhijit.

[gain]

I will have 5 months left on my stamping while I travel back to US. Having all this EC orders, Will that impact me. ?

Any one with the same situation please. I really need some advice.