Canadian citizens: Travelling on OPT before Oct 1st H1B start date

A

ashtev

Registered Users (C)
Hi,

I'm Canadian eh, and I just finished my masters and am on my OPT. I just had my h1b approved and am aware that it'll kick in on Oct 1st. In the meantime, I want to travel back to Canada for a few weeks to see my family, friends, etc. I am aware that Canadians do not have to get their H1b visa stamped in their passports.

It's a long shot, but are there any Canadian students on this board who travelled back to Canada on their OPT and had no trouble coming back to the US months before the Oct 1st h1b start date?
 
I'm Canadian, and my son was in the same situation as you a couple of years ago. It's not a problem to come back to Canada on an OPT or H1, even if your change in status is pending. The difficulty arises only if you're changing jobs, and your change in sponsorship is pending, or some such thing. At that point, it's not a good idea to leave the US, until the change takes place.
 
Hotdiggety said:
I'm Canadian, and my son was in the same situation as you a couple of years ago. It's not a problem to come back to Canada on an OPT or H1, even if your change in status is pending. The difficulty arises only if you're changing jobs, and your change in sponsorship is pending, or some such thing. At that point, it's not a good idea to leave the US, until the change takes place.
Click to expand...

Hello! Thank you for replying :)

I am on OPT now and my I-129 has been approved. So I guess it's safe to visit and come back by the end of June right? I hear so many mixed responses about travel during that period. None from the Canadians though so thanks for replying.
 
You should be fine. The difficulty happens only if you get "out of status" for some reason. That could happen if you're between jobs, for instance. During that period, it is very inadvisable to leave the US and then try to come back in. You would be entering on a visa from an employer who is no longer your sponsor, and you would be lying to US Customs, in effect. Very bad idea. Much better to wait until your visa has been transferred to the new sponsor.

However, simply changing your status from OPT to H1 in October, should have no effect on your travel plans prior to that date. As a general rule, just make sure that whatever documents you try to re-enter the US with, accurately reflect your situation as of that date, and there should be no problem.
 
ashtev said:
Hi,

I'm Canadian eh, and I just finished my masters and am on my OPT. I just had my h1b approved and am aware that it'll kick in on Oct 1st. In the meantime, I want to travel back to Canada for a few weeks to see my family, friends, etc. I am aware that Canadians do not have to get their H1b visa stamped in their passports.

It's a long shot, but are there any Canadian students on this board who travelled back to Canada on their OPT and had no trouble coming back to the US months before the Oct 1st h1b start date?
Click to expand...
It's a difficult question for us to give clear answer as there is no clear rule written for such a case. Talking to lawyer is better idea.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top