Received I797A - Notice of Action

adamJJ

New Member
Hello,

My husband and I both live in the USA. Husband is Canadian, and I am Lebanese/PR of Canada. My husband works in the USA under TN status, and I had the TD status. Both visas recently expired, so my husband renewed his TN status at the port of entry, and I was sick at the time and couldn't go with my husband so I had to complete form I539. I recently received I797A - Notice of Action - which states that my extension has been approved.

My question is: I would like to travel abroad and re-enter the USA... Can I do that ? Or do I need to apply for a TD visa to re-enter?
If I need to apply for a TD visa, what options do I have (aside from port of entry)? DS160? I was looking at the DS160 application, and first question was "Select a location where you will be applying for this visa" - USA is not one of the options (I live in the USA). Can anyone help me please? Thanks!
 
You can only travel to canada/Mexico/Caribean without needing a new VIsa. Visiting any other country would require a new consular visa in order to re-enter US.
To get a visa, you can only apply outside US. You would arrange this appointment at a consulate/embassy in the country you are planning to visit, or you could arrange for an appointment go to Canada and apply there. It is the same process your used to get your first TD consular visa.
 
Thanks for the quick reply. Just to confirm that I understand correctly: So if I fly to Canada (I have my Canadian PR), I can re-enter USA without a visa?
 
My follow up question to that is : So in order to get a TD visa outside of USA, do I need to complete the DS160 or can I go with my husband and get my TD at port of entry? My husband already had his TN visa approved at port of entry in Canada back in Jan 2020.
 
Re-entry from Canada is through automatic visa revalidation, with a valid I-94 (whisch should have been attached to your I-797A
You cannot go to the border to get a visa. Just like you could not go to the border to get your original TD visa. You went to consulate with DS160 etc and got one there, and THEN entered US on that visa.
 
Understood. Last question that comes to mind:
My plan is to complete DS160, schedule interview in Canada, visit Canada and complete interview, and then fly back to USA. Question is can I re-enter USA prior to obtaining visa or do I need to wait in Canada until I get visa in order to re enter USA? From my understanding, I can re enter USA prior to obtaining visa under automatic visa revaluation, correct? Sorry I’m a bit slower than everyone but just want to make sure that I understood you correctly. Thanks again
 
The visa is something they need to physically place in your passport, so you need to be there at the consulate give you the visa.

Also, you can't use Automatic Revalidation if you've applied for a visa while in Canada.
 
Ok. So does that mean if I fly back to Canada and apply for the visa there, I would need to stay in Canada until they approve my visa?
Also, after finishing the interview, assuming everything goes well, do they take my passport and print the visa right away or will they take my passport until they process it? Any idea how long it takes to get passport back?
 
Ok. So does that mean if I fly back to Canada and apply for the visa there, I would need to stay in Canada until they approve my visa?
Also, after finishing the interview, assuming everything goes well, do they take my passport and print the visa right away or will they take my passport until they process it? Any idea how long it takes to get passport back?

We went through this process for my wife back in 2017, it took approximately a week to get back the passport with visa stamped on it
 
We went through this process for my wife back in 2017, it took approximately a week to get back the passport with visa stamped on it
Did they take your passport in the interview or did you have to mail it in after?
 
was the interview process hard?

It was straight forward since you already have approval in hand. We went to US Consulate in Ottawa. It took approximately 1 hr to wait and talk to officer. He was nice and got all the details from us and took the passport and gave us a sheet of paper that shows some instructions on how the passport can be collected and mailed etc., Since we opted for pick-up at Canada Post location, it was not mailed to any address. In a week, it was ready at the post office, we went and picked it up.
 
It was straight forward since you already have approval in hand. We went to US Consulate in Ottawa. It took approximately 1 hr to wait and talk to officer. He was nice and got all the details from us and took the passport and gave us a sheet of paper that shows some instructions on how the passport can be collected and mailed etc., Since we opted for pick-up at Canada Post location, it was not mailed to any address. In a week, it was ready at the post office, we went and picked it up.
Awesome. That sounds pretty straight forward. You had to complete the DS 160 form, right? Any idea if traveling from US to Canada for visa purposes is allowed now, given the Covid 19 situation? Are they still taking interviews/applications? Would Canada customs allow me to enter Canada just for the sole purpose of applying for a US visa at a time like this?
 
Awesome. That sounds pretty straight forward. You had to complete the DS 160 form, right? Any idea if traveling from US to Canada for visa purposes is allowed now, given the Covid 19 situation? Are they still taking interviews/applications? Would Canada customs allow me to enter Canada just for the sole purpose of applying for a US visa at a time like this?
Canadian permanent residents are allowed to return to Canada.
 
Awesome. That sounds pretty straight forward. You had to complete the DS 160 form, right? Any idea if traveling from US to Canada for visa purposes is allowed now, given the Covid 19 situation? Are they still taking interviews/applications? Would Canada customs allow me to enter Canada just for the sole purpose of applying for a US visa at a time like this?

Yes, we did fill DS-160 after that only you are allowed to book an appointment

We traveled that time without any issues, however, now, due to COVID situation, you have to check on the self-quarantine measures that are in place by Canadian government.

As most of the consular/embassy services are closed, not sure, you are allowed to make an appointment with the consulate. Check US Consulate websites (Toronto and Ottawa) and see if they are allowing in person services. Based on that you can plan
 
Top