Travelin to India during OPT

A

anniev

New Member
Hi,

I would be travelling to India during my OPT due to unavoidable circumstances.Will there be any problem with the re-entry? If so what are the best possible solutions that can be done.

Thanks
 
anniev said:
Hi,

I would be travelling to India during my OPT due to unavoidable circumstances.Will there be any problem with the re-entry? If so what are the best possible solutions that can be done.

Thanks
Click to expand...

You will definitely face problems on the way back since OPT is not a right. If you don't have a valid I-20 then you are toast. Be careful.

HTH
 
Hi,

Sorry for not stating the problem correctly. I have an OPT I-20 which is valid till Dec 2005 and my F1 visa expires only by June 2006. I will be having the EAD card and a job offer letter, even then will that be a problem in the re-entry? Please explain!

Thanks a lot!
 
The problem I see is at the POE the officer might assume that you have finished your course work and graduated as you will show him the OPT card which kinda makes the I-20 dead. Then he will see that the same kind of experience or training which OPT provides you can be had anywhere in the world and refuse entry. That's my concern.
 
Well due to unavoidable reasons I would have to travel. I have to take the risk........Could you please tell me what documents will be required?

According to my thinking, I would be needing my:

OPT I-20,
EAD
Job Offer letter

What other documents that I will be needing for this travel.

Thanks a lot for so far all your replies!

Annie
 
Did you graduate?? If not then you can come back but I cannot conceive all the problems posed post 9/11. If you did not graduate then you can tell the officer at POE that you are going back to graduate.

That is one of the things I can think of right now.

HTH
 
I haven't graduated yet, but will be doing it pretty soon, before i leave. Thanks a lot for all your replies.
 
Anniev,

My spouse recently visited India after graduation on an OPT and had no problems on the way back (this was two weeks ago and the visit was certainly not under unavoidable circumstances!). The immigration officer at the port of entry looks for:

1) Valid I-20
2) Valid F-1 visa
3) Valid EAD Card
4) Job offer letter
5) Student ID -- not mandatory, but keep it at hand if you still have one (if your school asks you to surrender it, you can just tell the officer that)

In fact, in our case, the job offer letter was not even asked for (surprisingly!)...but you should certainly have a signed offer letter at hand. I know of other people who have successfully entered the country after graduation provided they have the above 4 documents.

I agree that there is a theoretical possibility that an officer can reject your visa at re-entry, but from talking to my lawyers, the International Student office as well as several other students who have had the same the experience, in reality they don't reject it if these docs are at hand.

Good luck,
Ascii
P.S. : Remember, I am not a lawyer, just sharing my experience and $0.02!
 
Ascii,

Your spouse's experience proves my belief is right. Thanks for posting.

We should share our actual experiences more by the way. Seems many people just ask questions and then disappear once they got the answer.
 
Hi, I am in a similar situation, going to India in May, opt expiring in OCt and valid F1 visa till Jun 2006. But I do not have a job offer letter. Is it still ok to travel and re-enter with opt ? Please advice.


ascii_boston said:
Anniev,

My spouse recently visited India after graduation on an OPT and had no problems on the way back (this was two weeks ago and the visit was certainly not under unavoidable circumstances!). The immigration officer at the port of entry looks for:

1) Valid I-20
2) Valid F-1 visa
3) Valid EAD Card
4) Job offer letter
5) Student ID -- not mandatory, but keep it at hand if you still have one (if your school asks you to surrender it, you can just tell the officer that)

In fact, in our case, the job offer letter was not even asked for (surprisingly!)...but you should certainly have a signed offer letter at hand. I know of other people who have successfully entered the country after graduation provided they have the above 4 documents.

I agree that there is a theoretical possibility that an officer can reject your visa at re-entry, but from talking to my lawyers, the International Student office as well as several other students who have had the same the experience, in reality they don't reject it if these docs are at hand.

Good luck,
Ascii
P.S. : Remember, I am not a lawyer, just sharing my experience and $0.02!
Click to expand...
 
Travel to india on OPT

Hi All,

I guess my problem is similar.My wife went to india on her OPT status which was issued in DEC 2004.Her OPT is valid till Dec 2005 and he F1 status is also valid.Now i have come across new rules of immigration sent by ISSS of university of south Florida,Tampa that

1. If your optional practical training has been approved and you
depart the U.S. BEFORE you get a job, your optional practical training ends and you CANNOT RE-ENTER the U.S.


2. If you are currently on optional practical training and you have a
job, you may leave the U.S. and re-enter to resume work at the same job.



a. Your I-20 will need to be signed by an ISSS Advisor

b. You must take a letter from your current employer indicating your
dates of travel and the understanding that you will return to the job upon reentry

c. You must have your EAD with you when you travel

d. Valid passport

e. Valid F-1 visa stamp in passport

Her Exception is that these rules were sent to her only after she left to india.We tried to get information about going to india on OPT but were not told these rules by enybody,not even the ISSS.

So my question is can she come back now since she went to india before the new immigration rules came into act.

She does have the following valid documents

1.Valid F1 Visa
2.Valid EAD
3.I-20 signed by the college
4.Job Offer Letter

Can you mail me a solution for her to comeback without having to get her OPT cancelled.

She has graduated her cource work

Thanks,
vamsi
 
Vamsi,

I was in a similar position last year. I graduated in Dec 2003, got my EAD in Feb 2004, and travelled to India in April 2004. I spoke to the international officers in my school and they told me that I needed a valid passport, visa, signed I-20, EAD card and preferably an offer letter - (which I was told was useful, but was told that if you dont have it , u can just talk your way through it - that you have interviews coming up).. I was aware that it was risky to travel on my OPT, but I just didnt think much about it at all - Somehow I didnt worry about it for a minute :D I went ahead (I didnt even carry an offer letter) and had absolutely no problem at all. They just looked at my passport and I-20 and that was it! I don't know if it was luck , but that was my experience. With an offer letter I dont think your wife will have much trouble. This is just my opinion, please take it with a pinch of salt. Also, I do not know about the new rules. The best option would be to talk to the international office at her school. They will know about the new rules, and are usually very helpful and informative.
Hope this helps.
dogmatix
 
Hi all,

I just verified with the ISSS of my wifes college and they told me that this new immigration laws that they stated were just their precautionary measures advised to students and not actual immigration laws.So i guess that clears my issue.With a job offer letter you are most safe re-entring US on OPT.

Thanks,
vamsi
 
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