Visa Revalidation Issue, Please Help

L

Longer Wait

Registered Users (C)
My first 3 year H1B expired May 2000. I had it extended till May 2003. I did not get my passport stamped for the extension through the revalidation procedure. Now, I am going to apply for my 485. Different sources tell me different things about I getting the stamping. My question is ...

Can I travel to India after I apply for my 485, get the visa extension stamped in India, as i have a approval notice with the new I 94. Or should i be only using the Advance parole, since i dont have the visa stamped.

Ciba, I\'ve heard you reply pretty quick. This is my first posting, please help.

Thanks
 
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yes u can get H1 visa stamped even though ur 485 appln. is pending.
just remember to carry with ur 485 receipts when u travel out of US ( it is advisable but not 200% necessary !!!)
 
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Longer Wait,

Last time I checked on the revalidation procedure through the DOS office (somewhere on the east coast) one of the conditions was that your original H1 visa should have been expired for less than one year. Let us know if you find more updated information.

Good luck!
 
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Hi longerwait,

Yes, you can travel to India to apply for H1 visa stamp. But
I would suggest that you either revalidate the stamp here in
the State or wait until you have AP in hand. This is to
prevent a terrible scenario where your visa stamp is denied
abroad, leaving you stuck outside with no paper works to
return.

ciba
 
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I applied for visa revalidation to the State Dept. I got it back in 3 weeks. At that time I had applied for 485 but hadn\'t got my reciept. So I waited for the 485 receipt (no AP/EAD) and then proceeded to India. Didn\'t have any problems. Did not affect 485 approval.
It is advisable to have 485 receipts with you prior to leaving though I haven\'t heard of a case where it was asked by the Immigration officer at the airport.
But as Ciba says it would be better if you get it stamped prior to leaving for India if you don\'t have your AP with you
 
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Can we still come back within 30 days from Canada or Mexico without new visa, after we file an I-485?
 
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as far as I know, if you step outside the US for even one second or less, and have no valid visa, you will have trouble getting back across the border. I don\'t understand your question.
 
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I am in the situation that I filed my I485, and my first H1B visa has expired almost a year ago. I have an extension of my H1B status, so I can still stay in the US and continue to work while waiting for my greencard.
I just recently got my receipts for I485, AP and EAD, but have no clue when the AP and EAD will arrive, could be half a year as far as I know.
My mother who is living in Europe became very ill with heart trouble six weeks ago, and wanted me to come home and visit her. I have not been home for several years, and she is almost 90.
The trouble is, because of the greencard application, that I do not dare to leave the country. To send away my passport and get a new H1B visa would take about 10 weeks or more, according to my lawyer, so that seemed to be out of the question, and I had not received even any receipts after filing my applications in mid April.
My lawyer told me to just travel anyways, and try to get my H1B visa at a US consulate in Europe. She would send me the receipts when they arrived.
I decided that I could not take the risk of being denied visa, and then have no way of getting back into the US. I have already experienced being stuck at the US border twice, with serious trouble, even if all papers were in order, according to my lawyer. Now, looking back, and with the recent delays at INS, I think that my worries were well founded. The receipts were delayed another six weeks.
Luckily, my mother has recovered and is feeling better, but I would still like to travel to Europe to visit her. My dilemma is, if I send away my passport I cannot travel for maybe three months for sure. If I wait for the AP, will I be able to use that paper to get back into the country without H1B visa? I thought that AP is used with EAD only, and as long as I am in H1B status, I use H1B visa when travelling. If I start using EAD, then my H1B status is gone, and I need the AP paper?
 
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If one travels to Canada or Mexico for a trip of less than 30 days, he/she does not need a valid visa coming back to US, as long as he/she is in status. It is called automatic revalidation. I have the official document from INS (the law) and many many people including my wife did that wthout any problem. The question I was asking is: After I have an I-485 pending, does that still hold true?
 
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My VISA stamp expired in June 1997.
I NEVER renewed it anywhere.
I lived, worked and got GC (Including Plastic Card in June 2001)in the USA.
I never travelled out of the USA.
If the passport stamp expired, for filing I-485, there is no necessity of it being renewed.
Passport stamp required only for frequent travellers.
If you have VALID H1B extension with I-94, that is fine!
 
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Well, I know you do not need a visa to stay in US. However you do need one to come back to US if you travel outside. I will go to Japan for business trip and that is why I was asking the question of going Canada for visa. Thanks.
 
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wow, then I could buy a ticket from Toronto to Europe and back, and I would just have to get another ticket from SFO to Toronto, and hope that the INS officer on my returntrip from Toronto did not check my passport stamps too closely?
 
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I asked my lawyer about the automatic revalidation thing, and she says that it is true. here is the text:
(d) Automatic extension of validity at ports of entry. (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 INS 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.
    (2) The provisions in paragraph (d)(1) of this section are
applicable only in the case of a nonimmigrant alien who:
    (i) Is in possession of a Form I-94, Arrival-Departure Record,
endorsed by INS to show an unexpired period of initial admission or
extension of stay, or, in the case of a qualified F or J student or
exchange visitor or the accompanying spouse or child of such an alien,
is in possession of a current Form I-20, Certificate of Eligibility for
Nonimmigrant Student Status, or Form IAP-66, Certificate of Eligibility
for Exchange Visitor Status, issued by the school the student has been
authorized to attend by INS, or by the sponsor of the exchange program
in which the alien has been authorized to participate by INS, and
endorsed by the issuing school official or program sponsor to indicate
the period of initial admission or extension of stay authorized by INS;
    (ii) Is applying for readmission after an absence not exceeding 30
days solely in contiguous territory, or, in the case of a student or
exchange visitor or accompanying spouse or child meeting the
stipulations of paragraph (d)(2)(i) of this section, after an absence
not exceeding 30 days in contiguous territory or adjacent islands other
than Cuba;
    (iii) Has maintained and intends to resume nonimmigrant status;
    (iv) Is applying for readmission within the authorized period of
initial admission or extension of stay;
    (v) Is in possession of a valid passport; and
    (vi) Does not require authorization for admission under INA
212(d)(3).
 
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cobwebs,

Thanks a lot for the posting. Did you copy this words from what your attorney told you or from some official document your attorney showed you? If it is later, could you fax a copy to me too. I have a document from US Consulate in Toronto but the wording is different. Looks like your attorney is pretty responsive, would you mind telling who she is? Also, I am still wondering if it holds true for person during I-485 stage. From the instructions on I-485, you have to hold a "valid" H visa to tavel during I-485 stage. Based on the wording you just gave "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", I guess I am OK. However, I am still not very sure.
 
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