No. You will have to go to US consulate to renew the expired visa unless you renew or switch to another visa before the current visa expires in which case you can use AVR.
Automatic Visa Revalidation
- Thread starter babilon
- Start date
Usually the date of expiration on I94 for F1 is D/S which means date until I20 is valid. If you plan to travel by air, yes, post expiration of F1 visa, you will have to renew to enter. However, if you plan to enter by road, you only need to present your valid I20. They will run your SEVIS number, so make sure your SEVIS is current and you will have no problem entering US on expired F1 visa.. You can check with your university to confirm your SEVIS standing..
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/can-we-use-avr-to-enter-us-multiple-times.665043/
Sorry I'm a bit confused. People in this thread said AVR can be used multiple times. I'm not switching to a new type of visa anytime soon. Can you please confirm that for my case, I can use AVR even when my F1 visa expires until the date my I20 expires?
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I thought AVR should be the same regardless of how I travel. Is there really a difference if I travel by air?
Usually, for air travel, a valid stamped visa is required on passport if I am not mistaken, airlines don't allow you board if you don't have a active stamped visa on your passport.
AVR will simply allow you to enter back if you have a valid active approved petition for corresponding stamped expired visa in your passport, not sure if if AVR would work for COS that isn't stamped yet.
I see. I've been reading and many people ran into this issue with the airline agents as some of them are not familiar with AVR. However this problem was resolved when they escalate to higher level staffs. I guess I'll accomodate extra time for my next trip.
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AVR works for airline travel as well. I have used it at Toronto airport and officials there were familiar with the concept. But, yes occasionaly you may come across an officer who may not be aware of the rules.
Hey @vkala33, did you end up trying this? I am in the same boat. Both me (H1B) and my wife (H4) have valid I797 but expired visa stamps in the passports. My passport has also been renewed recently after the H1B extension. If I travel to Canada for soft landing, would AVR apply? Did you try this? Thanks!