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AVR with expired F1 and current H1B

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shr89

Full Member
Jul 1, 2019
20
0
I have an F1 visa in my passport which expired in 2018. Currently I am on H1B with I797 but never traveled out of the country, so no H1B visa stamp.
Also I have an H1B visa appointment scheduled for January 17, 2023. Can I still use AVR rule to re-enter US if I travel to Canada?
 
UPDATE -

Successfully completed soft landing on Jan 31 at Peace arch near Vancouver. Stayed in Vancouver for a day and returned to US the next day i.e. Feb 1. Took around an hour on both sides for processing and background checks etc.

Thanks to people in this forum I found out about AVR rule and took a chance.
 
Hi @shr89
Can you please share your experience at Peace arch while coming back to US I am also planning to go the same route this month?
what documents did you carry?
What questions are asked by the officer?
Is the US office aware of ARV?
 
shadowz said:
Hi @shr89
Can you please share your experience at Peace arch while coming back to US I am also planning to go the same route this month?
what documents did you carry?
What questions are asked by the officer?
Is the US office aware of ARV?
Click to expand...


I had carried a lot of documents like employment verification, degree certificates, resume, W2, paystub. AVR rule webpage printout.

Arrived at border. From the car the officer asked for my passport and any other documents I want to provide. So I just gave passport and i797. He looked at it and asked why I am traveling to US, where I am coming from, what I was doing in Canada. Told him about my PR. He looked at it for sometime and asked to follow another officer and park and go inside the building.

Once inside walked up to the counter. The officer there asked for all documents (Passport and i797) and asked reason for travel. Questions about what I was doing in Canada, where I stay in US, where I work, what do I work as etc.
He saw passport and said visa is expired. Told him I want to travel using AVR. Senior officer was right next to him and he confirmed with him. He said it should be good. Then they started doing background checks I guess. Took a while because they were having issues with some website. They took fingerprint and photo. More processing, background checks. Finally stamped passport and asked to pay $6 fee for border crossing at cashier counter. Totally it took about an hour.
Did not ask for any other documents or covid test or vaccination proof.

Hope that helps.
 
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