anyone successful on flying back to USA using AVR ?

[kumapathy]

I have personally used AVR on atleast 7 occasions in the last year. 4 times I flew across the border and 3 times i drove. Had no issues at all. At the airports they do ask to see your i797 and will stamp your passport however on land borders they don't even stamp your passport.

Flew from Vancouver to NY, Alberta to NY, Toronto to NJ and Toronto to TX with no issues. Had land crossings on Ontario/ NY border and Quebec/ NY border.

Let me know if you have any questions.

-P

Hi ,

I have an urgent question . Please respond

My spouse has an expired H1 B visa stamp for X company. He changed his employer and now has an valid extension approval letter and valid I94 for company B. Can he still be able to avail for AVR ??? Since he is in a different company now , does he have to go for visa interview stamping ???

Thanks

 

[lampbreaker]

Technically, he does not need a Visa. But sometimes CBP officers interpret things differently.

 

[Malathy]

I have a question : Does I-94 number change when using AVR ? I am in US from 2014 with visa stamp expiring in Dec2018 and PED as 2016. My I94 extension happened once in Dec-2016 and second extension in 2018 . The new extension petition is till Dec-2020 with an I94 number say 123. If i do landing in canada use AVR when re-entering from Canada, does i94 number change to 234 or does it stay as 123 and end date as Dec2020 ?

 

[harirajmohan]

I have a question : Does I-94 number change when using AVR ? I am in US from 2014 with visa stamp expiring in Dec2018 and PED as 2016. My I94 extension happened once in Dec-2016 and second extension in 2018 . The new extension petition is till Dec-2020 with an I94 number say 123. If i do landing in canada use AVR when re-entering from Canada, does i94 number change to 234 or does it stay as 123 and end date as Dec2020 ?

It depends. Some officers change it and some dont change it. In this trip I had valid visa and my other 2 family members did not have valid visa but has valid I94 via extension from uscis.
2016: When i was returning from Canada via flight, my I94(and all of my family members' 194) got changed (with different I94) and received the expiry date for straight 3 years (more than what i had it in I797).
2017 (while visa expired and one time while with valid visa): Sometime when i dont know but during my entry via road, I94 got changed back to validity of I797 (yes with different I94 number).
2018: When i was returning from Canada via flight, my I94(and one of my family members' 194) got changed (with different I94) but that officer did not change it for my son's I94.
All these trips were of 1-7 days hence its implied AVR applied.

So it all depends on the officer.

 

[Malathy]

It depends. Some officers change it and some dont change it. In this trip I had valid visa and my other 2 family members did not have valid visa but has valid I94 via extension from uscis.
2016: When i was returning from Canada via flight, my I94(and all of my family members' 194) got changed (with different I94) and received the expiry date for straight 3 years (more than what i had it in I797).
2017 (while visa expired and one time while with valid visa): Sometime when i dont know but during my entry via road, I94 got changed back to validity of I797 (yes with different I94 number).
2018: When i was returning from Canada via flight, my I94(and one of my family members' 194) got changed (with different I94) but that officer did not change it for my son's I94.
All these trips were of 1-7 days hence its implied AVR applied.

So it all depends on the officer.

Thank you for your response... My passport visa stamp has Dec2018 with PED as 2016. So I went through 1 extension in 2016 and another in aug 2018. This time my I94 is till 2020. One of my manager asked if there ever will be an occassion that the officer will restrict my I94 date to what was before the extension (Dec2018 - which is the stamp I have on the passport) and then I have to go through the extension process again?

 

[harirajmohan]

Thank you for your response... My passport visa stamp has Dec2018 with PED as 2016. So I went through 1 extension in 2016 and another in aug 2018. This time my I94 is till 2020. One of my manager asked if there ever will be an occassion that the officer will restrict my I94 date to what was before the extension (Dec2018 - which is the stamp I have on the passport) and then I have to go through the extension process again?

if you are carrying the 2020 petition while entry (assuming you are working based on that petition in that right location where it was approved for), i dont think (mostly) that the officer will change or reduce the validity (doesnt matter he keeps the same I94 or issues new one).
Whats the validity for the extnsion you had in 2016?
Is the start date a future date (after the travel date)? if so then keep the recent one on top and keep the earlier one at the bottom hence he will issue (i think) till 2020 - i never had this scenario yet.
No need to extend when you have valid petition. If you had that situation then you just need to reenter with same petition again (if visa is required then visa needs to be stamped first).

 

[Malathy]

if you are carrying the 2020 petition while entry (assuming you are working based on that petition in that right location where it was approved for), i dont think (mostly) that the officer will change or reduce the validity (doesnt matter he keeps the same I94 or issues new one).
Whats the validity for the extnsion you had in 2016?
Is the start date a future date (after the travel date)? if so then keep the recent one on top and keep the earlier one at the bottom hence he will issue (i think) till 2020 - i never had this scenario yet.
No need to extend when you have valid petition. If you had that situation then you just need to reenter with same petition again (if visa is required then visa needs to be stamped first).

validity of 2016 was dec 2018. I had applied extension in july 2018 and got it extended to 2020...

 

[lampbreaker]

Is AVR still allowed if the H1B was never stamped?

Technically, yes.

 

[Joshua2018]

Can we use AVR if the Expired visa stamp in the passport is of the first employer and right now the person is with a different employer ?
The current I 797 (current employer ) is valid for close to a year.

 

[KrCanada]

Guys,

I have a very old i 94 (2009) and it is in paper . Will this be a problem ?
Also my expired visa stamp is with my earlier employer and my current i797 is with a different employer . Will this be a problem ?

 

[nitinvgarg]

Can we use AVR if the Expired visa stamp in the passport is of the first employer and right now the person is with a different employer ?
The current I 797 (current employer ) is valid for close to a year.

I have the same situation. I used AVR around a month back at Windsor-Detroit border. The expired stamp in my passport is from the old employer whereas I am working with a new company(new I797)

 

[KrCanada]

I have the same situation. I used AVR around a month back at Windsor-Detroit border. The expired stamp in my passport is from the old employer whereas I am working with a new company(new I797)

Thanks a lot nitin. Would you mind telling us about the whole experience at the US border.

 

[Bill922]

I flew with American Airlines. They should let you travel, but with only 3Mo left in ur current i797 u should probably check with your attorney regarding any documents they can provide to show that ur employer intends to extend your employment.

May I ask if your H1B stamp got any administrative processing before? I am worried about this issue.

 

[Hopeful4Canada]

Hey Guyz... I did my landing in Dec and came back to US in a week. Was able to use AVR option to enter.

 

[rahulsingh16]

Hi,
A bit strange scenario :
I have H1b Visa till : Aprl10,2019
Current Petition till : April 10,2019

Had applied extension and Extension is : Starting Validity Date: 04/11/2019 Ending Validity Date: 04/30/2020.

So if i travel to Canada for PR soft-landing, while coming back will they issue new I94 with new validity....wat will be the validity Aprl10,2019 or 04/30/2020......

anyone travel with such a strange scenario....want to avoid travel after Visa expiry but this whole new vs old 797 confusing me ...........