H1B Fears U.S. Entry Denial After Cap-Gap Mix-Up
After a family vacation in Europe, a tourist is returning to the united states and is under extreme stress as he considers the possibility that a mistake with his visa may prevent him from entering the country. The person in issue entered the country during his Cap-Gap time without an H1B visa stamp; he is currently in the process of reversing this choice. He currently has an F1 visa and is working toward an H1B work visa.
When an F1 student uses the Cap-Gap to prolong their stay in the nation while they wait for their H1B to become active, it can be quite problematic to leave the country at that time. When he returns from Switzerland, he can pretty well count on being refused entrance again. By presenting immigration documents proving his OPT and Cap-Gap extension, he was able to board the aircraft; nonetheless, he believes that airport personnel misinterpreted his genuine visa status.
The problem—the visa restriction—clearly highlights the importance of this issue. The attorneys advise against traveling during the Cap-Gap period without an H1 visa stamp since doing so typically results in the change-of-status request being automatically abandoned. Once this happens, the traveler will not be allowed to re-enter the country until an H1B visa has been secured from a U.S. consulate. That's a terrible lesson for this traveler to learn, and it should serve as a warning to anybody in a similar circumstance to consider twice before leaving the US during this difficult time of transition.
When an F1 student uses the Cap-Gap to prolong their stay in the nation while they wait for their H1B to become active, it can be quite problematic to leave the country at that time. When he returns from Switzerland, he can pretty well count on being refused entrance again. By presenting immigration documents proving his OPT and Cap-Gap extension, he was able to board the aircraft; nonetheless, he believes that airport personnel misinterpreted his genuine visa status.
The problem—the visa restriction—clearly highlights the importance of this issue. The attorneys advise against traveling during the Cap-Gap period without an H1 visa stamp since doing so typically results in the change-of-status request being automatically abandoned. Once this happens, the traveler will not be allowed to re-enter the country until an H1B visa has been secured from a U.S. consulate. That's a terrible lesson for this traveler to learn, and it should serve as a warning to anybody in a similar circumstance to consider twice before leaving the US during this difficult time of transition.