INFORMATION FOR H-1B TEMPORARY WORKERS

Travel Guidelines for H-1's

If you are a person in H-1B status wishing to travel outside the United States, you need to be aware of regulations concerning your reentry into the U.S.. As an H-1B nonimmigrant, you and your dependents are responsible for obtaining the necessary documents required for reentry into the U.S. after international travel. If you leave the U.S., there is never a guarantee that a new visa will be issued after expiration of a previously issued visa, or that you will be allowed to reenter the country. The risk of being refused a visa or being denied entry to the U.S. should be weighed against your desire to continue academic or professional activities in the U.S.

U.S.-Visit Procedure

The Department of Homeland Security records all entries to and exits from the United States. Changes have been made to the exit procedures when departing the U.S. Commercial Airlines should be following these procedures to report your departure to the Department of Homeland Security. If you have any questions please contact an advisor at OISS or visit http://www.dhs.gov/us-visit.

Documents Needed to Enter the U.S.:

The following documents are required upon entering the United States:

• Valid Passport: If your passport will expire soon, you must renew your passport before reentry to the U.S.
• Original Form I-797, Approval Notice for H-1B status.
• Valid H-1B visa stamped in passport: If your visa has expired or will expire before returning to the U.S., you must renew the visa at a U.S. consulate while abroad. (Canadians are exempt from this requirement). For more information, visit our section on Applying for an H-1B Visa Overseas & Revalidation Inside the U.S.
• Although not required, it is recommended that you have a letter from your department confirming your employment upon your entry to the U.S.

Dependents applying for an H-4 visa will need to submit a copy of the main applicant’s Form I-797 Approval Notice when applying for an H-4 visa, as well as documentation of the relationship to the H-1B (i.e., birth certificate, marriage certificate). Dependents will need to show their valid passports with valid H-4 entry visas in order to enter the U.S.

After You Re-Enter the U.S.

All H-1B scholars and their H-4 dependents should check the date marked on the I-94 card upon re-entry to the U.S. The date marked on the I-94 should match the end date of the H-1B I-797 approval notice. Sometimes, H-1B scholars are given a 10-day grace period on the I-94 card (an extra 10 days after the end date of the I-797 approval notice).

If your I-94 card is marked with another date (before the end date on the I-797 approval notice), you should contact OISS immediately.

Scholars are encouraged to send their International Scholar Advisor at OISS a copy of their new I-94 card after they arrive in the U.S.

Maintain a Travel Folder

Time spent outside of the U.S. while your H-1B petition is valid is not considered to be time spent in H-1B status. If necessary, time spent outside of the U.S. may be added on to the length of time you are allowed to remain in the U.S. in H-1B status, by submitting an H-1B extension application to USCIS. You should maintain a travel folder with the documentation that may be required for recapture of H-1B time. Sometimes this extra time proves necessary in order to finish a project or in order to have enough time to change to another status. By maintaining a travel folder, with the required documentation for recapture of H-1B time, you can apply should the need arise.

In order to prove that you were outside of the U.S. here is a list of suggested documentation for your travel folder:

1. Boarding passes
2. Travel itineraries
3. Receipts from plane tickets
4. Frequent flyer mile records from airlines
5. Copies of past I-94s
6. Passport entry and exit stamps to other countries and the U.S.
7. Rent contracts, transcripts or employment records for stays in other countries

The recapture of time spent out of the U.S. is granted at the discretion of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and is based on the documentation submitted. There is no guarantee the request will be approved.

Travel while Change to H-1B Status is Pending

You are not permitted to travel abroad while an application for change of status is pending. If you travel outside of the U.S. while an application to change status is pending, you are considered by USCIS to have abandoned your application. In this event, an H-1B petition may be approved, but you must apply for an H-1B visa at a U.S. consulate abroad to enter the U.S. in H-1B status.

Travel while Extension of Stay is Pending and 240-day Automatic Extension of Work Authorization

Although it is permissible to travel while a petition to extend H-1B status is pending with USCIS, you will still need a valid H-1B visa and a valid Form I-797 to reenter the U.S. If the extension of stay is not approved by the time you need to reenter the U.S., you may use your prior approval notice, but only if the period of employment on the notice has not yet expired and the H-1B visa in your passport is still valid. If an H extension is pending while you are outside of the U.S. and you intend to enter after the date of the current petition, you will not be eligible to enter the U.S. until the petition has been approved. If the previous petition is no longer valid, it is likely that your visa has also expired and that you will need a new visa to return to the U.S. in H-1B status. In this circumstance, you should NOT enter the country as a tourist because those in tourist status are not allowed to work in the U.S.

Travel under H-1B Portability Provisions

If you have changed employers since first entering the U.S. in H-1B status and have a valid visa annotated for the previous employer, you may reenter the U.S. using that visa, provided that you present a valid H-1B receipt notice (Form I-797) as proof of filing of the H-1B petition for the new U.S. employer. The previous H-1B petition must also be valid and you must have a valid H-1B visa.

Further Questions

If you should have further questions regarding travel outside the United States, please contact an international advisor at the OISS by e-mail at: oiss@wustl.edu or by telephone at (314) 935-5910 (Danforth Campus) or (314) 362-6939 (Medical Campus).

Please note that legislation concerning nonimmigrant travel is constantly changing, and it is important to be updated about such information before making your travel plans and to heed any travel warnings.