Entering US on tourist visa and then re enter on F1

[systemet8]

Hi Guys,
So sorry if this topic has already been answered. I will keep it short. I am Danish citizen about to study in the US for my MS degree. I was so lucky to have some airmiles to use for my ticket, they were soon expire so I used them straight away to book my ticket to the US. The thing is I am not sure when the program starts just yet. Hence it was a bit of gamble.

But lets say I am to early eg. my program starts on August 5th and I am flying into the US on July 1st on tourist visa which will be 5 days more than the allowed 30 days grace period. Can I then travel to the US on a tourist visa and then go to fx. Canada and stay there 5 days and then return as a F1? Or do I need to travel to my home destination in order to enter on my F1?

Would appreciate any answer or experiences on this matter

[stephanie09]

Hi Guys,
So sorry if this topic has already been answered. I will keep it short. I am Danish citizen about to study in the US for my MS degree. I was so lucky to have some airmiles to use for my ticket, they were soon expire so I used them straight away to book my ticket to the US. The thing is I am not sure when the program starts just yet. Hence it was a bit of gamble.

But lets say I am to early eg. my program starts on August 5th and I am flying into the US on July 1st on tourist visa which will be 5 days more than the allowed 30 days grace period. Can I then travel to the US on a tourist visa and then go to fx. Canada and stay there 5 days and then return as a F1? Or do I need to travel to my home destination in order to enter on my F1?

Would appreciate any answer or experiences on this matter

I think that wud be ok.

[bakstol]

Ask your DSO (your representative at your school) just to be sure.

[SushantPuri]

similar situation!

Hi,

I am in a similar situation. I am a final year medical student in Delhi, India. I was accepted for a medical elective at UT for May which required an F1 visa. I already have a valid B1/B2 visa. A few days back I got an unexpected call from another university offering me an elective in April. This requires a B1/B2 visa. Both of them are hard to come by and I do not want to miss either. The Office of International Affairs at UT said the going to Canada and re-entering US is not a problem but he can not vouch for the US Border officials' decision. An older thread in this forum said that the I-94 form is valid for 30 days after exiting US for Canada, Mexico or Caribbean.
Even I do not know what to do next.

[bakstol]

Hi,

I am in a similar situation. I am a final year medical student in Delhi, India. I was accepted for a medical elective at UT for May which required an F1 visa. I already have a valid B1/B2 visa. A few days back I got an unexpected call from another university offering me an elective in April. This requires a B1/B2 visa. Both of them are hard to come by and I do not want to miss either. The Office of International Affairs at UT said the going to Canada and re-entering US is not a problem but he can not vouch for the US Border officials' decision. An older thread in this forum said that the I-94 form is valid for 30 days after exiting US for Canada, Mexico or Caribbean.
Even I do not know what to do next.

I don't see a problem with entering the US on your B visa in April for the elective, going to Canada and re-entering for May on your F1. Just make sure the I-20 is signed and that you have it. Be careful, the B visa automatically expires on the date the F1 takes effect regardless of the expiration date of the B visa written in your passport. This basically means your two classes cannot have any overlap.

[SushantPuri]

Hi Bakstol. Thank you so much for your post. It was extremely reassuring to hear this. Another quick question. I had applied for a Canadian visitor visa a week ago but it has taken a lot of time than the average processing duration in Delhi(6 days). Although I expect to hear from them any time but to have a safe option in hand just in case things do not go as planned would travelling to Mexico city for a weekend be a wise idea? I checked that the Mexican immigration rules do not require a tourist visa before landing if one already has a US B1/B2 visa.
I guess I would have only a day of overlap between the two electives on May 1 which I'll have to figure out how to coordinate with my exit.
Thanks in advance.

[bakstol]

Canada, Mexico or any other country on earth would be just the same as long as it's not part of the US.

[SushantPuri]

Thank you so much Bakstol

[Nibs En]

I don't see a problem with entering the US on your B visa in April for the elective, going to Canada and re-entering for May on your F1. Just make sure the I-20 is signed and that you have it. Be careful, the B visa automatically expires on the date the F1 takes effect regardless of the expiration date of the B visa written in your passport. This basically means your two classes cannot have any overlap.

When you say the B visa automatically expires on the date the "F1 takes effect", do you mean the date listed on the I-20, or the date from which you can enter the US on your F1? (30 days prior to the date on your I-20)

I'm in a similar situation to all the people here. I have an offer for an MFA program in the US which would begin in August 2015, and I'll need an F1 visa for that. However, I've also been accepted into a very prestigious writing workshop in June 2015, and I don't want to turn it down. I was thinking I'd enter the US on a tourist visa to attend the workshop, then exit into Canada in August and re-enter the US on my F1 visa to begin my MFA. The start date on my I-20 is 17th August, and my workshop would conclude on 31st July.

As a note, I believe even if the tourist visa expired, you'd still be okay as long as you were already in the US? Iirc, a B1/B2 visa only needs to be valid at the time of entry -- even if it expires shortly afterwards, you can still stay for the maximum duration of six months.

[bakstol]

You're asking a lot of questions so let me answer them one by one:

- Your B visa will become invalid at the time you enter the US on the F-1 visa, or the date in your I-20, whichever is the earliest. If you enter the US on the day your I-20 is valid and don't use the 30 days prior, then that's the day your B visa will become invalid. I strongly recommend you ask this question to your DSO at the university so you can be 100% sure, I'm not a lawyer.
- Whenever your B visa expires I'm pretty sure you need to leave the country. Unless I'm mistaken I don't believe there is some sort of grace period that allows you to leave. Even if the B visa is typically given for 6 months, you can't stay more than the deadline written in the B visa.

[Nibs En]

The official Department of State site says the following --

If the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection Immigration Officer at the port-of-entry admitted you into the United States for a specific period of time, s/he will note your authorized period of stay on your admission stamp or paper Form I-94, called an Arrival/Departure Record. You will be able to remain in the United States during your authorized period of stay, even if your visa expires during the time you are in the United States.

So in short, you can't stay longer than the period you were authorized for at the time of entry, but that period can extend past your visa's expiry date.

At any rate, I don't plan to test this technicality, since I'd leave the US at the end of July only so I could immediately re-enter on my F1, no longer needing the tourist visa. Thanks for answering my questions!

[SushantPuri]

Just an update on this thread. I entered US a few days ago. There was some trouble at the Immigration but not related to my possession of 2 US visas. The official did not know that medical electives are on a B1 so he held me up for some time. He later confirmed it with a superior and I took the connecting flight to my final destination. At the end of this month I plan to leave US for Mexico City which does not require a visa if there is a valid US visa on your passport. The Canadian consulate was taking a hellishly long time to process my application. I later learned that some people actually travel to Mexico in similar situations. I am hopeful there will be no let up this time around when I am in Mexico for a few days and re-enter US after my I-20 begins.

[Nibs En]

Thanks for the update, Sushant! I'm a little nervous now, since my I-20 isn't even here yet, and I need to apply for a Canadian visa after I get my F1...

Which part of the process did you get stuck on? Was it after you submitted your visa application? And did you submit it online?

[Ppal]

Same situation with electives!

Hi,

I am in a similar situation. I am a final year medical student in Delhi, India. I was accepted for a medical elective at UT for May which required an F1 visa. I already have a valid B1/B2 visa. A few days back I got an unexpected call from another university offering me an elective in April. This requires a B1/B2 visa. Both of them are hard to come by and I do not want to miss either. The Office of International Affairs at UT said the going to Canada and re-entering US is not a problem but he can not vouch for the US Border officials' decision. An older thread in this forum said that the I-94 form is valid for 30 days after exiting US for Canada, Mexico or Caribbean.
Even I do not know what to do next.

Hi, I know this post is sort of old, but I am also in the same situation. First, I need to travel to Harvard for an elective on B1 visa and then I am scheduled for an elective for the next month in Texas, which needs an F1 visa. I have both the visas, but I need to confirm whether I can travel to Mexico in between and re enter on a different visa? Is this allowed? How many days will it take and is it a very cumbersome procedure? Any help would be great. Thanks in advance.

[Desmin]

Same boat

Hi, I know this post is sort of old, but I am also in the same situation. First, I need to travel to Harvard for an elective on B1 visa and then I am scheduled for an elective for the next month in Texas, which needs an F1 visa. I have both the visas, but I need to confirm whether I can travel to Mexico in between and re enter on a different visa? Is this allowed? How many days will it take and is it a very cumbersome procedure? Any help would be great. Thanks in advance.

I currently am in same boat. Will be needing to enter US in Nov on B1 for clinical clerkships from Nov to Feb end and then I will be starting my Masters on F1. Can any one update if going to Mexico or Canada and reentering on F1 works or is trouble some?
Help is highly appreciated.