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Am I eligible for IWP Dropbox based on previous B1/B2, if I had an intervening F1?
Hello immihelp experts,
Here is my situation:
1. From 2002-2005, I was based in Bangalore and employed with a US MNC. During this time, I had a visa stamped B1/B2, Issued: July 2003, Expiration: Jun 2013. There is no annotation on this visa, and in fact I used the same visa to travel to the US in 2006 on behalf of a different company after I left the MNC in 2005.
2. In 2007, I relocated on an F1 visa to the US to do my Ph.D. In April 2013, I renewed this visa, (Expiration: Apr 2018), during which I was fingerprinted at the OFC center in Chennai and then I went through the IWP (not Dropbox). However, my I-20 expired Nov. 2013, as I graduated and am no longer a student in the U.S.
3. I have relocated to India in October 2013. I now need to travel to the U.S. for business purposes, for which I will be applying for a B1/B2 visa.
Note that my previous B1/B2 visa was never cancelled at least in my passport when I got my F1 visa. I am slightly confused about whether that visa continues to be valid even though I had an F1 visa from 2007 and all my subsequent entries to the U.S. were on F1, and supported by I-20s.
Question: Am I eligible for the interview waiver program dropbox for the new B1/B2 visa that I need to get?
The main points in the IWP Dropbox checklist that are applicable are:
- My most recent visa was issued in India
- I received my visa after January 1, 2008
- If I am applying for a B1/B2, C1D, or J visa, my prior visa in the same classification is still valid or expired within the last 48 months.
(the other conditions at http://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/in-ni...qualifications are all easily satisfied)
I'd like to ensure that the last line is true in the sense that though I had a B1/B2 visa stamped in my passport that was good till Jun 2013 (i.e. it expired within the last 48 months), I actually have not used this visa since 2007, and had a different primary visa (F1) that was used to travel to the U.S. I want to confirm that in this situation I would still be eligible for the Interview Waiver Program "Dropbox". I also want to make sure that the "most recent visa" and the
"prior visa in the same classification" can be of different types. In my case, the former is F1, and the latter is B1/B2.
Thanks very much for your help!
Regards,
SGH
Here is my situation:
1. From 2002-2005, I was based in Bangalore and employed with a US MNC. During this time, I had a visa stamped B1/B2, Issued: July 2003, Expiration: Jun 2013. There is no annotation on this visa, and in fact I used the same visa to travel to the US in 2006 on behalf of a different company after I left the MNC in 2005.
2. In 2007, I relocated on an F1 visa to the US to do my Ph.D. In April 2013, I renewed this visa, (Expiration: Apr 2018), during which I was fingerprinted at the OFC center in Chennai and then I went through the IWP (not Dropbox). However, my I-20 expired Nov. 2013, as I graduated and am no longer a student in the U.S.
3. I have relocated to India in October 2013. I now need to travel to the U.S. for business purposes, for which I will be applying for a B1/B2 visa.
Note that my previous B1/B2 visa was never cancelled at least in my passport when I got my F1 visa. I am slightly confused about whether that visa continues to be valid even though I had an F1 visa from 2007 and all my subsequent entries to the U.S. were on F1, and supported by I-20s.
Question: Am I eligible for the interview waiver program dropbox for the new B1/B2 visa that I need to get?
The main points in the IWP Dropbox checklist that are applicable are:
- My most recent visa was issued in India
- I received my visa after January 1, 2008
- If I am applying for a B1/B2, C1D, or J visa, my prior visa in the same classification is still valid or expired within the last 48 months.
(the other conditions at http://www.ustraveldocs.com/in/in-ni...qualifications are all easily satisfied)
I'd like to ensure that the last line is true in the sense that though I had a B1/B2 visa stamped in my passport that was good till Jun 2013 (i.e. it expired within the last 48 months), I actually have not used this visa since 2007, and had a different primary visa (F1) that was used to travel to the U.S. I want to confirm that in this situation I would still be eligible for the Interview Waiver Program "Dropbox". I also want to make sure that the "most recent visa" and the
"prior visa in the same classification" can be of different types. In my case, the former is F1, and the latter is B1/B2.
Thanks very much for your help!
Regards,
SGH
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