ronitb2004

Can a visa statues be changed by traveling to Canada?
A friend of ours is in the process of boating his J1 visa (a visiting scholar) he is currently in the US on a tourist visa. Can he go to a us consulate in Canada or dose he have to travel all the way to Britain in order to do the visa statues change ?
Thank you so much for your help. Cheers.

crg

It is theoretically possible to get the visa in Canada, but they may be very reluctant to consider it in Canada if the person doesn't have any status there.

He may not want to try it unless he's prepared to fly back to the UK from Canada if he fails.

Mark Carroll

In article <[email protected]>,
ronitb2004 <member25611@british_expats.com> wrote:
(snip)
    >A friend of ours
    >is in the process of boating his J1 visa (a visiting scholar) he is
    >currently in the US on a tourist visa. Can he go to a us consulate in
    >Canada or dose he have to travel all the way to Britain in order to do
    >the visa statues change ?
(snip)

I am British and got my J-1 visa renewed in Toronto. (Warning: I was a
visiting scholar, switched to being a J-1 student for a bit, then
found that you can't switch back from student to scholar!) However, it
wasn't much of a risk for me because there was some deal whereby if
you only go out of the US for a short time, to a contiguous territory,
you could keep you old status instead of being particularly reexamined
for admission, so if they'd refused the renewal I'd not have been
stuck outside the US; I already had J-1 status. I can't remember the
specifics of that, though, and I don't know if it still exists.

-- Mark

ronitb2004

Thank you Mark. So what you are saying is that is I do try and get my statues change from B2 to J1 in Toronto and for some reason it dosen't work, I still have my B2 statues ?

Thank you for your help.

-- Ronit

Sylvia Ottemoeller

"ronitb2004" <member25611@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

    > Originally posted by Mark Carroll

    > > In article <[email protected]>,
    > > ronitb2004 <member25611@british_expats.com> wrote:

    > > (snip)

    > > >A friend of ours
    > > >is in the process of boating his J1 visa (a visiting scholar) he is
    > > >currently in the US on a tourist visa. Can he go to a us consulate in
    > > >Canada or dose he have to travel all the way to Britain in order to do
    > > >the visa statues change ?

    > > (snip)

    > > I am British and got my J-1 visa renewed in Toronto. (Warning: I was a
    > > visiting scholar, switched to being a J-1 student for a bit, then
    > > found that you can't switch back from student to scholar!) However, it
    > > wasn't much of a risk for me because there was some deal whereby if
    > > you only go out of the US for a short time, to a contiguous territory,
    > > you could keep you old status instead of being particularly reexamined
    > > for admission, so if they'd refused the renewal I'd not have been
    > > stuck outside the US; I already had J-1 status. I can't remember the
    > > specifics of that, though, and I don't know if it still exists.

    > Thank you Mark. So what
    > you are saying is that is I do try and get my statues change from B2 to
    > J1 in Toronto and for some reason it dosen't work, I still have my B2
    > statues ?

Things changed after 9-11. If a person travels to Canada or Mexico and
applies for a visa and is refused, the person cannot make use of "automatic
visa revalidation" to get back into the U.S. If you still have a valid visa
in the passport, you are eligible to be admitted to the U.S. in the status
of that visa, and to be issued a new I-94.

Therefore, if you have a valid B-2 visa, you may be able to re-enter the
U.S. in B-2 status after a J-1 visa refusal in Canada. It's up to the
immigration officer at the port of entry. Also, if you are a U.K. citizen
and you actually held visa waiver status, you may be able to obtain a new
period of visa waiver status, if the officer at the port of entry permits
it.

By the way, it is misleading to refer to the process of leaving the U.S. and
obtaining a new visa stamp as "changing status."

"Changing status" is a specific term which refers to changing status within
the U.S. through filing of Form I-539.

Also, while outside the U.S., you do not hold a temporary status. You only
hold status after entering the U.S. in a particular status.

crg

That's not very good advice. If you seek a visa for one purpose, get denied, and then immedietly seek admission back to the US under a different visa classification then you're setting yourself up to get nailed at the border. If you're seeking admission as a B2 with the intention of becoming a J-1 then you are subject to expedited removal and a 5 year bar pursuant to section 212(a)(7)(B)(i)(II) of the INA for having the wrong visa for your intended purpose. Even if you seek admission as a B2 with the intention of departing the US to get a visa in your home country before starting the J program they may still deny your entry. They will be very suspicious of your intentions.

Also, this doesn't have anything to do with automatic revalidation and 9/11. Auto reval only comes into play when you have an expired visa. Auto revalidation still requires someone to have a visa or I-94 that matches their intentions. Pre-9/11 you were barred from auto reval if you sought a visa while outside the US. The rule change after 9/11 barred citizens of certain terrorist source countries from using auto-reval at all.

"If you still have a valid visa in the passport, you are eligible to be admitted to the U.S. in the status of that visa, and to be issued a new I-94."

Correct. You are eligible to seek admission. You are also eligible to be refused. There are no guarrantees.

Sylvia Ottemoeller

"crg14624" <member20421@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

    > Originally posted by Sylvia Ottemoeller

    > > Things changed
    > after 9-11. If a person travels to Canada or Mexico and applies for a
    > visa and is refused, the person cannot make use of "automatic visa
    > revalidation" to get back into the U.S. If you still have a valid visa
    > in the passport, you are eligible to be admitted to the U.S. in the
    > status of that visa, and to be issued a new I-94.

    > > Therefore, if you
    > have a valid B-2 visa, you may be able to re-enter the U.S. in B-2
    > status after a J-1 visa refusal in Canada. It's up to the immigration
    > officer at the port of entry. Also, if you are a U.K. citizen and you
    > actually held visa waiver status, you may be able to obtain a new period
    > of visa waiver status, if the officer at the port of entry permits it.

    > That's not very good advice. If you seek a visa for one
    > purpose, get denied, and then immedietly seek admission back to the US
    > under a different visa classification then you're setting yourself up to
    > get nailed at the border. If you're seeking admission as a B2 with the
    > intention of becoming a J-1 then you are subject to expedited removal
    > and a 5 year bar pursuant to section 212(a)(7)(B)(i)(II) of the INA for
    > having the wrong visa for your intended purpose. Even if you seek
    > admission as a B2 with the intention of departing the US to get a visa
    > in your home country before starting the J program they may still deny
    > your entry. They will be very suspicious of your intentions.

I tried to draw a distinction between an entry which is prohibited by
regulation, like entry to the U.S. under automatic visa revalidation after a
visa application refusal, and an entry which may be refused, but is not
prohibited, like an entry using a valid visa after a visa application
refusal.

    > Also,
    > this doesn't have anything to do with automatic revalidation and 9/11.

The reason I brought this up was that poster Mark had heard of automatic
visa revalidation after visa refusal in the past, and Ronit thought that
what Mark said might apply to her. It is still not clear whether or not
Ronit has a valid B-2 visa. She referred to "B2 statues."

    > Auto reval only comes into play when you have an expired visa. Auto
    > revalidation still requires someone to have a visa or I-94 that matches
    > their intentions. Pre-9/11 you were barred from auto reval if you
    > sought a visa while outside the US.

Um -- the new regulatory provisions which prevented use of automatic visa
revalidation after a visa application refusal in Canada or Mexico were part
of an interim rule published in the Federal Register (specifically, 67 Fed.
Reg. 10323) on March 7, 2002, which had an effective date of April 1, 2002.

People could and did use automatic visa revalidation after visa refusal
right up until the effective date.

The rule change after 9/11 barred
    > citizens of certain terrorist source countries from using auto-reval at
    > all.

Yes, that was the same rule, effective April 1, 2002. Here's a site:
http://www.nafsa.org/content/Profess...evalid2002.htm.

crg

I'm almost positive that auto-reval has always been barred if you applied for a visa while outside the US and the only change was regarding the terrorist source countries.

The criteria were Canada, Mexico or adjacent islands only, less than 30 days, you have an expired visa, an I-94, didn't apply for a visa, and are otherwise admissible.

Sylvia Ottemoeller

"crg14624" <member20421@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

    > Originally posted by Sylvia Ottemoeller

    > > "crg14624" <member20421@british_expats.com> wrote in message
    > > news:1507198.-
[email protected]"]news:[email protected]
[/url]...

    > > > Originally posted by Sylvia Ottemoeller

    > > > Things changed
    > > > after 9-11. If a person travels to Canada or Mexico and applies for a
    > > > visa and is refused, the person cannot make use of "automatic visa
    > > > revalidation" to get back into the U.S. If you still have a valid
visa
    > > > in the passport, you are eligible to be admitted to the U.S. in the
    > > status of that visa, and to be issued a new I-94.

[snip]

Pre-9/11 you were barred from auto reval if you
    > > > sought a visa while outside the US.

    > > Um -- the new regulatory provisions which prevented use of automatic
visa
    > > revalidation after a visa application refusal in Canada or Mexico were
part
    > > of an interim rule published in the Federal Register (specifically, 67
Fed.
    > > Reg. 10323) on March 7, 2002, which had an effective date of April 1,
2002.
    > >
    > > People could and did use automatic visa revalidation after visa refusal
    > > right up until the effective date.
    > >
    > > The rule change after 9/11 barred
    > > > citizens of certain terrorist source countries from using auto-reval
at
    > > all.
    > >
    > > Yes, that was the same rule, effective April 1, 2002. Here's a site:
    > >
http://www.nafsa.org/content/Profess...evalid2002.htm"]http://www.nafsa.org/content/ProfessionalandEducationalResources/ImmigrationAdvisingResources/autorevalid2002.htm[/url].
    > I'm
    > almost positive that auto-reval has always been barred if you applied
    > for a visa while outside the US and the only change was regarding the
    > terrorist source countries.
    > The criteria were Canada, Mexico or
    > adjacent islands only, less than 30 days, you have an expired visa, an
    > I-94, didn't apply for a visa, and are otherwise admissible.

Did you look at the Federal Register of March 7, 2002?

Quote:

SUMMARY: Due to the need for greater security screening of visa applicants,
the Department is amending the provision for automatic revalidation of
expired visas for nonimmigrant aliens returning from short visits to other
North American countries or adjacent islands to exclude from its benefits
aliens who apply for new visas during such visits and aliens who are
nationals of countries identified as state sponsors of terrorism.

. . .

Why Is This Action Being Taken With Respect to Applicants for New Visas?

In some cases, persons who are abroad during an absence of 30 days or less
in contiguous terrigory opt to apply for a new visa during that absence in
lieu of relying on an automatic revalidation. Due to the need for greater
security screening of visa applicants, which in some cases may mean delays
in the issuance of new visas, the Department of State believes it is prudent
to restrict the ability of such persons to return to the United States prior
to the completion of all such checks and the issuance of a new visa.

crg

I did read it, but I learned about the no reval after visa application rule back in 2000. Maybe they won't even let you back in if you still have time left on the visa now.

Maybe the rule change now applies to people who still have some time left on their current visa who try to go north for a new one.

Sylvia Ottemoeller

"crg14624" <member20421@british_expats.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

    > I did read it, but I learned about the no reval after visa application
    > rule back in 2000.

Can you give any documentation of this rule in 2000?

Why would the State Department implement a change effective April 1, 2002
(Federal Register citation provided in my previous post), which had already
been implemented 2 years before?

Maybe they won't even let you back in if you still
    > have time left on the visa now.

Maybe?? These matters are ascertainable by reading regulations.

Of course they let you back in if you still have time left on the visa now.
F-1, J-1, and H-1B status holders take advantage of this right now. They
travel to Canada or Mexico with less than 60 days validity left on their
current visa, and apply for a new one, hoping to be successful so they don't
have to apply for the visa in their home country during later travel. If
unsuccessful, they can get back into the U.S. with their valid visa.

    > Maybe the rule change now applies to
    > people who still have some time left on their current visa who try to go
    > north for a new one.

But you said two days ago in response to my comment:

"If you still have a valid visa in the passport, you are eligible
to be admitted to the U.S. in the status of that visa, and to be issued
a new I-94."

Correct. You are eligible to seek admission. You are
also eligible to be refused. There are no guarrantees.