maths

I have three questions. I would be very grateful if you could answer
any of them

I am in the US on a J1 visa which ends on August 28th (though I
believe I am still allowed to travel in the US for 30 days after
that). However I am going to Brazil in July and was considering
returning to the US on august 25th for a holiday of about a week. I am
a UK citizen.

1. Would I be able to enter the US on my J1 or would that be too close
to the end date? Should I instead just enter on a visa waiver, or
would that seem strange since I was in the US a month previous on a
student visa?

2. The university that sponsored my visa is on the east coast. Would
it seem strange for me to enter the US on the west coast (as that is
where I want to take my holiday?).

3.Finally this question is a different issue that I am thinking about.
I am considering re-entering the US earlier (start of august) and
doing some volunteer work for 2 weeks.
I have got mixed responses from the organization. One person said to
do volunteer work "You need a B-1 or B-1/B-2 which you can get at the
border." Is that true? Would I be able to get it at the border having
not done an interview? Another person said I could probably do it on
my student visa or else a visa waiver?

Any help at all is appreciated.
Please reply to the group as the email address doesnt work.

Thanks
Dave

ian-mstm

As long as the J1 is valid, it's valid.


Not strange at all.


If it is legitimate volunteer work (read: not working for free, or working for some other benefit such as food, housing, etc), then you can do that on a J1. If the volunteer work is something that others get paid for but for which you won't be paid, that isn't legitimate volunteer work.

Ian

maths

> If it is legitimate volunteer work (read: not working for free, or
> working for some other benefit such as food, housing, etc), then you
> can do that on a J1. If the volunteer work is something that others get
> paid for but for which you won't be paid, that isn't legitimate
> volunteer work.

This is legitimate volunteer work through a volunteer group. It has
nothing to do with the university that sponsored my visa however.
Would that be a problem? Would I tell the immigration officer as I'm
entering that I'm doing volunteer work with my J1 visa?


One more question, slightly unrelated. Lets say for arguments sake I
stayed the whole summer in brazil until my J1 visa had run out. Would
I be able to enter the US on a visa waiver given that I am from a
country that takes part in the waiver program (UK) but I would be
flying from a country that does not take part in the waiver program
(Brazil)? Also would it matter that I was in the US so recently on a
visa?

Thanks
Dave

Jozef

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected] oups.com...
>I have three questions. I would be very grateful if you could answer
> any of them
>
> I am in the US on a J1 visa which ends on August 28th (though I
> believe I am still allowed to travel in the US for 30 days after
> that). However I am going to Brazil in July and was considering
> returning to the US on august 25th for a holiday of about a week. I am
> a UK citizen.
>
> 1. Would I be able to enter the US on my J1 or would that be too close
> to the end date?

You can enter the US up to and including the last day of the validity of the
visa in your passport. Make sure you have your DS-2019 on you and that it is
still valid. Yes, you are allowed remain in the US 30 days beyond the end
date of your J-1 visa, but it is up to the immigration officer at the port
of entry how long to admit you to the US if you arrive that close to your
end date. Maybe you should just enter on a Visa Waiver. Then you would have
90 days. Fill out a green I-94 card in that case.

> Should I instead just enter on a visa waiver, or
> would that seem strange since I was in the US a month previous on a
> student visa?
> 2. The university that sponsored my visa is on the east coast. Would
> it seem strange for me to enter the US on the west coast (as that is
> where I want to take my holiday?).

Neither should be a problem. When asked, just explain the situation.

> 3.Finally this question is a different issue that I am thinking about.
> I am considering re-entering the US earlier (start of august) and
> doing some volunteer work for 2 weeks.
> I have got mixed responses from the organization. One person said to
> do volunteer work "You need a B-1 or B-1/B-2 which you can get at the
> border." Is that true? Would I be able to get it at the border having
> not done an interview? Another person said I could probably do it on
> my student visa or else a visa waiver?

You can do volunteer work - that is, work usually done by unpaid
volunteers - while in valid J-1 status. Also, it is ok to perform this type
of work while on a Visa Waiver.

Note that visas are issued by US consulates abroad, not at the border posts.


Jozef

ian-mstm

It should not matter that your volunteer work is not for your sponsor. If the officer specifically asks whether or not you plan to do volunteer work, then tell the truth... otherwise, I wouldn't even mention it.


This is a good question. Travellers on the VWP can arrive in the US at land posts from Canada and Mexico, so there seems to be some precedent for landing in the US from a non-VWP country... but you'll probably need to speak to someone at the Department of State to find out for sure. It shouldn't matter that you had another recent visa to the US.

Ian