travelmonkey

I am currently on a J1 visa which expires May 1, 2008 it then allows me 30 days in the country travelling time. I am hoping to do a trip which lasts 6 weeks so my question is if I was to leave the country on May 1st (go to canada) would I be able to re-enter on a Visa Waiver and be entitled to the 3 months that I would be normally?

Any help greatly recieved!

crg

You can do it, but I'd bring those six week tickets with you to show at the border along with anything else you can bring to show that you will depart the US. It can be risky. You may also want to file an I-539 to change status to a B-2 instead.

ian-mstm

It's not "travelling" time so much as it's "pack up and make arrangements to leave the US" time. It allows you 30 days *if* you are *in* the US. If you leave the day your visa expires, you have no basis on which to re-enter.


I don't believe Canada participates in the VWP... unless something has changed in the last few years. At any rate, short trips to Canada does not usually result in a resetting of the clock for visa purposes.

Ian

travelmonkey

Thank you for you help guys. I think I need to phrase this better: I am a UK citizen and will be leaving the country for 4 days and my J1 will have expired on the day I leave I am actually going to the Caribbean. Then i'll be coming back to the USA to undertake in a Trek America trip and I am wondering if there are then any restrictions on returning to the US for holiday purposes right away?

I have been told that if I hand in the white card for resident visitors that I have now (the entry exit card) that is in my passport on my way out of the country. I can just fill in the green form for visitors on my way back in and enter the US on a visa waiver. I will have all of the documents showing my trip lasts for 6 weeks and i will also have a ticket back to the UK booked for when the trek finishes. Do you think this is ok?

scrubbedexpat099

I would have let more time elapse before re-entering, but its a crap shoot, nobody can tell you for certain.

crg

It's quite common for J-1 to do this. It's not frowned upon as much as people stringing VWP trips together. Plane tickets help a lot.

k1journey

I did this in October 2001. My J1 expired on Oct 31st 2001. Left on a cruise ship from Florida on the 28th. Went on a Caribbean Cruise with a stop in Mexico. Returned to New Orleans and the Immigration guy asked if I would like to extend my J1 Status. I said no and then he stamped me with the regular VWP tourist stamp. I was leaving for the UK on Nov 18th so it worked out perfect.