Originally Posted by lenajung

hey peter! this thread has been last active 6 years ago but hopefully you see this and reply me!
i'm in the same situation as you, on a j1 visa for an exchange program in the us. however, I'm required to stay on for an extra month beyond my j1 grace period for a study trip planned by my home university. i'm also going to leave the country to mexico/canada and re-enter through ESTA under the visa waiver program. Was just wondering if there were any problems going through customs for you at this stage? i did read somewhere that reentering the USA through mexico or canada under a waiver program so soon after the j1 (or any visa for that matter) expires might raise some red flags and even possibly refusal into the country.