J-1 Visa expiry date and Return Flights
 

Hey, I have a question that I've been trying to find the answer to for a while now, so I'm hoping someone on this forum will be able to help me out :)

I recently received my J-1 Visa for America, my question is regarding return flights and the visa period.

I'll try explain it a bit more clearly:

My J-1 visa is for a student exchange for 1 semester. It is valid between: late August and mid December. (Not including the 30 day grace period on each side).

My flight to America leaves in late July (which is within the 30day grace period before classes). However my return flight is booked for the mid February (outside the 30 day grace period after classes finish).

However I am planning to leave America and go to Mexico or Costa Rica around mid January (when the J-1 Visa grace period expires), and then return to America a week later using the Visa Waiver Program, then in mid Feb leave America.

So my question is, while trying to get into America will the officer reject me from entering because my return flight date is booked for after my J-1 Visa expires?

I hope that makes sense, if you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Kind Regards,
Peter

You should pose this question to either the international student advisor (if you are affiliated with a university in the US) or with the attorney or J-1 company that processed your paperwork. It is risky accepting advice regarding this matter on such a forum, as more information than you have provided is needed in order to provide a proper response.

Good luck.

Obviously, none of this is legal advice. The agency in charge of immigration inspection is Customs and Border Patrol and their website appears to be directly on point. A bit of clicking around will get you to this page which contains a Word document detailing entry procedures for different visa categories including J-1.

That document states you need your passport, visa, the envelope given to you by the embassy when you applied for the visa, your SEVIS paperwork and proof of financial resources. It does not say that a return ticket is required (unlike a tourist entering on VWP).

However, you should also contact the international student department of the place where you will study and ask them the same question and let them know of your plans. They will be able to tell you exactly what to do and can also assist you if there is any question about whether or not you meet the requirements to enter on a J-1 visa when you arrive. It is recommended you carry the name and phone number of the liaison when you arrive in the U.S.

Thank you both for the quick response,

I will email the university and ask them the same question, hopefully they have had a similar situation in the past.

Thank you,
Peter Melouney

First things first. Welcome to FT, Peter!

If I were you, I would edit out my full name right away. I am not saying FTers are dangerous in any way but I wouldn't feel comfortable disclose any piece of personal data/info online that might have any legal implication, and/or be held against oneself in the future, especially in your case. While you edit out your last name, take out the specific dates of your travel plans & visa expiration. Better safe than sorry.

(bolding mine)

Judging by the way you arrange your travel plans, it seems you want to take advantage of your J-1 and VWP to the fullest. I am not saying there's anything wrong with it, but you leave no margin of errors when cutting your departure dates right on the 30th day of the grace period.

What if the weather didn't cooperate and your flights canceled? Not sure which city/state you will be for your fall semester, but December and January do have better chances to have weather-related issues when it comes to flying. Weather is very much unpredictable and I doubt you'd get "extra" grace period for your visa when it hits you with flight cancellation. Are you willing to take the risk or accept the consequences of overstaying your visa?

If I were you, I probably would have planned it differently, departing at least 24 hours, if not 48, before the status expires.

I was on F-1 visa and had plenty of exchange with international student/immigration advisors at university. The rationale of a 30-day grace period for student/scholar visa holders is that they will leave the country when the status expires and need time to pack and prepare for the departure. Yet you plan to return in a month from Mexico/Costa Rico under VWP. Throwing in VWP may complicate the issues even further. Some folks try very hard to dance around the "max days" of VWP staying in the States by taking sidetrips to neighboring countries, but it doesn't always work like that. I am no expert on VWP but read a handful of threads on FT with incident reports. I learn it won't be fun to violate the terms for VWP when you may face a 10-year ban (or something?) from ever touching U.S. soil.

I agree with others that you should consult with the proper authorities and legal consultant of your sponsor. If you have any plan to return to the States as a visitor, immigrant, employee, or something, you probably don't want to have a black remark of any kind on your paperwork with the United States of America.

Here are some discussion threads that may be of interest to you:

Problem? US Visa expires Mar1, flight leaves 12:30am Mar2

Visa Waiver Questions (Or rather, I need opinions!)

Good luck and enjoy your fall semester.

If you enter with a J1 visa the officers will not ask for any return ticket nor is it required so entering should be no problem. It is not illegal to go to another country and then try to enter on the VWP, but you may be heavily questioned and your case is in a grey zone. The US is very stringent on this. In most other countries this would not be a big problem.

(Again, not legal advice :-) ) I don't see anything inherently against the rules in this travel plan. It's entirely correct that there are limitations on VWP once you enter the U.S. on VWP, leave and then come back also on VWP. However, what is happening here is different because the previous entry was under a non-tourist visa.

Now, it is quite possible and perhaps likely that the immigration inspectors will be very curious about your travel plans if you do this. That's why it always pays -- but especially in a scenario like this -- to have everything in order. "Everything" being a ticket to one's home country (not just a ticket out of the U.S. but a ticket to your home country or to another continent), proof of adequate finances, proof of where you will be staying, and a clear explanation of what it is exactly that you intend to do during your visit to the U.S. Proof of some kind of commitment in one's home country is very helpful also (e.g. proof of enrollment at a university or a job offer).

Ultimately, though, this is a separate issue from entry under a J-1 visa and the university won't really be able to offer advice on this issue. Entry into the U.S. on VWP is a discretionary matter and people do get turned away if immigration inspectors have a suspicion that the person is going to try to find work, settle permanently in the U.S. or engage in any "non-touristic" activity. That's why all the documents above are important to rebut this suspicion.

In short, staying in the U.S. on a work or study visa of some kind, leaving when the visa expires and then coming back as a tourist can and quite possibly will invite a few questions from immigration inspectors since it does fit the profile of someone who doesn't really intend to leave the U.S. On the other hand, it is not obviously against the rules and having one's documents and a clearly stated purpose in order will help a lot.

You misunderstood me. Let me try again.

I didn't say there's anything wrong with OP's intended travel plan. What I see is OP wants to take advantage of both J-1 and VWP. By his throwing in VWP into his (2nd) travel plan so soon after his "assuming departure" (on J-1 visa) from U.S. may complicate things and raise some red flags.

Weather can interrupt his travel plan, so can agents at POE. Like you had suggested, OP might not even be granted then got in from Mexico/Costa Rica under VWP. Is this a consequence OP is willing to accept?

"Intent" is very important for the immigration inspectors when VWP is in the picture. You don't want to be falsely accused of something you don't intend to do. However, it'll be very difficult to prove your "no-intent" when suspicion is raised. I've heard a few unfortunate stories about VWP entry (or denial entry) on FT that I am cautioning OP's using VWP to re-enter U.S. in January, 2012.

We all want our travel plans end with happy notes but things just can happen. Not only so, sometimes things can go very wrong. Here's another example from FT with a "mixed bag of intents":

Canadian Girlfriend got seriously hassled before entering US this time

My advice for OP is to revise your travel plan unless you have reassurance from your legal counsel. Like I said, better safe than sorry. You can't be too cautious.

Not advice, just info. When you enter on a certain visa class, you have to abide by the visa class. If you enter on a J-1 and you are permitted to stay to a certain date, you need to leave by that date (plus any grace periods). If you reenter on a different visa, you then have to abide by that visa. The wild card is CBP, which is the final arbiter of whether you are permitted to enter the country. If the officer believes that you are circumventing the visa process or will not abide by the terms of the visa, they have the right to refuse entry.

Bottom line is that there are many people with multiple visas and multiple visa classes. It is their responsibility to know the terms of the visa on which they were admitted and to adhere to the terms. You can consult with your lawyer, mother or priest, but in the end you are the one responsible for your visa.

Don't some J visa's have a two year requirement?
What I mean by two year requirement, is that you are required to go back to your country, and live in your home country for two years before returning to the U.S. as an immigrant, unless you get a J waiver-- yes another waiver. I am not up-to-date with all the details of J visa.

Oh, I completely agree.

I also have to add more caution than in my original statement. The State Department's J-1 website says the following:
Yaatri's comment also appears to be right but the two-year exclusion appears to apply to immigrant visas or H, K or L visas. Tourists enter under B visas (and VWP visitors apply to waive the B visa requirement) but, yes, I agree this is some hazy territory we are getting into.

I appreciate all the replies regarding my question, tomorrow I'll be figuring out how must it costs to change my return flight to inside the 30 day grace period. If it isn't to expensive it's better to be safe then sorry.

I've also decided to book an appointment with the US consulate in Sydney and hopefully get a straight forward answer.

Again, thanks for the information and help.

Peter

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.