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F-1 visa stamping and stamping in third-country; Automatic Visa Revalidation (AVR)
I am in the US with an approved COS from B2 to F1, so my F1 visa is yet to be stamped on my (Indian)Passport.
1. My STEM masters program is for 9 months, and my I20 has a start and end date of 2 years(2026). Do I have to stamp before the end of 2 years to avail myself of the OPT and STEM validity?
2.I might have to visit a family member in Canada sometime in mid-2025 after my master's program has started. Is it advisable to go to Canada since I do not have the F1 stamped on my Visa? If I can visit, then will I require a different visa?
3. Is it possible for me to schedule my F1 Visa stamping in Canada during the visit? Or would you advise something different here? Or is it better to get it stamped in Mexico?
If you are on an F-1 visa converted from B-2, your visa stamp is only necessary if you plan to travel outside the U.S. While in the U.S., your status is governed by your I-94, which typically says "DS" (duration of status) and remains valid as long as you maintain your student status.
If traveling briefly to Canada or Mexico for under 30 days, you can use Automatic Visa Revalidation (AVR) to return without a visa stamp, provided you haven’t applied for and been refused a visa during your visit. Scheduling visa stamping in Canada is risky—if denied, you lose AVR eligibility and must return to India to reapply.
I-130 for parent: Visitor visa travel during pending I-130, any changes under Trump
I am a US citizen. I am planning to file an I-130 in January 2025 for my mom, who is currently residing in India. She plans to visit us in July 2025 (on her visitor visa, valid until Feb 2026). Can she travel to the US while the I-130 has been filed and is pending? What additional preparation/papers would she need if this is an issue? I have heard cases of denied entries in similar cases. I thought of postponing the I-130 until after her US visit next year, but I fear the process may slow down under the new administration. Please advise what would be the right thing to do since we would like for her to visit us in 2025.
If you are filing an I-130 for your parent, they can generally travel to the U.S. on a visitor visa while the petition is pending. Theoretically, they could face issues at entry due to the pending green card application, but in practice, parents of U.S. citizens are rarely stopped for this reason.
To reduce the risk of being denied entry, consider having your parent use an immigration pre-clearance airport, like Abu Dhabi or Dublin, so they can return home easily if denied. While past practices suggest minimal issues, policies could change, especially under unpredictable administrations.
B-2 Extensions, also discussing options for gay couples
Nonimmigrant Visas
B Visa extensions
Q1. I lost my mother recently and we brought our father soon after that. I have an older brother and both of us stay here in USA. He has a medical condition - semi-paralytic. My father has a B-2 multiple entry visa; arrived here on 27th Jan 2013, I-94 expired on July 26th and visa extension applied on June 14th. How long can he stay here in US until the decision is made? Will his multiple Visa get rejected if his extension is denied?
Normally I don’t recommend applying for extensions of tourist or business visa unless you have a very good reason for it. What happens is technically of course you can stay here while the decision is pending, but no later than the duration you have asked for in the extension application. Let’s say you asked for extension till September. You can stay here till the decision is made, but no later than September. But what happens is when you go for multiple entry visa stamping consulates do not like people getting extensions. Their concern is that a tourist visa is supposed to be for brief visits. Why are you going there and staying for a year, year and a half on tourist visa?
Also what happens is if you have stayed here too long and then when you want to come back again at the airport (even if you have a visa or visa is not an issue) you can have a problem because CBP (U.S. Customs and Border Protection) may not take too kindly to people who return back very quickly. They don’t want to see a situation where a person is living in USA and visiting their home country.
Q2. What is recommended, he leaves immediately or waits until his extension decision comes?
If you don’t want to apply for his Green Card and he wants to leave to go to India I am not sure what is good but if he leaves early it might be easy to come back and also get further visas. This is a difficult decision to make.
Tourist visa extensions for gay couples
(partner is on J-1)
Tourist visa for gay couples or partner in a gay relationship is acceptable and it can be extended. If you look at the Foreign Affairs Manual, which is the body of policies that governs consulate decisions, you could say there is an exception. Sometimes people might not qualify for J-2 because they are not married. It might be easy to get a tourist visa and to keep extending it. However, there is one issue here. Since DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) was overruled, gay marriages are now recognized. So I don’t know if they are going to change this policy of issuing B visas. Basically they would say that now you can get married and get J-2, so why are you not doing that. So to answer your question as to whether you can come and keep extending it, I don’t know the answer to that question under the present situation. Under the old situation you could have easily gotten extensions. So you can try, but keep in mind the earlier discussion on extensions (above). Consulates may not like it and CBP may not either.