Valid Visa vs. Approval Notice – Don’t Mix Them Up!

Hello everyone,

As an attorney, clients often ask me one question: my petition has been approved, but my visa has expired — can I leave the US and come back?

This question actually involves two concepts. The first is the petition approval notice, and the second is a valid visa. These are completely different concepts.

First, the approval notice — such as an H1B or F1 approval — is proof that you can legally stay in the US. It means you are allowed to remain in the US.

But a valid visa is the key to enter the United States. Without this document, without this key, you won’t be able to reenter the US.

Let me give you an example. We had a client who filed a change of status from F1 to H1B within the US, and the change of status was approved. He received a piece of paper — this is the approval notice.

With this notice, as long as he does not leave the US, he can legally stay in the US, because he has this document.

But if he says, “I want to go home to visit my parents,” and he flies out, then when he returns, that paper alone is not enough.

He must have a valid H1B visa stamped in his passport. Only then can he use that visa — his key — to enter the US.

Because when you enter the country, it is not USCIS that checks you. It is US Customs and Border Protection. They need to see a valid visa in your passport.

So these are two different things.

To sum it up: if you want to enter the US, you must have the approval notice and a valid visa.

If you also have immigration questions, feel free to reach out to us.

Follow Zeng Law Group in New York — never be left without a solution.

Bye bye

哈喽大家好

作为一名律师，客户经常问我一个问题就是：我的申请已经批准了，但是我的签证过期了，我可以出境之后再入境美国吗？

这个问题其实涉及两个概念。第一个就是申请的批准信，第二个是有效的签证。这两个是完全不同的一个概念。

首先申请的批准信，比如说H1B批准或者F批准，它是你停留在美国的一个合法证据，也就是说你可以合法待在美国。

但是有效的签证，是你入境美国的一个钥匙。没有这个凭证、没有这个钥匙，你是没有办法入境美国的。

举个例子来讲，我们有客户，他是递交了从F1转到H1B的境内转身份的申请，而且这个转身份申请批准了。那么他就拿到了一张纸，这就是一个批准信。

凭借这个批准信，只要他不出境，他可以合法待在美国，因为他有这个凭证了。

但是如果他说我想回国去看父母的话，他要飞出去。那么他回来的时候，这一张纸是不够的。他必须要有一个有效的H1B签证，贴在他的护照上，那么他才可以持这个凭证或者这个钥匙入境美国。

因为你入境的时候，并不是移民局看的，而是美国的海关看的。海关需要看到有效的签证在护照上。

所以这两个是不同的概念。其实总体来讲，就是如果你要入境，你必须要有批准信，同时你要有一个有效的签证才可以。

如果你也有移民的问题，不妨找我们聊聊。

关注纽约曾晖律师，不再无计可施。

拜拜

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