C1-D Visa & ESTA

Upvote:4

I think there is a clearer way of looking at it.

When you leave, the US government matches your exit record with your most recent entry record, using your passport number and perhaps some other data. Sometimes, the match fails, and they think you're in the US when you aren't. If that happens, however, they do know that if you have a subsequent entry record that you must have left at some point before your subsequent entry.

So, generally speaking, after your second entry in a new status, your first status is definitely abandoned. Your second exit will be matched with your second entry, closing that status as well. (If your second exit was not recorded, then the US might think you've overstayed in the second status, in which case there is a procedure for sending in evidence to correct the record.)

If you returned from Mexico to the US in order to work as a crew member, your real concern ought to be your class of admission for the second entry. If you were in fact admitted as a visa waiver traveler, you may have violated that status by working as a crew member, which would make you ineligible to use the VWP in the future. The class of entry is not determined by the fact that you used ESTA to fly into the US. Rather, it is determined by the immigration officer who stamps your passport, and it should be written on the stamp.

Upvote:7

OK, so some Basic facts.

Firstly ESTA is not a visa, just a pre-authorization required to enter under the VWP (a visa-free provision) by air or sea.

Secondly and most importantly, you clearly believe that in the US, you can enter on a visa and exit on another.

This is not how it works.

You seek entry in a particular Status - on your last visit this was VWP ("on an ESTA" as you incorrectly put it), given that you got a WT stamp.

You can see here as well what Status you entered in on your last visit.

When you exit, you exit. You don't "exit on" anything at all, not even "on an ESTA", because that's not how the system works. You only enter in a Status, and when you leave the country, then you leave it. There's no classification for Exits, whatsoever.

Your last entry was on the VWP and that's it. Once you exited, you exited. In other words, your C1-D visa had no role in your last visit at all

And this could potentially be a Problem as pointed out by @phoog. You should have requested admission in C1/D Status by presenting the passport open at the visa page. As Crew work is not allowed under the VWP, you have violated the VWP conditions and may be banned from entering visa-free again (unless you apply for a new ESTA, the only way to find out is seeking admission again)

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