Traveling to US territories with valid H1B status but no visa/stamp in passport

Upvote:2

Answering my own question. I have successfully traveled MA->Puerto Rico->MA and the only document they checked was my US driver's license. 

An attorney that works with my employer, however, told me to have my I-797 and a few most recent paystubs with me which I did, but again nobody asked me for them. I also carried my Russian passport (загранпаспорт).

Upvote:3

The original question has already been answered, however I want to share my experience from this past weekend Feb 27th.

we were 3 adults - 2 with expired H1b stamp but valid 797 and one without F-1 stamp but valid 797 + I20.

  1. There was no checking while flying into St. Thomas.

  2. While coming back there were CBP check points similar to immigration counters when you arrive from outside USA. They looked at our documents (797's and I-20 (with valid travel signatures) to verify our legal status.

  3. Asked us a few questions like where do we live, where did we stay in US VI, how long were we there, where do we work, where does the F-1 person studies and then they let us go to security.

  4. It was fast and easy and one should not have any issues travelling back and forth as long as you are in legal status.

I hope this helps.

Upvote:4

Adding another experience to the above question:

  • Successfully travelled from mainland US (New York) to USVI and back:
  • Entry to USVI needed only a drivers licence (had a Real ID)
  • Exit from USVI was the full immigration experience: a CBP window like you have on arrival into USA from an international flight, except it was in the USVI St Thomas airport
  • Officer asked for "proof of eligibility to be in the US"
  • Handed her my passport with expired H1-B, along with I-797/I-94 which proved approval for visa extension. This was looked at for a few seconds, after which I was let through

Overall a very smooth process, but key takeaways are:

  • Travel from USVI to Mainland US required proof of elibiblity to be in the US
  • Proof of eligibility can be a I-797 notice of action for visa renewal, if the H1-B has expired

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