Hey Guys,

A quick question for all. Hope you can contribute some.

I have few friends who are on OPT currently. Their Employer will be applying for H1 in April. they are thinking about going to Nepal in Jan however, they are concerned about their Visa and being able to return to US.

These friends work for mid size multinational companies. (Not a Desi consultancy or Contractor).

They work full time and regular employee, the offer letter states that H1 will be applied in April...

Let me know if u guys have heard about any one getting rejected .. or anything to be concerend about?

Thanks for your input guys..

Hey Bhusan...

i guess, to make my question clear..
they will be going on their OPT, they are just concerned if they will be able to come back..
they are not applying for H1B, coz they wont have thir I797.. and alo wont start till Oct 07. (if approved).
they would need to come back to US on OPT..
their current visa has expired.. but were Student till May and got OPT..
No illigal record.. No OC record... Tax record clean..

Btw,
one of my friends F1 visa expires on July 07... he is on his OPT right now..

Hey Bond,

I am also in similar situation. I remember having talked about leaving the country in OPT with my International counselor when she gave me a document and told me that with a clear cut offer later, one can leave country and come back with I-20 under F-1 category for the remaining OPT period. I also believe that the new visa will cover only the OPT period. Let me know if u get more info on this.

Thanks,

bond,,tell your friends to read everything that is written in their OPT card. it says,,"not valid for re-entry US" something like that,,which i noticed when i was in opt. i still remember my attorney banned me going any other country before my h1b officially started.
YOU CANNOT LEAVE USA WHEN YOU ARE IN OPT IF YOU WANT TO COME BACK.
let me explain little more...well,,lets say, you are in OPT now. if you have masters degree, you can have your H1B before october, if not, you need to wait till october. well.........the point is,,you cannot leave USA before you see yourself in H1B status, if you wanna come back and continue the job you have now. i hope you understand me clearly this time...if not,,let me know,,and if you wanna consult attorney i can give you the contact and talk to him.

well nector,,it is true you can go anywhere and come back to USA when you are student and your opt is not started. do you remember,,the international student center issues new I-20 for you and invalid your old I-20 when you apply for the OPT card?
so,,yes you can travel before they issue you a new I-20 for the purpose of applying your OPT card. once they issue that,,you cannot!

thanks Nector.. for you reply...
So are u going to Nepal on ur OPT? or did you already go?

If you are going to Nepal, then are you just taking your I-20 with your valid visa?
As OPT Card does not add any value...

thanks again...

BhusanB,
thanks for your input..really appreciate it. But one thing i am not getting is that..
techincally one is in F1 when he/she is in OPT right.. so as long as they have updated I-20 and has a valid Visa they should be okay?
its only for those who does not have visa and would need to apply for visa again would have a problem?

I have heard from people that some left country on OPT and were able to come back.. but I also hear rumors that some gets deported once they arrive in US.. (not sure how true it is) ..

His Co. has a lawyer, He is trying to get hold of him.

well bond,,the thing is you will still be in F-1 status even after you have OPT,,but the OPT period is given to you for your optional practicle purpose, and once you leave USA, they think you have completed your study and decided not to have the praticle training, and wont let you come back in.
i understand what you are confusing about, what if you are in opt and your visa is already expired...or still have a valid visa.....right? it doesnt matter!
a very important thing is ,,dont believe 100% what the staffs working in international student services say....they might be intern, or not immigration specialist..so,,its really good to talk with immigration layer,,they wont charge you anything,,just tell them im gonna take you to process my H1B but i wanna go to nepal now, can i do so or not..you will be given a solid suggestion for free.
but his suggestion will be no! dont leave the country if you wanna come back. (after issuing OPT card, before having h1b status) this is how my attorney suggested me. or if you still dont understand,,then see this:
OPT status I may also be in wrong concept,,i am just sharing my experience since i was also in the same situation as you are now.....rest is your decision...good luck.

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thanks bhusan...
i will post what i find after m friends talks to his lawyer..
i didnt go untill i got my H1.. and it was pretty smooth process..

Hi Frens,

Following is the part of the OPT instruction that my school has in their website:

TRAVEL & OPT

Travel while your OPT application is pending is not recommended as this may be considered abandonment of your OPT. Re-entry into the US at the port of entry may be denied. The exception to this is travel during Spring break (or before the current semester is complete). We recommend always having as much documentation with you as possible in order to assure your re-entry.
An F-1 student on Pre-completion OPT follows the same procedure for traveling abroad and re-entry to the US as all other F-1 students.

An F-1 student on Post-completion OPT who travels outside the US temporarily (less than five months) can re-enter the US to resume his/her employment for the remainder of the period authorized on the Employment Authorization Document (EAD). The student will need to present the following documents at the port of entry:
1. I-20 with OPT designation and current endorsement from DSO on page 3 (signature less than 6 months old).
2. Valid EAD
3. Valid passport (must be valid for at least 6 months).
4. Valid F-1 visa
5. Letter from employer verifying

To follow with what I said earlier, the instruction here says that after EAD authorization, a person leaving the country has to produce some documents at the port of entry. The most significant of that, as far as I can think, is the valid F-1 visa. I believe it is up to embassy to consider F-1 visa for the rest of OPT period once being out of the country. With valid F-1 visa, I dont see any obstacle in coming back.

To answer question by Bhusanb, they(international office) didnt issue new I-20 for me, they simply put the opt requested date on the third page of the I-20. May be different in ur case.

I also feel comfortable on arguing that during OPT period, we are still in F-1 status (which can be verified by the amount of tax deducted from our payroll which is in same percentage to what we were entitled as GA/TA/RA.) for different reason but completely allowed by the law. So, my judgement is that with correct document u can travel in and out of the country during OPT period. I would like to know other information if u guys may have.

Thanks,

nectar,
you are right and as long as you have a valid F1 visa there is no trouble in travelling. you can come and go as much as you want as you please.

but if you do not have one then i would advise you to go to canada and get it before traveling to your home country.

personally, i did it in canada. because my job required me to travel.
I never travelled to my home country in OPT.

Thapap,
Even if.. its F1 visa... but is on OPT.. ie. not current student?
are they going to ask ... what you gonna do between the lagg time coz my friends opt expries in June 07 and H1 will come in Oct.. ?

bond 007,in my understanding,anybody in OPT can come back if he/she has a job offer from a company here in USA.He should have VISA current.

well nanu, and thapap,,,i have no idea,,but i was banned by my companys' attorney to leave the country before i have my h1b. i was told the same thing when i issued my OPT I-20 from my college. so,,dont do any stupid act before you consult lawer and be clear about it. good luck!

Bhusanb,it is not recommended to take a risk and I agree on your input...I know one guy couple of years ago had to go back home in OPT coz his father died and he entered in USA in OPT showing job offer letter...And it is a legal process if you have job offer...But you never know US immigration...

hi guys!!
i have a question on the same regards. for instance if you have an OPT and you went to nepal and now you wanna come back to usa with a new I 20 from different university.what one needs to do in this case.

Hi Bond,

You can go on OPT and re-enter US if you are working full-time for your current employer.. of course you need to get a letter from your employer before you leave... but in this case since your friend's visa has already expired it is possible that the US Embassy may not stamp them the F1 visa again... because they already finished their studies.... so I would suggest not to take risk by going now....

HI Bhadgaule,

in your case,I think you need to do all the procedure again.... just like what you did when you applied for the student visa first

I went to UK while in OPT, I didn't have a job yet, I had no problems coming back to US. Of course I had a valid visa, so I guess having to re-apply for visa in Nepal might be risky, but if you have valid visa and OPT you can go anywhere and come back without any probs.

bond 007,
safest thing to do is go to nepal and come before the visa expires......

going to nepal on OPT is risky even though u may have f1 visa.

i wouldd not recommend it.