I got my COPR recently with October as the expiry date. Once the travel ban is lifted, I am planning to drive to Canada from US to get the PR and return back to US using AVR option. I am currently on H1B and my visa got expired recently and I got H1B extended so I have a valid I-797. I know that in this case AVR option can be used but in my case, I have lost my passport with the Visa stamp. I got a new passport from the Indian embassy but my I94 record still has the old passport number. Can I still use the AVR option with a new passport(no visa stamp), and valid I-797 and I94 with lost passport number or do I need to plan to go for stamping to US consulate when I go to Canada?
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Best to consult a lawyer. I think you do need an expired visa on you passport for AVR (which is expired less than 1 year back).
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Your passports are linked. How do I know this? One of my friend who showed his both passports at border while returning to USA, the CBP officer entry stamped the expired passport by mistake. When he asked the CBP officer if that would be a problem she said they’re linked so that wouldn’t be a problem.
My initial guess is that it’ll be OK since the purpose of AVR is give you entry when you don’t have stamped visa (as long as you have I797 and other supporting documents such as company letter, old passport copy etc you should be fine). I know people who moved through multiple visa types (F-1 H-4 H -1) and didn’t have any new stamps and still got AVR.
In any case if you have a company lawyer it wouldn’t hurt to ask them if AVR can be availed.
I would be more worried about official border closures/restrictions, the mandatory requirement to quarantine for 2 weeks in Canada after landing, than the AVR. As always be prepared for the worst and have a backup plan in case you get stuck here in Canada.
Hello, I am in the same boat as you. Can you please confirm if you were able to travel back to usa via avr? Thanks!