US Immigration: 10 STEP Entry Checklist for non-citizens - Will you be allowed to Enter US?

Following 10 checks need to be done before you leave and enter the US:

1. Passport validity - check expiry date
   
1. If expired, you need a new passport. No need to go to your home country as you can get your passport renewed while staying in the US.
2. If VISA is valid beyond the passport expiration date, you don't need to go to your home country.
3. No need for an appointment at the embassy as long as you carry your old passport which has a valid unexpired visa in it.
4. In general, your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond the expiration of your period of admission to the United States, to ensure that you will be able to depart the United States at the end of your stay and proceed to your home country or another country.
5. Under international treaties, many countries have an agreement with the United States whereby a passport is deemed valid for an additional six months past its expiration date so that the passport holder can return to his or her country of citizenship.
   
   
2. Valid VISA: check validity dates
   A) Initial/Prior Visa - check expiry date
   If expired, you need to leave the US and get a new US VISA.
   F1 visa validity period - 5years from VISA grant date
   H1B visa validity period - 3years from VISA grant date
   If the visa stamp in your passport is expired then you need to have an H1B extension approval document
   B) New visa - check start date -
   Needs to start on/before Initial/Prior Visa expiry date.
   If starts significantly (2months+) after the Initial/Prior Visa expiry date; you might be entering out of status and you probably should leave the US and re-enter on/after the New Visa start date.
   If/when you leave the US, you need to get the new VISA stamped in your passport before re-entry. You can enter the U.S. up to ten days before your job is to start. C) Multiple entry VISA: Your visa must permit multiple entry. Otherwise, if the visa has a limited number of entries, it must have a remaining valid entry available on the intended date of reentry to the United States. D) Enter without VISA: With the exception of E-1 and E-2 treaty traders and investors, Canadian citizens generally are not required to possess a valid visa to enter the United States. 
3. I-94 validity date online - check entry allowed up to date
   If expired, you need a new appointment at the embassy in your home country or talk to your lawyer if they can arrange a petition to be filed to extend your “entry-allowed up to” date on your I-94. You will have this new i94 attached to your i797A notice of approval after you get an approved extension for your visa type.
   
   
1. If entering US on F1; your I-20 must have been signed by the foreign student advisor within the past six months.
2. If entering US on J1, the IAP-66 form must have been signed by your sponsor within the past year.
3. For non-work visas, it is recommended to carry documentation of financial support for your living expenses in US.
4. There are also limits on the amount of time you may stay outside the US before your visa becomes invalid. 
5. The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) is used to maintain entry and exit information about international students and exchange visitors in the United States.  
6. If a student on a F-1 visa is not able to complete their studies by the expiration date on the I-20 form, they must apply to the school's Foreign Student Advisor for an extension 30 days before expiration.
7. Extensions are normally granted for academic and medical reasons so long as there have been no violations of visa status.
8. It is possible to transfer schools after arrival on an F-1 visa. You will need to notify your current school of the transfer and obtain an I-20 form from the new school. You will complete the student certification section of the I-20 and must deliver it to the foreign student advisor at the new school within 15 days of beginning attendance at the new school.
9. If you are changing majors at your current school, you do not need to notify the INS. If you are changing degree programs (e.g., from a bachelors degree to a masters degree program), however, you will need to get a new I-20 and submit it to the foreign student advisor within 15 days of beginning the new program.
10. If you enter the United States through an air or sea port of entry, it is critical that you visit www.cbp.gov/I94 in order to print a paper version of the I-94 record. To access your I-94, enter your name and other requested information as it appears on your passport and, if you received one, on your CBP-issued admission stamp. The website will generate an I-94 that contains your admission information and a unique admission number. Ensure that the dates on the electronic version are correct. If there are any inaccuracies, please contact your designated Fragomen professional as soon as possible. You may need to visit a CBP deferred inspection station or port of entry to have inaccuracies resolved.
    
    
    
4. H1B Total 6 year period expiration - 
   
1. The H-1B visa and status with a single employer (without an extension) is only valid for 3 years from the VISA approval date. and can then be extended for another three years.
2. After you get an extension the period is extended by another 3 years for a maximum theoretical total validation period of 6 years.
3. Even if you do an H1B transfer from one employer to another, the total H1B validity period is limited to a strict 6years unless your employer files for an H1B extension.
4. H1B extension needs to be filed at least 6 months before your 6 year period expires.
5. It is not recommended that you travel internationally outside the US until your H1B extension is granted. 
6. You can apply for a 7th year H1B extension if the PERM was filed 365 days or more prior to the H-1B Extension application. You can keep filing 1-year H1B extensions as long as your PERM is pending.
   
   
   
5. Carry other applicable documents if you have any:
1. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection passport admission stamp;
2. A Form I-551 Permanent Resident Card (“green card”);
3. A Form I-766 Employment Authorization Document (EAD); and
4. A Form I-185 or I-186 Border Crossing Card for citizens of Canada and Mexico.
 


6. Check if you traveled during a pending Change of Status (CoS):
   In general, traveling during the pendency of a petition or application to change status will cause the change of status request to be deemed abandoned;
   though an underlying petition is still approvable if travel is undertaken, the applicant will in most situations need to travel abroad, obtain a new visa outside the United States, and then reenter.
   Travel during the pendency of an application to extend status should not cause the extension application to be deemed abandoned, provided that the applicant meets all the requirements for entry.
   However, USCIS has increasingly been denying Form I-539 extension of stay requests where a foreign national has departed the United States while the application is pending.
   Because your situation may vary, you should contact your immigration lawyer with whom you normally work to evaluate the facts and circumstances of your case.
   
   
   
7. Check if you need Advance Parole before leaving US -
   
1. If you are an applicant for adjustment of status to permanent residence, you must in some cases obtain advance permission to travel – known as advance parole – in order to leave the U.S. while your adjustment application is pending. 
2. If you travel outside the United States without advance parole while your application for adjustment is pending, the application will be deemed abandoned, except in certain limited cases. 
3. If you already have a valid H-1B, H-4, L-1A, L-1B, or L-2 visa, you may reenter the United States on that visa, without the need for an advance parole. 
4. However, international travel can have an impact on any applicant’s pending application for advance parole. 
5. Note, in addition, that the policies concerning H and L nonimmigrant family members who have been granted and have used employment authorization as applicants for adjustment of status are unresolved; until future guidance is received, individuals in these statuses who have worked in the United States pursuant to an employment authorization document issued in connection with their adjustment application should proceed cautiously, and obtain and use an advance parole for reentry to the United States.
   
   
   
8. Check if you notified DHS on your address change:
   

   All non-U.S. citizens, including lawful permanent residents, are required to notify DHS of changes of address within 10 days of such change. 

   The only foreign nationals exempt from this requirement are nonimmigrants in the A (foreign diplomats) and G (representatives of international organizations) visa categories, and nonimmigrants who are not required to possess a visa and are in the United States for fewer than 30 days. 

   You may notify USCIS of a change of address in one of two ways. You may file Form AR-11, the Alien’s Change of Address Card, online or by mail. 

   Failure to comply with the address change notification requirements may affect your ability to remain in the United States and your ability to reenter the United States after travel abroad; noncompliance may also be criminally punishable as a misdemeanor, with a fine not to exceed $200 and/or imprisonment of not more than thirty days. 

   It is imperative that you comply with the address change notification requirements, and we recommend that you make a copy of your address change form and other pertinent documents in the event that the Government alleges that you failed to comply. 

   If you are an applicant for an immigration benefit, you must notify the relevant USCIS office(s) processing the case by calling the agency’s National Customer Service Center at (800) 375-5283 or, if a paper Form AR-11 was filed, by using the online change of address system and providing the receipt number for your pending application.

   
   
   
9. Check if you ever overstayed in the US -
1. Overstaying the authorized period of your admission to the United States may cause you to be deemed unlawfully present or trigger laws that may result in the cancellation of your visa. 
2. Foreign nationals who overstay the period of authorized admission entered on their Form I-94 Arrival-Departure Record or CBP admission stamp may be subject to bars to admission to the United States. 
3. Overstaying for more than six months, or one year or more, may result in a bar of three or ten years, respectively. Overstays of as little as one day may trigger visa voidance provisions which would require you to return to your home country to apply for a new visa, except in very limited cases.
   
   
   
10. Check everything for your family -
    Always remember to check all of the above for all your family members & Dependents (Spouse/Child/etc.) who are travelling with you as well.

NOTE: Failure to carry a required document is a misdemeanor; for each offense, you may be fined up to $100, jailed up to 30 days, or both. While convictions for this offense are not common,

References:
http://www.edupass.org/immigration/info.phtml
http://www.edupass.org/immigration/immigration.phtml
http://www.edupass.org/immigration/maintenance.phtml

https://www.am22tech.com/h1b-extension-with-perm-pending-audit/

https://www.am22tech.com/i140-h1b-extension-or-transfer-after-6-years/

https://www.fragomen.com/migrated-sitemap-pages/know-your-obligations.html