H-1B employees who wish to travel outside the U.S. should carry the following documents:

• Original H-1B approval notice (form I-797)
• A valid passport
• Valid H-1B visa
• Letter from the employer verifying employment, title, job duties, and salary

Traveling with an expired visa:

If your H-1B visa is expired, you are required to obtain a new visa in under to re-enter the U.S. under the H-1B status. This requires making an application at a U.S. Embassy/Consulate in the country you will be visiting. In addition to the approval notice and letter from the employer, H-1B employees are advised to carry copies of their 3 most recent pay stubs when applying for a new visa. For travel to Canada or Mexico with an expired visa, see the section on "Travel to Canada, Mexico or adjacent Caribbean Islands".

Travel while change of status to H-1B is pending:

If you are in the process of changing your status to H-1B and you travel outside the U.S., you will be considered to have abandoned the change of status portion of your application with the USCIS. This means that you would have to wait abroad until the H-1B application is approved before you can apply for an H-1B visa and re-enter the U.S. under the H-1B status.

If you re-enter the U.S. under a different nonimmigrant status while your H-1B application is pending, you will not be considered to be an H-1B status even if the USCIS approves the change of status application that was pending at the time of your departure. You would then be required to travel outside the U.S. in order to re-enter under the H-1B status. Employees who have a pending change of status application through UMDNJ are advised not to travel while the application is pending, unless absolutely necessary.

Travel while extension of status is pending:

Travel while an extension of status is pending is not considered abandonment of the application. However, if you travel while the application is pending, you will need a valid H-1B approval notice in order to re-enter the U.S. under the H-1B status. If the application for extension of status has not been approved by the time you re-enter the U.S., you may use your previous approval notice, as long as it has not expired. If your previous approval notice has expired and the application for extension of status has not yet been approved, you will be denied entry to the U.S.