OPT - urgent questions

[michellem27 0]

Hello everyone,

I need some urgent help. This is my information:

-My application for OPT was received on March 10, 2014 and it is still on the initial review stage because it hasn't been 3 months yet.

- I already have a job offer

- My 1-20 program end date is May 10, 2014

- My OPT start date is July 8, 2014

I want to leave the USA this Tuesday, May 13th. I can't work until July, so while I wait I want to go home. My problem is that my OPT has not been approved and I haven't received my EAD card yet and my I-20 program date will finish in two days.

1.) Can I leave the country and have someone mail me the EAD card when it arrives?

2.) Will my OPT be denied because I left the country without it being approved first?

I really need to know because I already have my plane ticket and I don't know if I should wait for my OPT to be approved and then leave or just leave and have someone mail it to me? Has anyone experienced my same situation or do you have any advice? Thank you!

[Pickle 65]

1) Yes, you can leave the country and let someone mail it to you, BUT...

2) .... it is a possibility to get denied if you leave pending your approval. However, I'm not sure if people leaving the country before OPT approval are actually being tracked. I do know that when I called USCIS about the same issue I experienced 6 months ago, a tier 2 told me that I will get denied if I leave the country before my OPT was approved. So I don't know if he was just trying to scare me, or if that is actually what can happen.

[NancyNguyen 1,658]

EAD is not a re-entry permit or a visa, you will not be able to enter the US even with an EAD card.

[Pickle 65]

OP will be able to if the I-20 is current. But you are right, EAD is not a re-entry permit. It is just safer to have the EAD on hand at POE, even if they don't ask for it. That shows that the OPT was approved.

[NancyNguyen 1,658]

When he got OPT, it means he finished school so there is no valid I-20 here. By the way, I-20 is not also a visa or reentry permit also. With EAD, he will be denied entry within CBP jurisdiction if he can't prove he will leave country after his OPT is done.

[Pickle 65]

Sorry, but have to disagree with you. Why? Because I am on OPT and also had to travel back to my country after I finished my studies! My DSO created a new I-20 for me that says something about OPT on it (don't have it with me right now, so don't know the exact wording). So AFTER I finished my studies, I went back to my country and came back to the US on my CURRENT OPT I-20.

You are right, OPT by itself is not a valid permit to enter the country, but you cannot enter without it either. CBP stamped both my new I-20 and valid F1 Student Visa with D/S. Didn't ask for my EAD, but they could have if they wanted to.

[NancyNguyen 1,658]

Sorry, but have to disagree with you. Why? Because I am on OPT and also had to travel back to my country after I finished my studies! My DSO created a new I-20 for me that says something about OPT on it (don't have it with me right now, so don't know the exact wording). So AFTER I finished my studies, I went back to my country and came back to the US on my CURRENT OPT I-20.

You are right, OPT by itself is not a valid permit to enter the country, but you cannot enter without it either. CBP stamped both my new I-20 and valid F1 Student Visa with D/S. Didn't ask for my EAD, but they could have if they wanted to.

That means they believe you will come back after OPT is finished. Not everyone can persuade CBP officer upon entry with an EAD card and valid I-20. You should count yourself lucky because your F1 visa is still valid. OP has no valid visa by the way, only EAD.

Edited June 12, 2014 by NancyNguyen

[Pickle 65]

They didn't ask me any questions about returning back to my country or asked for any documents, so yes I guess I was lucky

Well, we don't know if OP has a valid visa or not, since it wasn't mentioned. Program end date on I-20 and visa expiration is not necessarily the same date. The dates on my I-20 and visa were almost a year apart! But yes s/he will be in trouble if the visa was not valid anymore!