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I am a French national and currently working in the US under a J-1 visa. This visa will expire on May 30. I intend to leave the US to travel to Central America and Mexico, then to re-enter the country on June 28 to take my baggage and leave the US on June 30. I know this is a risky situation, as I am not supposed to leave and then re-enter the US during my 30-day grace period after the J-1 expires.

Would an ESTA solve my case at Immigration?

Can I apply for an ESTA being in possession of a J-1 visa and then re-enter using the Visa Waiver Program?

(It is specified on the ESTA website that you can apply for a new authorization if, "You are currently not in possession of a visitor's visa.")

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    Note that a US visa is only for entry and the visa's expiration date only means the last day on which you can use the visa to enter the US. It has nothing to do with your ability to stay in or leave the US. Your ability to stay in the US is determined by your status, which for J1 is generally determined by your DS-2019.
    – user102008
    Apr 25, 2016 at 21:59
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    I am in the same situation (exact same dates actually), but I was thinking that it was easier to just take the baggage to Mexico and fly back to Europe from there. Maybe even send excess luggage, that I don't need in Mexico, home on its own. Have you considered this option? Feb 8, 2017 at 17:31

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Simple answer: Yes!

The 30-day grace period exists to give you time to relocate out of the US - it allows you to stay in the country for up to 30 days, but without being able to work/study/etc, as technically you are out of status as your J1 has finished/expired. If you leave the country during this period then you can not re-enter using your J1, as it is no longer valid. In effect, once you leave the country, your grace period ends (even if it's less than 30 days).

However, you can re-enter the country using other means at any time after you leave - even if it's within the 30 days. This could be by applying for another type of visa (eg, B1/B2), or if you are from a VWP country, then by getting an ESTA.

You should have no issue obtaining an ESTA even through you have a current visa. If you do have any issue, you can simple re-apply after your J1 has expired as at that time you will not hold a valid visa.

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  • @Doc Are there no measures to prevent people from doing 'visa runs' to Mexico in order to prolong their VWP status? Feb 8, 2017 at 17:29
  • @ThomasAhle You can always be refused entry at the border, but for a first-time VWP entry (even if following a J1) it's extremely unlikely - especially given that the fact you did it is an indication that you are trying to stay legal (rather than just overstaying the J1). After the VWP entry expires, attempting to do this again will almost certainly fail.
    – Doc
    Feb 9, 2017 at 6:57

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