My H1B visa got approved, however, I haven’t received my passport yet (10 days later). After many calls and emails I finally went to the embassy again and I was told that there are some governmental/administrative issues and it might take up to one month for the visa to be stamped in my passport (but they confirmed again it was approved). Given that, I will most probably have to go to the US after my start date. Of course I emailed my employer about it but I wanted to ask if anyone knows what would happen in this situation? Can I enter US after my start date, given that the delay is not because of me (and it should be easy to prove the timeline of the passport return process if needed)? Should I expect for the start date to be delayed by my employer? Thank you!
-
"there are some governmental/administrative issues and it might take up to one month for the visa to be stamped in my passport" — are you sure the visa is finally approved, and you're not sent to the administrative processing (better known as SAO; Security Advisory Opinion)? If it's the latter, it may take from weeks to years, and you've probably got requested some extra documents like CV.– yeputonsNov 21, 2022 at 23:36
-
1@yeputons when I checked on the US Department of State page, it says clearly "Approved". Then below it says "Your visa is in final processing. If you have not received it in more than 10 working days, please see the webpage...". So I would say it is approved. But I have never heard of SAO, so could it be that if it says Approved?– user132187Nov 22, 2022 at 0:32
-
The status on the website is typically either "rejected" or "under administrative processing" with SAO, IIRC.– yeputonsNov 22, 2022 at 0:36
3 Answers
Given that, I will most probably have to go to the US after my start date.
Yes. You cannot enter the US without your passport and visa in hand.
Of course I emailed my employer about it but I wanted to ask if anyone knows what would happen in this situation?
You just have to sit tight and wait it out. You employer needs to delay your official start date until you can legally allowed to work in the country.
Can I enter US after my start date,
Yes
given that the delay is not because of me
That's irrelevant
Should I expect for the start date to be delayed by my employer?
That's the only viable option. While it's frustrating and infuriating for all parties, that's the way the US government works. Most companies that are hiring with H1Bs are used to that type of delay and will deal with it.
You can most definitely enter after the start date of your visa, and your actual start date will probably be adjusted by the employer to when you can come to the office (unless they allow remote work).
-
Thank you for this! I was not sure if changing the start date is possible, given that when I applied for the visa I declared the original start date (which is now impossible). I was not sure if that can cause an issue. Actually my work is remote (it is a major software engineering company that allows that - it would have been mainly remote even if I was in the USA). However, can I actually start working remotely outside the USA? Won't there be issues with taxes and stuff (although I already rented a place in the US so my residency now is officially in the US)? Nov 22, 2022 at 0:36
-
@user132187 that may create some complications for you and the employer since you'll be working in your home country and the employer would need to comply with the local laws and regulations - not every employer would want that, especially if you're a singleton. Nov 22, 2022 at 0:45
No, you can not enter the US after your "visa start date", but only because US Visas don't have a start date!
US visas have an "Issue Date" and an "Expiration Date". You can use your visa to enter the US any time between when it is issued to you, and the expiration date.
Given you are on a work visa, there is an additional requirement that you may not enter the country more than a certain number of days BEFORE you are due to start working (it's 10 days for some visas, but I'm not sure for H-1B), however there are no corresponding rules for entering after your intended start date.
-
H1b visas do in fact have a "visa start date", It's Oct 1st of the year, or the employment start date if later, and you cannot start working before that date or enter the country 10 days before that date (IIRC) Nov 22, 2022 at 5:00
-
1@littleadv An employment start date, yes. Not a visa start date. The fact you can enter 10 days beforehand makes that fairly clear (if it was a visa start date, you'd be entering before the visa started, which makes no sense!)– DocNov 22, 2022 at 5:08
-
10 days before Oct 1st, not 10 days before visa was issued, if it wasn't clear. For H1b specifically "start date" is an actual thing. You are right about most other visa types, but not about H1b. Nov 22, 2022 at 5:10
-
2Starting your answer with 'no' gives a different message than the body of the answer. Better rewrite it, as many people will read no further than the first word.– Willeke ♦Nov 22, 2022 at 9:17
-
1@littleadv Perhaps you can provide a photo of a H-1B showing this apparently VISA start date?– DocNov 22, 2022 at 15:42