Chinese citizen with H1B visa working in US. Do I need US visa to come back to US after a 6 day trip to Mexico

Question

Chinese citizen with H1B visa working in US. Do I need US visa to come back to US after a 6 day trip to Mexico

Answer 1

As far as I know, you need to show your visa at the port of entry in the US. This law became effective on February 1. Everybody, US citizen or foreigner, is required to have a valid US visa or passport to enter the US.

However, I was told by somebody at USCIS that even though this is a requirement, you can still enter the US if you don't have your document at hand. But they will take you to a small office and question you for a long time. They will check their computers to see if you are on the system, then they will make some phone calls, and will continue with the interrogation. After several hours, if they believe you are entitled to enter but just forgot your visa, they will let you in. To avoid all this, if you can, have somebody bring or mail your visa to you before you attempt to enter the US.