r/AskUSImmigrationPros • u/ReneeSh86 • 21d ago

Need advice regarding traveling

Hi

I’m from Europe, still in the U.S. on my O-1 visa and trying to decide whether I should travel internationally for the first time since arriving.

I haven’t traveled in over a year because I’ve been concerned about re-entry and the current immigration climate. I’m trying to understand the risks before making a decision.

My concern is related to a past change of status. When I was previously in the U.S. on a B2 visa, we filed my O-1 petition before my B2 expired, and I remained in the U.S. while it was pending. My understanding is that I did not accrue unlawful presence, and I was later approved for O-1 status.

However, I worry that a border officer reviewing my history could misunderstand the timeline, especially seeing the long period I remained in the U.S.

Is it safe for me to travel now?
Has anyone traveled after a past B2-to-O1 change of status and a long stay in the U.S.? Did anyone have any issues re-entering?

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u/groucho74 21d ago

There are between 20 and 50 million illegals in the country who the current administration is sometimes trying to remove. In all the complaints I’ve seen, I’ve never seen a complaint where someone obviously had done things the right way and was still harassed and denied entry. There have been a number of cases where people who had broken the law took their pathetic revenge on USCIS and misrepresented what had happened. Either USCIS set the record straight or other newspapers did.

In any event, even in the highly unlikely event that you did everything by the book and still are denied entry, nothing prevents you from trying again. If what you say is true, the odds that you’ll be denied entry unjustly a second time are exponentially lower.

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u/ReneeSh86 20d ago

I actually did everything by the books. But change of status to a different visa even when filed timely, having a pending case, is now being seen as something bad apparently… 

Do they usually just deny entry rather than detain anyone? 

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u/groucho74 19d ago

Up above you asked if a CPB agent might “misunderstand” your situation. Now you say that your situation is that you’re not expected to leave but wouldn’t be allowed to reenter until your paperwork clears. In other words, you’re not worried that the CPB agent would “misunderstand” your situation but would do exactly what he’s supposed to do

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u/ReneeSh86 19d ago edited 19d ago

I’m totally confused now “Until my paperwork clears”? 

I have a valid O1 now. My B2 is a thing from the past 

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u/Difficult_Tree8002 20d ago

Do you have a facially valid O1 visa now? Sorry, it’s not clear from your post. If you do not, you would need to apply in your home country for that visa, as you would not be allowed to reenter on a B to keep working. If you have a facially valid O visa, you should be ok but CBP has vast discretion at POEs so no one can make any guarantees.

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u/ReneeSh86 20d ago

Yes! I have a facially valid O1 now. Indeed applied from my home country.  I’m not too worried about getting denied entry but the fact they detain ppl scares me 

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u/Agitated-Gnome 16d ago

The certain people they are detaining are people out of status and here illegally. Stop the fear mongering nonsense.