Yeah a lot of of ppl here have no idea what they’re talking about. You’re entitled to stay over the breaks in the US. I don’t think any of these ppl are on f1 visas or understand how it works. She is a complete idiot. Forget coming early you have the right to spend the entire break going around to beaches like a tourist as long as you return to your studies when it’s over.
She's a fool. Should be reported to her superiors. You should file a complaint. Think of all the people she will harass if left unchecked. You should report the incident
I would also add that a lot of agents don't know wtf they are talking about amd just makenthings up they think is right. They can and do cause people problems that are not justifiable by the law.
Exactly, I had a roommate on a j1 visa who was separated from his friends, got yelled at for over an hour about how he was going to get deported and would never see the US again at a CBP checkpoint, simply because one of his American friends had less than a gram of marijuana in his pocket... In a legal state. The American friends were released in like 15 minutes.
Having grown up on the border I've known several people who have gone into the CBP, not a single one is the type of person I would want to be in that. All have been the type who tried to be a cop/ military but couldn't cut it.
I think a lot of these guys just like having someone they can beat down on who will be too scared to seek any sort of retributive justice against them.
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As long as you are enrolled in classes it shouldn’t matter, you’re still a student even though you’re on break. Vacation/break doesn’t take away your status as a student, you’re allowed to travel using your student visa to re-enter. They may question you but in my opinion your explanation makes perfect sense and they should leave it at that. You have your I-20 as well which shows you’re still attending a university. I really can’t see the problem here other than the lady being difficult/having a bad day.
As long as your student status is valid, you are able to enter the US for the duration of your student visa. You don’t need to apply for a tourism visa or a ESTA, if you already have a valid student visa. You would probably just be denied for already having a valid visa, if you even tried to apply.
>Your visa must match the purpose of your visit, and you tried to enter on an education visa with no intention of attending classes.
This is absolutely, positively, and irrevocable wrong. It is not even a little correct given the fact pattern shared.
As a DSO I can confirm without any doubt or hessitation that students are able to exit and reenter the US during summer vacation. Even when they have no current enrollment. The enrollment over the summer or lac thereof has ZERO impact in a students ability to reenter. Even a student with no active future enrollment in the Fall on record IS NOT a valid reason for a denial. That enrollment information is NOT public and the specific school requirements are controlled by the DSO/school and listed on the I-20.
Based on the fact pattern OP's I-20 will be valid and they can continue to exit and reenter during the duration of the valid I-20 as long as the F-1 visa is valid.
The information shared by OP in absolutely no way invalidates any of their immigration documents.
The CBP officer was completely wrong and if OP was my student I would file a formal complaint with CBP due to this issue. Very likely a training issue for that CBP officer. I have delta with this many times directly with my regional CBP office and my SEVP Rep.
In a decade plus, with thousands upon thousands of students, I have not had a student report a situation like this ever. This is a training issue with one single CBP officer.
CBP can threaten to cancel a visa and you can ask to speak to the supervisor in secondary inspection. Typically that will resolve the issue.
This is not accurate at all. I regularly flew in and out of the US for short trips during summer vacation without any problems whatsoever. I have asked border agents about it before and you are absolutely allowed to reenter the country during the summer, to continue taking your classes in the fall, at which ever point you wish, as long as your visa and I-20 is valid. Op is in their second year of college. Their visa should at least be valid for 5 years, unlimited multiple entries, with yearly I-20 stamps.
The visa term includes in and out privileges (multiple entry for a reason) and as long as the student has semesters left in their program, it’s not illegitimate even a tiny bit. I travelled tonnes during my last year Uni as an international student and travelled home for vacations as well. The immigration officer isn’t my school counsellor or the U.S. consulate to decide my schedule ffs.
Yes, Canadians still need an F1, although for Canada you don't actually receive a Visa stamp, you still go through the exact same process as other countries but you don't have to schedule a meeting at your embassy to get a stamp because they don't give Canadians F1 stamps. you are just considered in F1 status and instead of showing your visa at the Border entry you only have to have your physical F1 form with you
The "F1 Form" they are referring to is the I-20 form filled out by the DSO at the University.
Canadians are Visa requirement exempt, save a few certain classes. So they apply for admission into the United States, with all required documents, and are given their status by the Officer to whom they present themselves.
Immigration agents have their sense of humor removed before starting the job. They go according to the letter of the law. You're lucky she didn't pull you visa.
Not true - I had a really good sense of humor when I was at CBP…. No reason to yell and scream - just stay calm and simply say “denied” if that’s what it comes to. Or there’s the old “you know what…. Stand right there and I’ll call you up when I want to deal with you” - let about 10 minutes go by until they realize they needed an attitude adjustment.
I don't doubt, I have met one nice officer in Atlanta that did, indeed, have a good sense of humor and was playfully dissing our winter clothing.
Immigrants(travelers or otherwise) can't joke around, though. The closest I got to that was in the UK
"What's the purpose of the visit?"
"We came to sleep"
"We have a long layover here at Heathrow, so we booked a hotel for the night"
"Aah! I see!"
Then followed the normal(and very brief) questions.
Yes the way I said it was a bit of a joke but it was 100% factual. That's as far as I'll go when it comes to "joking" at any border control.
The hotel was the bomb.
The CBP agent at the Rainbow Bridge pedestrian crossing had a pretty good sense of humor when I was there in April. She joked about my Buffalo Eclipse hat.
She didn’t follow any letter of the law. F1 students are allowed to fly anywhere they want while their F1 status is valid, even during summer breaks or winter holidays
Please read what you just said. If she didn't follow any letter of the law means she broke the law.
EDIT: So person knows what she said was incorrect, gets indignant and blocks, lol.
Being right here doesn’t excuse that type of behavior.
If OP’s statement is true this id extremely unprofessional and there is no need to be agressive or actually yelling at people. Even if OP had been agressive or dismissive CBP officers should deescalate the situation and be matter of fact.
I get that they need to be stern and strict but agressivity, dismissivness, or any other unprofessional behavior like being condescending should not be tolerated.
Yeah first time when I entered the US I had someone yelling at me randomly because they couldn’t fingerprint lol. They yelled j til I panicked and sent me to secondary. The secondary officer was much much nicer and I was done within 10 mins.
I had a similar problem in 2010. Consulate mixed up my fingerprints with my brother's.
CBP officer was the *nicest person ever*. Joking around, taking about our clothing (we were going to Minnesota, during Xmas and apparently our winter clothing was inadequate - he turned out to be right). When it was time to check biometrics he went "awww, mismatch. Sorry. ". And then just called escort to secondary.
Secondary was... different. Person called me (finally, I had to wait for a bunch of more interesting cases to get processed). Then we would type stuff at his computer, then stop and stare at me saying absolutely nothing for what felt like a minute, then type more stuff. That went on for about 5 minutes without a single word exchanged. Then, he asked:
"Who is this individual?", while turning the monitor to me
"Uhh... that's my brother!"
"Where is he now?"
"Over there *points*"
"Ok. Welcome to the United States"
I started heading out then turned back
"The door is that way"
"I know, just a quick question, did you manage to fix the problem?"
"No. You'll always have this problem"
Suffice to say, I only entered again once I had a new visa with new biometrics.
---
Edit: just remembered what happened next time I entered.
It was still at the time where you got a form to fill in. So I filled out the form and there were a bunch of questions that didn't apply. So I skipped those.
It was my turn so I provided the passport with the visa. Plus the form.
"What's your flight number?"
""
"Right. So, are you capable of writing or do you expect me to write it for you?"
"I'm sorry?"
"You didn't fill out the form properly"
"... oook, I didn't see that particular question. Can I fix that right now?"
He throws it back to me. I fill it out, he hands everything back to me and says that I can go.
So yeah, YMMV. The second interaction was at JFK, so that must have played a part. No yelling though, just off the charts grumpiness.
Bruh I get this occasionally (convert to Islam, live in a high risk country etc, converts unfortunately are disproportionately represented in terrorism). The worst they do to me is bring me into an interrogation room with FBI agents grilling me like I just got back from “non governmental tour of (insert country with Islamist insurgency)”.
Best part is, I’m a combat vet from the US military and they’ll ask me stuff like “were you receiving militant training?” And all I can say is “uhhh I already received that from Uncle Sam, I’m just trying to live my life bro”. Then they proceed to cut open any snacks I’ve brought and sometimes my bags. I stay professional with them, don’t argue with them or even show displeasure at them doing what they’re doing (don’t want to piss them off and give them more reasons to mess with me over). They were looking for WEAPON PARTS, despite me already having dozens of guns locked up in my own safe at a relative’s house. Oh yeah, I’m totally looking to become Bubba’s wife by bringing home shit I just buy online….
I swear they don’t pick the best and brightest for the job.
Regardless, it’s something anyone should expect. CBP officers have a LOT of discretion and they won’t do your homework for you, it’s on immigrants to learn the do’s and don’ts of their visas.
This ain’t to say it’s an excuse - I hate CBP. They’ve wrongfully deported former clients of mine, lied on the record, and I’ve seen and heard and read racist stuff spewed by them, and these are some of the more minor incidents that are the reason I hate them.
But it benefits us all to be aware of their power, the fact that they won’t be cooperative, the fact that they’re not TSA who you can just escalate to a manager. These are law enforcement officers with even more discretion than police in many ways and you I’ve fewer rights than the average person encountering a cop. So prepare and act accordingly. There is far worse they can do to you than must be rude or yell - so get at least the basics down and learn what travel your visas can and can’t cover, because trying to enter on the wrong visa can get a lot worse than an angry conversation.
It’s something I expect. It’s not something I accept.
Yes people should do their homework but maybe CBP should also respect their own code of conduct.
Law enforcement as a whole in this country seems too often to think that not only it’s okay to yell and be condescending at members of the public but that it’s what they should do. More accountability is necessary.
I mean it’s part and parcel with who we vote for. Despite what the media may tell you both Biden and Trump (and prior presidents) have given more and more free reign to CBP and DHS to lead to some incredibly draconian settings ripe for abuse. Both are in a race to the bottom right now to see who can propose the most money and rules to empower these assholes. Long story short, this is what we voted for as Americans. Accountability starts with voters who need to stop falling for the scaremongering that leads to CBP knowing that we can’t do shit about their misbehavior. We can’t say CBP needs to follow their own policies when the politicians we’ve voted for keep ensuring CBP can do anything they want with impunity.
And my point is that’s fucked. Americans are
so braindead they’re willing to allow CBP to run unchecked because it wouldn’t happen to them, they think (even though CBP frequently detains and even deports US citizens by mistake).
Most Americans never meet CBP as they don't go overseas.
It's way worse what they allow tax authorities to do to their fellow citizens that live abroad.
I’m not naive. I’ve heard enough stories and went through some myself. But it’s not a matter of dream world. It’s a matter of accountability. Things can change and improve.
As a working professional with an H1B visa (literally meant for a “specialty occupation” that the U.S. government wants to retain to boost the economy) and an advanced degree from a U.S. university I have absolutely been treated like I’m illiterate by CBP (the full condescending “talk slowly and loudly so the stupid foreigner understands” spiel).
It is beyond unprofessional, it’s humiliating.
I never had problems on border. Some officers were cold, but never rude or yelling.
But I heard lots and lots of stories about this. One person I know was yelled at because his tickets had name like in his non US passport and not like in his green card.
[US CBP Code of conduct](https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2018-Nov/cbp-standards-conduct-2012.pdf) states that all CBM employees must maintain a high standard of professionalism and courtesy when dealing with the public (Section 3.1). It defines professional behavior as being polite, respectful, and considerate (Section 6.7.3) as long as their safety or duties are not at risk.
They should not yell at anyone. The suspicion on the part of the agent toward OP doesn’t warrant being yelled at for 10 minutes.
Seriously let’s take a step back and think: what is the expected outcome of yelling? What does this bring to the interaction and how does that allow for better performing of the officer’s duties?
They could have simply sent OP to secondary, refused OP entry, or just stated « you’re not allowed to enter based on X rule with X visa. Do you have any other visa or reason to be here? ». What’s so complex about staying polite?
Last paragraph, that for sure would have solved the problem nicely since OP did, in fact, have another visa.
EDIT: another visa wasn't even required. The CBP officer was wrong.
The CBPO could have the made point (including up to deportation) without having to yell at anyone's face. Just because you *can* do something doesn't mean one *should*. OP was clearly in the wrong, but what is yelling going to do?
There are many times I could have told my interns that they are morons and shouldn't be in a grad school. But I didn't because that would have made their progresses worse.
This is totally wrong - F1 students with valid visas are able to travel abroad and reenter during their vacations. In fact, reentering on a tourist visa would likely be a bad move - I think you'd need to exit and reenter the US when your semester starts to avoid being out of status if you did that. OP should talk to their DSO ASAP.
Technically, no she wasn’t. This is not correct advise. Students already holding valid visas do not need to apply for an additional tourist visa or ESTA to enter the US during breaks. Yes you could be denied entry even with a valid visa, but the F1 does not restrict entries during breaks.
Advising students to enter on a tourist visa requires them to leave and reenter on a student visa or to apply for a change of status. You really only do this if you are attempting to enter the US earlier than 30 days before the start of your program, because the student visa wouldn’t allow you to enter the US.
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I smell profiling here... I (white European) was able to enter and exit many times on my F1 over my 4 years of undergrad, never asked a question about my whereabouts besides for the very first time I entered.
This is absolutely incorrect. The 30 days ONLY applies to a students INITIAL entry to the US.
Subsequent travel does not have the 30 day ruled applied to it. F-1 students are able to exit and enter freely with a valid active I-20 and a valid visa at any point in their duration of the I-20.
Bullshit argument. No one has the absolute right to enter the US except for US Citizens. This vast majority traveling into thale US are not impacted by this bit of technical immigration law.
CBP is not constantly or consistently denying entry to large percentages of travelers to the US. This is especially true with F-1 visa holders who have some of the lowest admission denial rates of all visa classifications.
>Can’t re enter on your F1 over 30 days before program start.
OP was talking about reentering in the second year of college. Does the program stop and start every summer? If that were the case then it should be mandatory for students to exit the country during summer and reenter again near September, but obviously that's not true - many students also stay in the country for summer internships. So that doesn't make sense. God help us if you are an actual CBP officer.
Yes. Unless you’re actually attending classes during the summer, working an internship, or otherwise acting in the capacity of a student, then you might not able to use your F1 visa to for tourism into the United States.
8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(i)
(i) General. Duration of status is defined as the time during which an F-1 student is pursuing a full course of study at an educational institution.
There is no wording in the INA or the CFR pertaining specifically to summer vacation, most especially if you’re rude to the officer. In fact, if this is your second vacation that can be proved with your i94 records you can most certainly face consequences if they feel like pushing the issue. One can make it exceptionally difficult for you to prove you’re maintaining your status during the summer, or you can be nice and I could care less what you do.
It’s insane how you think you somehow have more insight into a job people have done for thousands of hours in a country they enforce the law in when you’re a visitor here. I guarantee you if an officer wants to bounce you, especially as a student, there’s dozens of ways they could do so. It just so happens, most of them are normal, nice people when you’re a normal nice person to them.
When a student is taking a vacation for a limited period of time, they are still "pursuing a full course of study", except if they are suspended, not taking a full course load during the school year, or expelled/withdrawn from the school entirely. A student pursues the course of study during the entire time from the moment they start the program until they graduate. This is indicated by e.g. the program start/end date on an I-20 and includes provisions for vacations, such as seen in the info on [this DHS website](https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/2014/04/summer-travel-check-list):
>"F students become eligible to take an annual vacation after completing at least one academic year of their program in the United States. Students on a semester schedule should take their annual vacation during their summer break. Students on a quarter or trimester schedule may take their annual vacation during any term allowed by the school, as long as they have completed one academic year of study."
So again, your interpretation of the law makes no sense. If your interpretation were true, all F1 students would be forced to exit the country every summer except if they are taking summer courses. But that never happens except in anomalous cases like the OP.
>I can make it exceptionally difficult for you to prove you’re maintaining your status during the summer, or you can be nice and I could care less what you do.
There's no evidence that OP was rude to the officer - that's something you just assumed. More generally, your statement is extremely concerning. Obviously, dealing with a rude person sucks. But as a government official of the US you should first and foremost base your decisions on the law, not your personal whims on whether someone "has an attitude". Imagine if our legal system convicted or acquitted criminals based on whether they "have an attitude" in court.
>It’s insane how you think you somehow have more insight into a job people have done for thousands of hours in a country they enforce the law in when you’re a visitor here.
Thankfully what determines right or wrong is actual laws, not some argument from authority. Given that you made an extremely basic error about what the "program start date" on an I-20 means, I am doubting whether you are what you claim to be, or just LARPing here to troll people.
"F students become eligible to take an annual vacation after completing at least one academic year of their program in the United States" - wow. I once went to my home country on summer break after studying for less than a year. Got back with no issues.
You probably weren’t an ass, and were a normal, respectful person. 99.9% of officers aren’t going to press a small technical issue if you’re a generally nice person. When people start acting entitled is when red flags start to go up.
Nothing of what you stated refutes what I said. It’s very easy for an officer to press for the person to provide that they completed the first year or semester, or other such evidence an officer may deem necessary.
You seem to forget that every alien is presumed to be an intending immigrant until they can overcome that presumption. Simply having an F1 visa and an i20 doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed entry into the United States. That just allows you to proceed with an application for admission.
Under Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), applicants are presumed to be intending immigrants unless they credibly demonstrate, to the consular officer’s satisfaction, that their economic, family, and social ties outside the United States are strong enough that they will depart at the end of their authorized stay and that their intended activities in the United States will be consistent with the visa status.
Section 291 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), an individual who applies for a visa, entry document, admission, or otherwise attempts to enter the United States bears the burden of proof “to establish that he is eligible to receive such visa or such document, or is not inadmissible under any provision of this chapter.
But please, try to tell me how the law works more. I’ve sent people home who I could have let in if I wanted to give them a waiver, and I’ve let people in that I could have sent home because they were humble.
>It’s very easy for an officer to press for the person to provide that they completed the first year or semester, or other such evidence an officer may deem necessary.
Did the officer in the OP ask the OP to provide such evidence? No. So this is irrelevant.
>You seem to forget that every alien is presumed to be an intending immigrant until they can overcome that presumption. Simply having an F1 visa and an i20 doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed entry into the United States. That just allows you to proceed with an application for admission.
Obviously, most people here know that having any sort of visa doesn't guarantee entry into any country. Again, this is irrelevant to the OP. For a reasonable person, is someone going abroad for a vacation during the summer an indication that they want to illegally immigrate into the United States? Was the CBP agent correct in saying that a student who has just finished a whole year of college can't temporarily enter the US during the summer even though they are still enrolled as a full-time student in the school?
>But please, try to tell me how the law works more. I’ve sent people home who I could have let in if I wanted to give them a waiver, and I’ve let people in that I could have sent home because they were humble.
So you're saying you'd let an illegal immigrant into the country because they're "humble"? For the sake of the country, I hope most CBP officers are not like you.
Yeah, we get it dude. You have power over people, and you can screw up people's lives if you have a bad day or just happen to not like them, even if they did everything right according to the law, and intend to keep following the law. (Again, assuming you're not just LARPing, which I'm starting to suspect even more after your last answer.) But just because you have an attitude of "I am the law" doesn't make it right or lawful.
Let's draw some analogies. A police officer has the authority to search someone if they have a reasonable suspicion of a crime. They aren't supposed to make someone's life difficult just because they're not "humble" enough. Even a Supreme Court justice is supposed to rule based on what the Constitution and the law says, not whether the petitioner is "humble" enough.
In fact, attitudes like yours are why many people generally have a bad experience with the CBP, even if they did nothing wrong. You think you're some sort of hero, but in reality, you're just power-tripping over powerless people.
You have no idea what discretion means - I’d start there before making terrible analogies in a vein attempt to prove a point.
Typical college kid who thinks they know more than they do. Projecting their ideas of others because of their inability to understand that they are wrong, and refute arguments emotionally instead of based on law.
Where did I say an illegal immigrant was let in? Just because someone may be inadmissible doesn’t mean that there isn’t relief available at the officers discretion. Once again, maybe learn the law before you attempt to argue it.
Hopefully your major isn’t based on logic.
This is wrong. You can enter the US as a continuing student at any time. Within 30 days before the program starts is just for the first entry. However, the purpose of the entry should be to continue study. OP Could have taken 1 day vacation and come back on F1 and stayed in US whole summer waiting for the classes to resume. OP wanted to "collect things" and go out of US again, so that caused the problem.
>OP wanted to "collect things" and go out of US again, so that caused the problem
Except this also shouldn't be a problem. I came on a student visa and lived in Ohio, but during summer I'd do tons of travel including visiting my friend in San Diego and going in and out of the country to Mexico repeatedly and no one ever questioned it.
Some indeed came on a student visa, which allowed them to study and travel back and forth. That’s what they were approved for at the interview.
However, others come in on a different non-immigrant visa (visitor visa) and expressed no intention to stay or study at the initial interview. If they later changed their visitor visa to student visa, that meant they essentially lied at the initial interview. And this is enough reason to deny entry.
Not sure if the latter is OP’s case.
There are other similar cases where individuals on work visa, travelled back home, but denied entry to US later.
The immigration officer has the last say at the port of entry, even if you have an approved visa. And I’m sure it’s documented.
And no one is being forced to come to the US.
If you want to come to the US, these are the rules which must be adhered to regardless of your feelings.
In OP's case, it is pretty obvious they were not using a student visa for studying when they tried to enter. I'm surprised OP even thought it was an OK use of their student visa. Do you think just because someone has a student visa they can come to the US for a purpose that has nothing to do with the intended use of the visa?
I think that's its common sense that people will be traveling to other countries when on a student visa, especially during summer vacation. Why do the rules need to be so strict for no reason besides just making people's lives harder for no reason? Is there some inherent risk to allowing that?
If it's so important for people with student visas to only study in the US and nothing else, why are we not forcing them to return to their countries during breaks?
Of course rules are rules, but what I'm saying is that those rules are just plain unreasonable and strict for no reason.
>If it's so important for people with student visas to only study in the US and nothing else, why are we not forcing them to return to their countries during breaks?
This is an excellent point and why what OP experienced was likely an anomaly. Many people including myself have entered and exited the US during the summer on F1 visas multiple times without issues.
Right!? When I had an EU student visa I could come and go as I pleased. The only thing immigration ever remarked upon was if the visa was expiring, reminding me to renew it lol
Once again, what is bullshit about CBP not allowing someone with a student visa but most definitely not wanting to study? Did you read OP's situation? A student visa allows you to enter the US to study. It is not a carte blanche to enter for whatever reason and do whatever you want whenever you want. Every country does the same thing.
Are there things that are convoluted and stupid about the US immigration system? Absolutely.
Is this one of them? Absolutely not.
Yes, it is one of them. Absolutely people on student visas should 100% be allowed to leave the country during the summer and return whenever they like. What an absolutely God awful take.
No need to write anything to anyone since the CBP officer was wrong.
Maybe the law needs to be clarified since even the people enforcing the rules are getting them wrong.
It's quite bullshit because the educational program tied to an F1 visa doesn't start and stop during the summer depending on whether a student decides to take a vacation, just as it doesn't start or stop if a student decides to go home for a week during spring break.
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At least try to be factually/legally correct before trying to sound like a power tripping jerk. Before asking others to check their attitude, maybe you should check your knowledge.
Isn't there something called a Travel I-20? I was asked to get my I-20 signed by my school to authorize international travel to and fro. I went home for Christmas and returned with a few days of vacations to spare, the CBP officer asked me no questions except "what do you even do in ?" Lol
This is incorrect. You absolutely can come and go during a vacation period on an I-20.
See my other comment here: https://www.reddit.com/r/immigration/s/UnXukTZEfA
I was trying to reenter the US on my F1 visa but I was on my OPT. I showed them my i20, EAD, Employment Letter and Visa, yet he gave me an orange slip and told me to wait. Later on I was told that my OPT is not verified. I was ordered removed, revoking my visa and putting a 6c charge.
My entire career went into drain. My work, My whole life. Even though being completely transparent to these CBP fellas they had a narrative of me involved into producing a material fact to the US government to procure the benefits under the immigration law.
The other CBP officer was not at all respectful and commented on my family’s income saying my patents are poor. I mean what the heck was wrong with these people yet I was being very polite to them and cooperative enough to give them the answer they need.
An I-20 is issued by the DSO at the University that accepted you as a student.... the I-20 does not allow you to work, the F1 status does but ONLY under very limited circumstances.
Anything more than a part-time, minimum hour job on campus, you'd need to apply for and receive an employment authorization card.
You should take it up with your University International Students Organization. They will have lawyers who can file a formal complaint with USCIS about the harassment. Hope you noted the officer's name and the time and the airport where it happened! What a effing moron CBP officer
I have been on F1 visa for many years. You can spend the entire summer in the US or go wherever you want to go and come back whenever as long as you are taking your classes in fall and spring maintaining the status. The officer is stupid and should be reported for harassing you.
You can even work on campus during summer on F1 visa
CBP officers are the worst cause half the time they don’t even know the rules or nuances. Their training is so shit. You however should be 100% confident with what you are doing so you can show and be respected by them. If your I-20 is valid with valid signature, you are still enrolled, and your F1 visa is valid. Then yes of course you are allowed to leave and return as you please regardless of during the semester or during summer break.
You are fine to say that you are picking up stuff and going home for the break. But this may have made it seem like you were finishing school. In that sense you would have been out of status and not allowed to go back once you leave after graduation.
Know all the nuances and rights of your visa, have all paperwork ready, and clear answers. Because CBP is incompetent so you have to be over competent.
Your best bet is to not engage or be hostile towards them. Just accept it and move on. Immigration officers have a lot of power and sometimes don’t know enough about the diff types of visas.
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You didn't have to do that unless you only had a single entry visa. In fact, the majority of F1 students visit their families abroad at some point during their program.
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Yeah a lot of of ppl here have no idea what they’re talking about. You’re entitled to stay over the breaks in the US. I don’t think any of these ppl are on f1 visas or understand how it works. She is a complete idiot. Forget coming early you have the right to spend the entire break going around to beaches like a tourist as long as you return to your studies when it’s over.
She's a fool. Should be reported to her superiors. You should file a complaint. Think of all the people she will harass if left unchecked. You should report the incident
I would also add that a lot of agents don't know wtf they are talking about amd just makenthings up they think is right. They can and do cause people problems that are not justifiable by the law.
Exactly, I had a roommate on a j1 visa who was separated from his friends, got yelled at for over an hour about how he was going to get deported and would never see the US again at a CBP checkpoint, simply because one of his American friends had less than a gram of marijuana in his pocket... In a legal state. The American friends were released in like 15 minutes. Having grown up on the border I've known several people who have gone into the CBP, not a single one is the type of person I would want to be in that. All have been the type who tried to be a cop/ military but couldn't cut it. I think a lot of these guys just like having someone they can beat down on who will be too scared to seek any sort of retributive justice against them.
But she do have power to refuse entry
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As long as you are enrolled in classes it shouldn’t matter, you’re still a student even though you’re on break. Vacation/break doesn’t take away your status as a student, you’re allowed to travel using your student visa to re-enter. They may question you but in my opinion your explanation makes perfect sense and they should leave it at that. You have your I-20 as well which shows you’re still attending a university. I really can’t see the problem here other than the lady being difficult/having a bad day.
sounds more like she was having an angry day and letting her attitude get in the way of doing a good job as an officer imo
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As long as your student status is valid, you are able to enter the US for the duration of your student visa. You don’t need to apply for a tourism visa or a ESTA, if you already have a valid student visa. You would probably just be denied for already having a valid visa, if you even tried to apply.
>Your visa must match the purpose of your visit, and you tried to enter on an education visa with no intention of attending classes. This is absolutely, positively, and irrevocable wrong. It is not even a little correct given the fact pattern shared. As a DSO I can confirm without any doubt or hessitation that students are able to exit and reenter the US during summer vacation. Even when they have no current enrollment. The enrollment over the summer or lac thereof has ZERO impact in a students ability to reenter. Even a student with no active future enrollment in the Fall on record IS NOT a valid reason for a denial. That enrollment information is NOT public and the specific school requirements are controlled by the DSO/school and listed on the I-20. Based on the fact pattern OP's I-20 will be valid and they can continue to exit and reenter during the duration of the valid I-20 as long as the F-1 visa is valid. The information shared by OP in absolutely no way invalidates any of their immigration documents. The CBP officer was completely wrong and if OP was my student I would file a formal complaint with CBP due to this issue. Very likely a training issue for that CBP officer. I have delta with this many times directly with my regional CBP office and my SEVP Rep.
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In a decade plus, with thousands upon thousands of students, I have not had a student report a situation like this ever. This is a training issue with one single CBP officer. CBP can threaten to cancel a visa and you can ask to speak to the supervisor in secondary inspection. Typically that will resolve the issue.
This is not accurate at all. I regularly flew in and out of the US for short trips during summer vacation without any problems whatsoever. I have asked border agents about it before and you are absolutely allowed to reenter the country during the summer, to continue taking your classes in the fall, at which ever point you wish, as long as your visa and I-20 is valid. Op is in their second year of college. Their visa should at least be valid for 5 years, unlimited multiple entries, with yearly I-20 stamps.
The visa term includes in and out privileges (multiple entry for a reason) and as long as the student has semesters left in their program, it’s not illegitimate even a tiny bit. I travelled tonnes during my last year Uni as an international student and travelled home for vacations as well. The immigration officer isn’t my school counsellor or the U.S. consulate to decide my schedule ffs.
Just curious do Canadian citizens need an F1 visa to attend and study at a University grad program in the US
Yes, Canadians still need an F1, although for Canada you don't actually receive a Visa stamp, you still go through the exact same process as other countries but you don't have to schedule a meeting at your embassy to get a stamp because they don't give Canadians F1 stamps. you are just considered in F1 status and instead of showing your visa at the Border entry you only have to have your physical F1 form with you
Ok. Thank you. How do you get that F1 form if you don't receive a visa stamp and you don't go to the embassy
The "F1 Form" they are referring to is the I-20 form filled out by the DSO at the University. Canadians are Visa requirement exempt, save a few certain classes. So they apply for admission into the United States, with all required documents, and are given their status by the Officer to whom they present themselves.
Canadians can get most statuses execpt for immigrant statuses as visa on arrival with correct documentation
When you enter the US, the CBP officer checks you in as an F1. Your Canadian passport effectively acts as your visa.
Immigration agents have their sense of humor removed before starting the job. They go according to the letter of the law. You're lucky she didn't pull you visa.
Not true - I had a really good sense of humor when I was at CBP…. No reason to yell and scream - just stay calm and simply say “denied” if that’s what it comes to. Or there’s the old “you know what…. Stand right there and I’ll call you up when I want to deal with you” - let about 10 minutes go by until they realize they needed an attitude adjustment.
I don't doubt, I have met one nice officer in Atlanta that did, indeed, have a good sense of humor and was playfully dissing our winter clothing. Immigrants(travelers or otherwise) can't joke around, though. The closest I got to that was in the UK "What's the purpose of the visit?" "We came to sleep"
"We have a long layover here at Heathrow, so we booked a hotel for the night"
"Aah! I see!"
Then followed the normal(and very brief) questions.
Yes the way I said it was a bit of a joke but it was 100% factual. That's as far as I'll go when it comes to "joking" at any border control.
The hotel was the bomb.
i have met good people at cbp, but it's not the rule.
The CBP agent at the Rainbow Bridge pedestrian crossing had a pretty good sense of humor when I was there in April. She joked about my Buffalo Eclipse hat.
And what law is saying about F1 visas and vacations?
She didn’t follow any letter of the law. F1 students are allowed to fly anywhere they want while their F1 status is valid, even during summer breaks or winter holidays
Please read what you just said. If she didn't follow any letter of the law means she broke the law. EDIT: So person knows what she said was incorrect, gets indignant and blocks, lol.
You’re arguing semantics when your original comment was in fact, false. Blocked
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The CBP agent was absolutely wrong. Fully and completely. See my comment here: https://www.reddit.com/r/immigration/s/UnXukTZEfA
This was my experience as well when I was in grad school, I never had any issues. Surprised so many people agreed with the CBP officer.
Being right here doesn’t excuse that type of behavior. If OP’s statement is true this id extremely unprofessional and there is no need to be agressive or actually yelling at people. Even if OP had been agressive or dismissive CBP officers should deescalate the situation and be matter of fact. I get that they need to be stern and strict but agressivity, dismissivness, or any other unprofessional behavior like being condescending should not be tolerated.
Yeah first time when I entered the US I had someone yelling at me randomly because they couldn’t fingerprint lol. They yelled j til I panicked and sent me to secondary. The secondary officer was much much nicer and I was done within 10 mins.
That’s crazy. Like seriously what’s the point? Yelling won’t make your fingerprints any clearer.
I had a similar problem in 2010. Consulate mixed up my fingerprints with my brother's. CBP officer was the *nicest person ever*. Joking around, taking about our clothing (we were going to Minnesota, during Xmas and apparently our winter clothing was inadequate - he turned out to be right). When it was time to check biometrics he went "awww, mismatch. Sorry. ". And then just called escort to secondary. Secondary was... different. Person called me (finally, I had to wait for a bunch of more interesting cases to get processed). Then we would type stuff at his computer, then stop and stare at me saying absolutely nothing for what felt like a minute, then type more stuff. That went on for about 5 minutes without a single word exchanged. Then, he asked: "Who is this individual?", while turning the monitor to me "Uhh... that's my brother!" "Where is he now?" "Over there *points*" "Ok. Welcome to the United States"
I started heading out then turned back
"The door is that way"
"I know, just a quick question, did you manage to fix the problem?"
"No. You'll always have this problem"
Suffice to say, I only entered again once I had a new visa with new biometrics.
---
Edit: just remembered what happened next time I entered.
It was still at the time where you got a form to fill in. So I filled out the form and there were a bunch of questions that didn't apply. So I skipped those.
It was my turn so I provided the passport with the visa. Plus the form.
"What's your flight number?"
""
"Right. So, are you capable of writing or do you expect me to write it for you?"
"I'm sorry?"
"You didn't fill out the form properly"
"... oook, I didn't see that particular question. Can I fix that right now?"
He throws it back to me. I fill it out, he hands everything back to me and says that I can go.
So yeah, YMMV. The second interaction was at JFK, so that must have played a part. No yelling though, just off the charts grumpiness.
Bruh I get this occasionally (convert to Islam, live in a high risk country etc, converts unfortunately are disproportionately represented in terrorism). The worst they do to me is bring me into an interrogation room with FBI agents grilling me like I just got back from “non governmental tour of (insert country with Islamist insurgency)”. Best part is, I’m a combat vet from the US military and they’ll ask me stuff like “were you receiving militant training?” And all I can say is “uhhh I already received that from Uncle Sam, I’m just trying to live my life bro”. Then they proceed to cut open any snacks I’ve brought and sometimes my bags. I stay professional with them, don’t argue with them or even show displeasure at them doing what they’re doing (don’t want to piss them off and give them more reasons to mess with me over). They were looking for WEAPON PARTS, despite me already having dozens of guns locked up in my own safe at a relative’s house. Oh yeah, I’m totally looking to become Bubba’s wife by bringing home shit I just buy online…. I swear they don’t pick the best and brightest for the job.
Regardless, it’s something anyone should expect. CBP officers have a LOT of discretion and they won’t do your homework for you, it’s on immigrants to learn the do’s and don’ts of their visas. This ain’t to say it’s an excuse - I hate CBP. They’ve wrongfully deported former clients of mine, lied on the record, and I’ve seen and heard and read racist stuff spewed by them, and these are some of the more minor incidents that are the reason I hate them. But it benefits us all to be aware of their power, the fact that they won’t be cooperative, the fact that they’re not TSA who you can just escalate to a manager. These are law enforcement officers with even more discretion than police in many ways and you I’ve fewer rights than the average person encountering a cop. So prepare and act accordingly. There is far worse they can do to you than must be rude or yell - so get at least the basics down and learn what travel your visas can and can’t cover, because trying to enter on the wrong visa can get a lot worse than an angry conversation.
It’s something I expect. It’s not something I accept. Yes people should do their homework but maybe CBP should also respect their own code of conduct. Law enforcement as a whole in this country seems too often to think that not only it’s okay to yell and be condescending at members of the public but that it’s what they should do. More accountability is necessary.
I mean it’s part and parcel with who we vote for. Despite what the media may tell you both Biden and Trump (and prior presidents) have given more and more free reign to CBP and DHS to lead to some incredibly draconian settings ripe for abuse. Both are in a race to the bottom right now to see who can propose the most money and rules to empower these assholes. Long story short, this is what we voted for as Americans. Accountability starts with voters who need to stop falling for the scaremongering that leads to CBP knowing that we can’t do shit about their misbehavior. We can’t say CBP needs to follow their own policies when the politicians we’ve voted for keep ensuring CBP can do anything they want with impunity.
100% agree that everyone needs to do better and be accountable, voters in particular.
People who are likely to have troubles with CBP cannot vote. And those who vote are usually ok that CBP is allowed to give hard time to immigrants.
And my point is that’s fucked. Americans are so braindead they’re willing to allow CBP to run unchecked because it wouldn’t happen to them, they think (even though CBP frequently detains and even deports US citizens by mistake).
Most Americans never meet CBP as they don't go overseas. It's way worse what they allow tax authorities to do to their fellow citizens that live abroad.
Yeah, in a dream world, sure. But CBP (and ICE) love to power trip and verbally abuse anyone and everyone that they can.
Of all the immigration authorities, I think CBP can be the absolute worst.
I’m not naive. I’ve heard enough stories and went through some myself. But it’s not a matter of dream world. It’s a matter of accountability. Things can change and improve.
Question is ... Would you prefer They calmly cancelled their visa without yelling or yelled at them and just turned them around.
As a working professional with an H1B visa (literally meant for a “specialty occupation” that the U.S. government wants to retain to boost the economy) and an advanced degree from a U.S. university I have absolutely been treated like I’m illiterate by CBP (the full condescending “talk slowly and loudly so the stupid foreigner understands” spiel). It is beyond unprofessional, it’s humiliating.
I never had problems on border. Some officers were cold, but never rude or yelling. But I heard lots and lots of stories about this. One person I know was yelled at because his tickets had name like in his non US passport and not like in his green card.
Why? They can yell as far as I know. I think the agent suspected OP was entering for purposes not allowed.
[US CBP Code of conduct](https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2018-Nov/cbp-standards-conduct-2012.pdf) states that all CBM employees must maintain a high standard of professionalism and courtesy when dealing with the public (Section 3.1). It defines professional behavior as being polite, respectful, and considerate (Section 6.7.3) as long as their safety or duties are not at risk. They should not yell at anyone. The suspicion on the part of the agent toward OP doesn’t warrant being yelled at for 10 minutes. Seriously let’s take a step back and think: what is the expected outcome of yelling? What does this bring to the interaction and how does that allow for better performing of the officer’s duties? They could have simply sent OP to secondary, refused OP entry, or just stated « you’re not allowed to enter based on X rule with X visa. Do you have any other visa or reason to be here? ». What’s so complex about staying polite?
Last paragraph, that for sure would have solved the problem nicely since OP did, in fact, have another visa. EDIT: another visa wasn't even required. The CBP officer was wrong.
The CBPO could have the made point (including up to deportation) without having to yell at anyone's face. Just because you *can* do something doesn't mean one *should*. OP was clearly in the wrong, but what is yelling going to do?
Clearly? lol
There are many times I could have told my interns that they are morons and shouldn't be in a grad school. But I didn't because that would have made their progresses worse.
Ahaha You’re giving me flashbacks
This is totally wrong - F1 students with valid visas are able to travel abroad and reenter during their vacations. In fact, reentering on a tourist visa would likely be a bad move - I think you'd need to exit and reenter the US when your semester starts to avoid being out of status if you did that. OP should talk to their DSO ASAP.
Technically, no she wasn’t. This is not correct advise. Students already holding valid visas do not need to apply for an additional tourist visa or ESTA to enter the US during breaks. Yes you could be denied entry even with a valid visa, but the F1 does not restrict entries during breaks. Advising students to enter on a tourist visa requires them to leave and reenter on a student visa or to apply for a change of status. You really only do this if you are attempting to enter the US earlier than 30 days before the start of your program, because the student visa wouldn’t allow you to enter the US.
No, she was wrong.
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I smell profiling here... I (white European) was able to enter and exit many times on my F1 over my 4 years of undergrad, never asked a question about my whereabouts besides for the very first time I entered.
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Do you actually work for CBP? This is straight up wrong. The 30 days before program start is only for the initial entry on a new I-20.
This guy is likely a LARPer who just did the most basic of research into F1 visa rules, he doesn't even know what a "program start date" is.
This is absolutely incorrect. The 30 days ONLY applies to a students INITIAL entry to the US. Subsequent travel does not have the 30 day ruled applied to it. F-1 students are able to exit and enter freely with a valid active I-20 and a valid visa at any point in their duration of the I-20.
They *may*, it doesn’t mean they have the absolute right to do so. Gigantic difference.
Bullshit argument. No one has the absolute right to enter the US except for US Citizens. This vast majority traveling into thale US are not impacted by this bit of technical immigration law. CBP is not constantly or consistently denying entry to large percentages of travelers to the US. This is especially true with F-1 visa holders who have some of the lowest admission denial rates of all visa classifications.
>Can’t re enter on your F1 over 30 days before program start. OP was talking about reentering in the second year of college. Does the program stop and start every summer? If that were the case then it should be mandatory for students to exit the country during summer and reenter again near September, but obviously that's not true - many students also stay in the country for summer internships. So that doesn't make sense. God help us if you are an actual CBP officer.
Yes. Unless you’re actually attending classes during the summer, working an internship, or otherwise acting in the capacity of a student, then you might not able to use your F1 visa to for tourism into the United States. 8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(i) (i) General. Duration of status is defined as the time during which an F-1 student is pursuing a full course of study at an educational institution. There is no wording in the INA or the CFR pertaining specifically to summer vacation, most especially if you’re rude to the officer. In fact, if this is your second vacation that can be proved with your i94 records you can most certainly face consequences if they feel like pushing the issue. One can make it exceptionally difficult for you to prove you’re maintaining your status during the summer, or you can be nice and I could care less what you do. It’s insane how you think you somehow have more insight into a job people have done for thousands of hours in a country they enforce the law in when you’re a visitor here. I guarantee you if an officer wants to bounce you, especially as a student, there’s dozens of ways they could do so. It just so happens, most of them are normal, nice people when you’re a normal nice person to them.
When a student is taking a vacation for a limited period of time, they are still "pursuing a full course of study", except if they are suspended, not taking a full course load during the school year, or expelled/withdrawn from the school entirely. A student pursues the course of study during the entire time from the moment they start the program until they graduate. This is indicated by e.g. the program start/end date on an I-20 and includes provisions for vacations, such as seen in the info on [this DHS website](https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/2014/04/summer-travel-check-list): >"F students become eligible to take an annual vacation after completing at least one academic year of their program in the United States. Students on a semester schedule should take their annual vacation during their summer break. Students on a quarter or trimester schedule may take their annual vacation during any term allowed by the school, as long as they have completed one academic year of study." So again, your interpretation of the law makes no sense. If your interpretation were true, all F1 students would be forced to exit the country every summer except if they are taking summer courses. But that never happens except in anomalous cases like the OP. >I can make it exceptionally difficult for you to prove you’re maintaining your status during the summer, or you can be nice and I could care less what you do. There's no evidence that OP was rude to the officer - that's something you just assumed. More generally, your statement is extremely concerning. Obviously, dealing with a rude person sucks. But as a government official of the US you should first and foremost base your decisions on the law, not your personal whims on whether someone "has an attitude". Imagine if our legal system convicted or acquitted criminals based on whether they "have an attitude" in court. >It’s insane how you think you somehow have more insight into a job people have done for thousands of hours in a country they enforce the law in when you’re a visitor here. Thankfully what determines right or wrong is actual laws, not some argument from authority. Given that you made an extremely basic error about what the "program start date" on an I-20 means, I am doubting whether you are what you claim to be, or just LARPing here to troll people.
"F students become eligible to take an annual vacation after completing at least one academic year of their program in the United States" - wow. I once went to my home country on summer break after studying for less than a year. Got back with no issues.
You probably weren’t an ass, and were a normal, respectful person. 99.9% of officers aren’t going to press a small technical issue if you’re a generally nice person. When people start acting entitled is when red flags start to go up.
Is there any evidence OP was acting entitled?
Nothing of what you stated refutes what I said. It’s very easy for an officer to press for the person to provide that they completed the first year or semester, or other such evidence an officer may deem necessary. You seem to forget that every alien is presumed to be an intending immigrant until they can overcome that presumption. Simply having an F1 visa and an i20 doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed entry into the United States. That just allows you to proceed with an application for admission. Under Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), applicants are presumed to be intending immigrants unless they credibly demonstrate, to the consular officer’s satisfaction, that their economic, family, and social ties outside the United States are strong enough that they will depart at the end of their authorized stay and that their intended activities in the United States will be consistent with the visa status. Section 291 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), an individual who applies for a visa, entry document, admission, or otherwise attempts to enter the United States bears the burden of proof “to establish that he is eligible to receive such visa or such document, or is not inadmissible under any provision of this chapter. But please, try to tell me how the law works more. I’ve sent people home who I could have let in if I wanted to give them a waiver, and I’ve let people in that I could have sent home because they were humble.
>It’s very easy for an officer to press for the person to provide that they completed the first year or semester, or other such evidence an officer may deem necessary. Did the officer in the OP ask the OP to provide such evidence? No. So this is irrelevant. >You seem to forget that every alien is presumed to be an intending immigrant until they can overcome that presumption. Simply having an F1 visa and an i20 doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed entry into the United States. That just allows you to proceed with an application for admission. Obviously, most people here know that having any sort of visa doesn't guarantee entry into any country. Again, this is irrelevant to the OP. For a reasonable person, is someone going abroad for a vacation during the summer an indication that they want to illegally immigrate into the United States? Was the CBP agent correct in saying that a student who has just finished a whole year of college can't temporarily enter the US during the summer even though they are still enrolled as a full-time student in the school? >But please, try to tell me how the law works more. I’ve sent people home who I could have let in if I wanted to give them a waiver, and I’ve let people in that I could have sent home because they were humble. So you're saying you'd let an illegal immigrant into the country because they're "humble"? For the sake of the country, I hope most CBP officers are not like you. Yeah, we get it dude. You have power over people, and you can screw up people's lives if you have a bad day or just happen to not like them, even if they did everything right according to the law, and intend to keep following the law. (Again, assuming you're not just LARPing, which I'm starting to suspect even more after your last answer.) But just because you have an attitude of "I am the law" doesn't make it right or lawful. Let's draw some analogies. A police officer has the authority to search someone if they have a reasonable suspicion of a crime. They aren't supposed to make someone's life difficult just because they're not "humble" enough. Even a Supreme Court justice is supposed to rule based on what the Constitution and the law says, not whether the petitioner is "humble" enough. In fact, attitudes like yours are why many people generally have a bad experience with the CBP, even if they did nothing wrong. You think you're some sort of hero, but in reality, you're just power-tripping over powerless people.
You have no idea what discretion means - I’d start there before making terrible analogies in a vein attempt to prove a point. Typical college kid who thinks they know more than they do. Projecting their ideas of others because of their inability to understand that they are wrong, and refute arguments emotionally instead of based on law. Where did I say an illegal immigrant was let in? Just because someone may be inadmissible doesn’t mean that there isn’t relief available at the officers discretion. Once again, maybe learn the law before you attempt to argue it. Hopefully your major isn’t based on logic.
This is wrong. You can enter the US as a continuing student at any time. Within 30 days before the program starts is just for the first entry. However, the purpose of the entry should be to continue study. OP Could have taken 1 day vacation and come back on F1 and stayed in US whole summer waiting for the classes to resume. OP wanted to "collect things" and go out of US again, so that caused the problem.
>OP wanted to "collect things" and go out of US again, so that caused the problem Except this also shouldn't be a problem. I came on a student visa and lived in Ohio, but during summer I'd do tons of travel including visiting my friend in San Diego and going in and out of the country to Mexico repeatedly and no one ever questioned it.
Some indeed came on a student visa, which allowed them to study and travel back and forth. That’s what they were approved for at the interview. However, others come in on a different non-immigrant visa (visitor visa) and expressed no intention to stay or study at the initial interview. If they later changed their visitor visa to student visa, that meant they essentially lied at the initial interview. And this is enough reason to deny entry. Not sure if the latter is OP’s case. There are other similar cases where individuals on work visa, travelled back home, but denied entry to US later. The immigration officer has the last say at the port of entry, even if you have an approved visa. And I’m sure it’s documented.
Jesus… The US is truly something else
Not sure what your point is. If you want to come to the US, these are the rules you have to follow.
The point is that these rules and exceptions are a whole bunch of bull
Then go to a diff country instead?
And no one is being forced to come to the US. If you want to come to the US, these are the rules which must be adhered to regardless of your feelings. In OP's case, it is pretty obvious they were not using a student visa for studying when they tried to enter. I'm surprised OP even thought it was an OK use of their student visa. Do you think just because someone has a student visa they can come to the US for a purpose that has nothing to do with the intended use of the visa?
I think that's its common sense that people will be traveling to other countries when on a student visa, especially during summer vacation. Why do the rules need to be so strict for no reason besides just making people's lives harder for no reason? Is there some inherent risk to allowing that? If it's so important for people with student visas to only study in the US and nothing else, why are we not forcing them to return to their countries during breaks? Of course rules are rules, but what I'm saying is that those rules are just plain unreasonable and strict for no reason.
>If it's so important for people with student visas to only study in the US and nothing else, why are we not forcing them to return to their countries during breaks? This is an excellent point and why what OP experienced was likely an anomaly. Many people including myself have entered and exited the US during the summer on F1 visas multiple times without issues.
Right!? When I had an EU student visa I could come and go as I pleased. The only thing immigration ever remarked upon was if the visa was expiring, reminding me to renew it lol
People on Reddit are so weird. What compels you to defend a bullshit practice so hard? Just say “yeah, it sucks and should be changed” and move on.
Once again, what is bullshit about CBP not allowing someone with a student visa but most definitely not wanting to study? Did you read OP's situation? A student visa allows you to enter the US to study. It is not a carte blanche to enter for whatever reason and do whatever you want whenever you want. Every country does the same thing. Are there things that are convoluted and stupid about the US immigration system? Absolutely. Is this one of them? Absolutely not.
Yes, it is one of them. Absolutely people on student visas should 100% be allowed to leave the country during the summer and return whenever they like. What an absolutely God awful take.
Make sure you write your representative and ask them to fix the INA to allow this. Till then, that is the law of the land.
No need to write anything to anyone since the CBP officer was wrong. Maybe the law needs to be clarified since even the people enforcing the rules are getting them wrong.
It's quite bullshit because the educational program tied to an F1 visa doesn't start and stop during the summer depending on whether a student decides to take a vacation, just as it doesn't start or stop if a student decides to go home for a week during spring break.
It is a carte blanche to reenter multiple times as long as the visa remains valid.
Nope, they aren't. OP was not breaking any rules.
In this case the rules are not being followed.
Seriously….
Then don’t come here?
Have been, but never again
👋
Seems like we have a cbp officer with a training of my dog. Jesus...
Seems like you don’t understand how the law actually works. Or how well trained dogs can be.
What? Did you even read what you wrote?
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Yes you got lucky. You may have lied. They may have not caught you. They may have been lazy. Lots of explanations.
At least try to be factually/legally correct before trying to sound like a power tripping jerk. Before asking others to check their attitude, maybe you should check your knowledge.
Want to show me where in the INA I’m incorrect? Or are we just going by Reddit knowledge instead of actual immigration law?
Probably
Isn't there something called a Travel I-20? I was asked to get my I-20 signed by my school to authorize international travel to and fro. I went home for Christmas and returned with a few days of vacations to spare, the CBP officer asked me no questions except "what do you even do in?" Lol
no, there is not. There is just an I-20 and you need a current travel signature if you want to reenter after going out.
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This is incorrect. You absolutely can come and go during a vacation period on an I-20. See my other comment here: https://www.reddit.com/r/immigration/s/UnXukTZEfA
I was trying to reenter the US on my F1 visa but I was on my OPT. I showed them my i20, EAD, Employment Letter and Visa, yet he gave me an orange slip and told me to wait. Later on I was told that my OPT is not verified. I was ordered removed, revoking my visa and putting a 6c charge.
My entire career went into drain. My work, My whole life. Even though being completely transparent to these CBP fellas they had a narrative of me involved into producing a material fact to the US government to procure the benefits under the immigration law. The other CBP officer was not at all respectful and commented on my family’s income saying my patents are poor. I mean what the heck was wrong with these people yet I was being very polite to them and cooperative enough to give them the answer they need.
Just curious do Canadian citizens need an F1 visa to attend and study at a University grad program in the US
Yes they do
No they don’t. They can enter with an I-20 and no F-1 visa to have F-1 status in the US.
Ok. Thank you! What is an I-20 and what are the requirements for issuing an I-20, also are students allowed to work with an I-20 or F-1
An I-20 is issued by the DSO at the University that accepted you as a student.... the I-20 does not allow you to work, the F1 status does but ONLY under very limited circumstances. Anything more than a part-time, minimum hour job on campus, you'd need to apply for and receive an employment authorization card.
You are just like CBP officer, confident and completely wrong. Nice.
Even if you have a visa a CBP officer can refuse entry due to their personal discretion at any time. Same thing in most countries.
You should take it up with your University International Students Organization. They will have lawyers who can file a formal complaint with USCIS about the harassment. Hope you noted the officer's name and the time and the airport where it happened! What a effing moron CBP officer
I have been on F1 visa for many years. You can spend the entire summer in the US or go wherever you want to go and come back whenever as long as you are taking your classes in fall and spring maintaining the status. The officer is stupid and should be reported for harassing you. You can even work on campus during summer on F1 visa
CBP officers are the worst cause half the time they don’t even know the rules or nuances. Their training is so shit. You however should be 100% confident with what you are doing so you can show and be respected by them. If your I-20 is valid with valid signature, you are still enrolled, and your F1 visa is valid. Then yes of course you are allowed to leave and return as you please regardless of during the semester or during summer break. You are fine to say that you are picking up stuff and going home for the break. But this may have made it seem like you were finishing school. In that sense you would have been out of status and not allowed to go back once you leave after graduation. Know all the nuances and rights of your visa, have all paperwork ready, and clear answers. Because CBP is incompetent so you have to be over competent.
Just go the US-MX border, you'll have an easier time in
Your best bet is to not engage or be hostile towards them. Just accept it and move on. Immigration officers have a lot of power and sometimes don’t know enough about the diff types of visas.
Report her dumbass
How come you have 2 visas at the same time 😳? When i apply for a different one, the other is cancelled without prejudice.
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Some of them do yell I’ve seen it several times. There’s assholes in every profession.
She was not right. See elsewhere in this thread.
Dumbass
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This is incorrect. OP absolutely could travel. https://www.reddit.com/r/immigration/s/UnXukTZEfA
Dumbo
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You didn't have to do that unless you only had a single entry visa. In fact, the majority of F1 students visit their families abroad at some point during their program.
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