Possible Documentations Needed to Be Carried

[blackbeard1993]

Hello everyone,

 

I’m planning to take a cruise trip in December to Bahamas, Jamaica, Great Cayman, Mexico departing from Florida with my wife and another couple. However, one of the member is here under F-1 visa. The visa has been expired and nowhere able to renew it before December, but he has his passport and I-20 up to date and valid for more than a year. So the question is is he still able to come to the trip and be able to re-enter the states again?

P.S. the person has a Saudi Arabian nationality if there’s any different makes from nationality to another.

And, by the way, I tried to contact the Holland American Line staff but they have no idea

Please any help would be appreciated

[SusieKIslandGirl]

Is this a question best answered by contacting Customs and Border Control? Google search may be your best bet.

[blackbeard1993]

Is this a question best answered by contacting Customs and Border Control? Google search may be your best bet.

I tried to contact them, but either I called the wrong number or it won’t let me get on the line to talk to one of them.

I searched a lot about it. Some says it’s alright as long as it’s less then a month and some days that you’ll go through customes.

That’s why I said let me post something here and might someone has been or know of another person who’s faced such a situation

[Boytjie]

I would ask an immigration lawyer; this is too big an issue to go by what you find on the Internet.

[avian777]

I would ask an immigration lawyer; this is too big an issue to go by what you find on the Internet.

 

Agree 100% ... especially insofar as what one finds on CC!

[blackbeard1993]

I would ask an immigration lawyer; this is too big an issue to go by what you find on the Internet.

Yeah I agree I wouldn’t take internet talk as an assurance. If I couldn’t find an absuloye and trusted answer here, then I’ll definitly take calling a ln immigration lawyer into consideration.

Just in case I didn’t find an answer. Would you mind if you give where to find those lawyers?

[RDC1]

Hello everyone,

 

I’m planning to take a cruise trip in December to Bahamas, Jamaica, Great Cayman, Mexico departing from Florida with my wife and another couple. However, one of the member is here under F-1 visa. The visa has been expired and nowhere able to renew it before December, but he has his passport and I-20 up to date and valid for more than a year. So the question is is he still able to come to the trip and be able to re-enter the states again?

P.S. the person has a Saudi Arabian nationality if there’s any different makes from nationality to another.

And, by the way, I tried to contact the Holland American Line staff but they have no idea

Please any help would be appreciated

the only that can answer that is CBP. if you overstay an f1 by more that 180 days it generally means being barred from entry into the US for 3 years. if you overstay for less that 180 days there is usually not a penalty when you leave.

 

the problem is that if he leaves, even with an overstay of less than 180 days, he will not have a current Visa to reenter on.

 

as others have said needs an answer from cbp or immigration attorney. they might need to make a trip out to renew Visa prior to trio.

[caribill]

OK, I am not an immigration lawyer (or a lawyer of any kind), but I would not leave the country unless the person has 100% current documentation required to enter the USA.

 

No matter what you may be told by a lawyer or appropriate government agency, between changing political winds and possibly uninformed boarder agents it is too much of a risk to take.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

I agree with caribill.

Your friend should not even consider going out of the country without all documents in order.

[kazu]

OK, I am not an immigration lawyer (or a lawyer of any kind), but I would not leave the country unless the person has 100% current documentation required to enter the USA.

 

No matter what you may be told by a lawyer or appropriate government agency, between changing political winds and possibly uninformed boarder agents it is too much of a risk to take.

 

+1. Well said.

[mrmoviezombie]

Agreed, do NOT leave the country without a valid visa. Especially from a nationality that CBP will take a second look at.

Actually, I would be very surprised if HAL would allow them to board without a valid visa to reenter the US.

Plus, anyway consulting the 100% reliable internet lawyer ...wikipeida… it's quite clear that a valid F-1 is needed for travel.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-20_(form)

Travel and travel signatures[edit]

Whenever the student re-enters the United States after traveling, the student must have all of these at the time of arrival at the port of entry:[18]

 

 

• A valid passport (valid for at least six more months)
  
• A valid F or M visa
  
• A valid I-20 (i.e., an I-20 whose program end date has not yet arrived)
  
• A travel signature on the I-20 (page 3) from the DSO that is at most one year old (six months in the case of students currently on post-completion Optional Practical Training)
  

[*Miss G*]

Although I am not as familiar with F-1 visas as I am with other visas I certainly wouldn’t risk it. If the visa is expired then what is the basis of entry that person is going to re-enter as? A visitor? There will be extra scrutiny with an expired visa and that is a road I wouldn’t want to go down.

 

Your best sources of information are https://help.cbp.gov/ and also google visa journey dot com.

[Fouremco]

The policy seems fairly clear:

 

Can I travel outside the US?

 

Yes. You may return to the US after an absence of no more than five months. You must have a new F1 visa if your original one has expired. Have your designated school official sign your I-20 before leaving the US.

As an F1 visa cannot be renewed within the US, and a student has only 60 days to depart the US once it has expired, a December cruise does not seem to be a strong possibility.

 

Have either of you considered the visa requirements of the countries to be visited on the cruise? The Bahamas and Jamaica both require visas for Saudi citizens. Citizens of Saudi Arabia visiting Mexico for tourism or business do not require a Mexican visa as long as they hold a valid United States visa, which is no longer the case for your student.

 

The student might want to speak to a member of the Saudi embassy or one of its consulates for advice before seeking the paid services of a lawyer.

[sail7seas]

Hello everyone,

 

I’m planning to take a cruise trip in December to Bahamas, Jamaica, Great Cayman, Mexico departing from Florida with my wife and another couple. However, one of the member is here under F-1 visa. The visa has been expired and nowhere able to renew it before December, but he has his passport and I-20 up to date and valid for more than a year. So the question is is he still able to come to the trip and be able to re-enter the states again?

P.S. the person has a Saudi Arabian nationality if there’s any different makes from nationality to another.

And, by the way, I tried to contact the Holland American Line staff but they have no idea

Please any help would be appreciated

 

 

This is so specific and so many details. This person needs professional advice and not a lot of 'guessing' on an internet forum IMO Suggest they do proper Professional research . Too important for guessing and non-professional responses.

 

,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perfect position you are in if something goes wrong. It will inevitaably be all YOUR fault. Be prepared to take all blame. IMO

[drowelf]

OK, I am not an immigration lawyer (or a lawyer of any kind), but I would not leave the country unless the person has 100% current documentation required to enter the USA.

 

No matter what you may be told by a lawyer or appropriate government agency, between changing political winds and possibly uninformed boarder agents it is too much of a risk to take.

 

Exactly. Don't leave the country unless you have valid documentation to re-enter.

 

While this is not CBP related, it is government related.

 

20+ years ago when I was forming my company I was in the local IRS office getting forms and instructions. I overheard the tail end of conversation that an IRS Agent was having with a customer. It went like this.

 

"Mr. xxxxx that is my interpretation of the Tax Code concerning your matter and what I recommend you do. But please be aware that the Agent that actually processes your return or a Tax Court could interpret it differently."

 

This struck me so hard that I remember it verbatim to this day.

 

On an ancillary matter. Now if you arrive on an airplane and are denied entry, its the airline that is on hook to pay for your return fare, as they are required to insure you have the proper paperwork to enter the country. Which makes it pretty easy, as they just toss you on a returning flight. But what if you arrive on cruise ship! The ship is probably not going back to the origin point of the person denied entry. What happens?

 

In the case of this passenger, I would expect the Cruise Line to deny boarding, if they did not have valid paper work to enter disembarkation port. I remember that when we did SA, we disembarked in Argentina. We were required to have our Argentina Visa available at Check-In in Chile.

[sail7seas]

Yeah I agree I wouldn’t take internet talk as an assurance. If I couldn’t find an absuloye and trusted answer here, then I’ll definitly take calling a ln immigration lawyer into consideration.

Just in case I didn’t find an answer. Would you mind if you give where to find those lawyers?

 

 

CaLL the Bar Asociation in your state and ask for names of attorneys in y our area who specialze in Immigration law.

 

 

OR better yet, the person who needs this information call for him or herself. if you suggest a name and they don't like them,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, it will be your fault..... Why are they having you do all the investigation? Are they unable for some physical reason ?

Edited October 3, 2018 by sail7seas

[sail7seas]

Yeah I agree I wouldn’t take internet talk as an assurance. If I couldn’t find an absuloye and trusted answer here, then I’ll definitly take calling a ln immigration lawyer into consideration. Just in case I didn’t find an answer. Would you mind if you give where to find those lawyers?

 

• Statistic
  

p CaLL the Bar Asociation in your state and ask for names of attorneys in y our area who specialize in Immigration law.

 

 

BEtter yet, have the person with the expired documet do their own research. (IMO )

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If they have any problems, it will be all YOur fault.

[sail7seas]

black Beard,

 

did you call The Bar Assocation and get the name of a lawyer for your friend ?

[blackbeard1993]

black Beard,

 

did you call The Bar Assocation and get the name of a lawyer for your friend ?

 

No I haven’t. He has some language barriers, and that’s why I’m helping him.

I called the homeland security located on Ft. Lauderdale. They told me that he’ll be alright if he has his passport and I-20 up to date and trip will be less than 30 days. However, I really don’t trust it by the way the person was talking (seemed kinda guessing and not 100% sure). After that I called another cruise line company and they gave me a number to the immigration office which has the answers to this situation (according to him). I’ll call that number the first thing in the morning tomorrow, and hopefully I’ll have an answer to my call and to my questions

[sail7seas]

Thanks for answering and,

 

 

Good Luck

[blackbeard1993]

Thanks for answering and,

 

 

Good Luck

Thank you very much friend for the help suggestion.

I’ll have an update tomorrow after my call to the immigration office for future seekers and knowledge