Am I Eligible to Use Automatic Visa Revalidation to Return From Canada on an Expired H-1B Visa?

Attorney Answer

Possibly, but two open questions in what you've described could make or break your eligibility, so I'd pause before booking until they're both answered.

Automatic Visa Revalidation, or AVR, is a State Department rule — 22 CFR section 41.112(d) — that automatically extends an expired nonimmigrant visa to the date you apply for readmission after a short trip to Canada or Mexico, provided a set of conditions is met. That is the provision that reaches you as an H-1B worker. You will also see AVR cited to 8 CFR section 214.1(b); do not rely on that one. It is titled “Readmission of nonimmigrants under section 101(a)(15) (F), (J), (M), or (Q)(ii)” and covers only those four classifications, operating by cross-reference to 22 CFR 41.112(d) — an officer or attorney who pulls it looking for H-1B authority will not find it there.

The basic requirements are:

1. The trip must be 30 days or less, and only to Canada or Mexico for an H-1B worker. Your 4-day trip to Canada easily fits this. 2. You need a valid, unexpired I-94 showing you're still in status, and your I-797A approval needs to reflect your current, active petition. 3. You must not have applied for a new visa during the trip, or have one still pending.

Here is where your facts need a closer look. You mentioned your expired visa stamp is from a previous employer, but you have an approved I-797A. If that I-797A reflects your current employer and status, that generally supports AVR eligibility. If it's tied to the earlier employer and you've since changed jobs, the document establishing your current status matters and needs confirming before you travel.

Second, and this is important: you mentioned applying for a visa appointment in India but not getting an interview slot. Under 22 CFR section 41.112(d), if you've already submitted a visa application that remains pending, AVR is generally unavailable, whether or not you've had an interview yet. Not getting an interview slot does not necessarily mean no application is on file. This detail alone could determine whether AVR works for you.

Before you travel, confirm:

Whether your current I-797A is tied to your current, active H-1B employer. * Whether a visa application is pending in India, even without an interview yet. * That you have valid entry permission for Canada itself, separate from the U.S. question.

Because getting this wrong could leave you unable to re-enter the U.S., this genuinely needs an immigration attorney's review before you travel, not after.

This is general legal information, not legal advice about your specific situation. An immigration attorney can confirm both open questions and tell you definitively whether AVR applies to your trip.