H1B Approved - At Present in F1 OPT Status - Can I travel back to US in F-1 OPT Status without Visa Stamp

USA H1B Visa
1

Hi Kumar,

I was a student until May, 2023. But immediately after my graduation, my part time office converted my job into Staff position, so my F-1 OPT status immediately started after my graduation date. Everything was fine until now.

But I accepted full time offer with a company and my H1-B got picked in the zero-th attempt.

Immediately after graduation, I travelled to India to visit my family and couldnt go back to USA with in June, 2023. Since I was in India, the legal team where I accepted my full time, they filed H1-B petition with Consular Processing, it got approved now and they sent me I-797 document. They told me I need to get my Visa stamping and can re enter USA only 10 days before Oct 1, 2023 which would be official H1-B date.

My doubt is, my original travel date back to USA is July 25, 2023. Can I re-enter USA in F-1 status without scheduling my Visa Stamping and come back for it later or will be there any risk in doing so?

Also, if I can re-enter US now in F1-OPT status, should I come back to India before the expiry of this current F1-OPT status i.e…, in May, 2024 or can I get my stamping anytime with in the 3 years F-1 OPT timeframe?

2

If your F1 OPT employment is active with a valid OPT EAD and you have a valid F1 visa to enter, you can do so.

Your H1B employer will need to file an amendment to your H1B with change of status from F1 to H1B if you enter the US on F1 status before 1st October.
You can do H1B stamping any time in future when you visit India next time after 1st October. Once you are on H1B status you will need H1B visa to enter back to the US.