I have exceeded 20 hours limit unintentionally in first week of my new job. Now I am given option of reinstatement or reentry. As the reinstatement could take upto 9 months as told by my DSO, I am focussed more on reentering from Mexico or Canada. My question is, If the SEVIS is terminated for this reason, is my F1 visa still valid? Do I need to take tourist visa for either country and apply for new US visa in that country?
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
If your SEVIS is terminated means, you are technically out of status. If your visa stamped on Passport is still valid, that would work for re-entry. I suggest you check with your DSO as you are out of status right now with SEVIS termination and seek their proper advice. Read Option 2 at the end at Univ of Washington
Thank you so much Kumar. I actually first talked with the ISSS department in our college. They said that my sevis is terminated and that means I am out of status. However they don’t know if the visa is expired and suggested to check with US embassy in Mexico. The site you mentioned above clearly states the visa expires if the stamp expires but in my case it is valid for at least 4 years more. Shall I contact Embassy even then as I am unable to get help from college regarding this visa confusion?
I think you should contact embassy and clarify, if you are not sure. You can email or call them explaining your situation.