Risking Visa Status for closing the gap?

[snow]

I'd still be really wary about overstaying even a single day.
As much as your lawyer says 30 days is fine, I had trouble with 3 days when I applied for my K1 visa. I had to explain on 3 different forms why I overstayed and even though it was flights being cancelled on me with evidence of that, it was still an annoyance that I could have done without as that stays on your record.

Good luck!

[Aussieabroad]

I'd still be really wary about overstaying even a single day.
As much as your lawyer says 30 days is fine, I had trouble with 3 days when I applied for my K1 visa. I had to explain on 3 different forms why I overstayed and even though it was flights being cancelled on me with evidence of that, it was still an annoyance that I could have done without as that stays on your record.

Good luck!

How did immigration know you over stayed? Did they check when your flight out was? If I get a job before I leave, I'll be applying from Australia anyway, so I'll definitely be out of the country. My HR told me 30 days too, but now I'm scared =\

[snow]

How did immigration know you over stayed? Did they check when your flight out was? If I get a job before I leave, I'll be applying from Australia anyway, so I'll definitely be out of the country. My HR told me 30 days too, but now I'm scared =\

My I-94s, they log when you enter and when you leave, so when I had to fill out forms regarding my stays in America (DS-something, there was so many, I don't remember lol), they asked me how many trips I took, the time frame and what visa I was on and since the VWP only let's me stay for 90 days, I had to explicitly explain why I overstayed. They know :/
https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/request....cg0R!975261647 <~ online I-94, you can check your travel history by entering your name and passport information

[Hollandia]

Passport stamps dates make it easy to see if you over stay. Anything over six months from date of entry will require showing proof of your Visa when you go to leave. If you don't have it, then they will have you for overstaying. They are trained to study those dates.

[Kristin91]

If you get offered the position in NY, ask when they need an answer. It will probably buy you enough time to interview with the other companies.

[lucybelle]

NEVER overstay your visa even ONE DAY. In fact you should leave a few days before your visa expires. Also, you can't enter the country under a tourist visa and look for a job. If you plan to enter to work it needs to be on a work visa.

[80anthea]

My I-94s, they log when you enter and when you leave, so when I had to fill out forms regarding my stays in America (DS-something, there was so many, I don't remember lol), they asked me how many trips I took, the time frame and what visa I was on and since the VWP only let's me stay for 90 days, I had to explicitly explain why I overstayed. They know :/
https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/request....cg0R!975261647 <~ online I-94, you can check your travel history by entering your name and passport information

I've just had a look at mine online (as I'm insanely bored and have insomnia) and I'm pretty sure it's wrong. They have me flying home out of Boston last time but I'm pretty sure I flew from my SO's local airport up to Philly to then flew back to the UK. I don't think I've been to Boston airport but now I'm questioning my own memory!

ETAL: I've just looked at my tickets and I did in fact fly out from Boston. I'm officially crazy as I genuinely have no recollection of that, I'll blame it on me being so upset about leaving the SO. Now I'm worried that if I'm ever grilled on this stuff at the border I'm going to mess up!

[snow]

NEVER overstay your visa even ONE DAY. In fact you should leave a few days before your visa expires. Also, you can't enter the country under a tourist visa and look for a job. If you plan to enter to work it needs to be on a work visa.

I completely missed that part, yes, looking for a job on a non-immigrant visa could get your future immigrant visas denied :/

I've just had a look at mine online (as I'm insanely bored and have insomnia) and I'm pretty sure it's wrong. They have me flying home out of Boston last time but I'm pretty sure I flew from my SO's local airport up to Philly to then flew back to the UK. I don't think I've been to Boston airport but now I'm questioning my own memory!

Mine is not 100% correct either, but if they have something like this that we can see, I am sure they have something more reliable for them :P

[Petals]

J1 and HB work visas allow you 30 days to leave the USA after your work visa is cancelled. I had J1 visa recently and that's the condition of such visa. It is not overstaying, as immigration knows that you have loose ends to tie up after living and working in a country for over a year.

Act on the advice of your lawyer who is more likely to understand the terms and conditions of your visa.

[Aussieabroad]

J1 and HB work visas allow you 30 days to leave the USA after your work visa is cancelled. I had J1 visa recently and that's the condition of such visa. It is not overstaying, as immigration knows that you have loose ends to tie up after living and working in a country for over a year.

Act on the advice of your lawyer who is more likely to understand the terms and conditions of your visa.

Definitely. Also - wanna point out my Visa is not expired. It is valid until February of 2016. But the way it works is that the Visa is only valid while employed, so I lost my job, so my Visa is revoked. Date on the actual visa is still good. I looked into it, and apparently you get penalized by immigration if you over stay losing your job by SIX months, so it makes sense why my lawyer said they will be lenient if I leave in under 30 days. I guess time will tell =/

[Aussieabroad]

An update to those who were following this thread: I got no job offers in California or New York, so it looks like I'll have to go back to Australia next week . Am still waiting to hear back from an agency I interviewed with last week, but they got weird when they realised I needed a Visa. (Despite explaining how easy it is to get mine and I could do it all myself)

[Redheart14]

Well at least you know what your plan of action is now I guess. Hopefully you'll get to enjoy some time back home and take it from there.

[Kapwned]

Unfortunately there's paperwork and such that companies have to do on their end in order to hire someone from overseas (even if you're in the country you still count as overseas). A lot of countries require that companies prove that the job that they are looking to fill requires specialization which may result in having to resort to hiring someone from overseas.

[Miasmata]

I hope things work out, one way or another! Make sure you got your plans and options lined up for either case.