Hi, I am a first time traveler on a cruise. I am very excited about my upcoming cruise vacation to western Caribbean. But I have some concerns about my visa status, and I can not find answers from their website, so I figure maybe posting here can shed me some light. I am not a US citizen or permanent resident, but I am currently working for a US company on a H1B visa. My work authorization is valid till 2012, however the visa stamp on my passport has expired. I am not sure if I need to apply for a new one in order to enter US after coming back from the Cruise. I did some research on the internet and found the immigration regulations from the Department of Homeland Security regarding "Automatic Revalidations". (See http://travel.state.gov/visa/laws/telegrams/telegrams_1441.html#) It seems I qualify for the automatic revalidation of the visa, so that I don't have to go through all the trouble to apply for a new visa. But I could not find anything from Carnival's website to back me up. Has someone here had the same issue and how you got things straightened out? Please give me some heads-up, thanks a lot!!!!!! Yours, Sijie

Have you contacted the proper authorities to see what you will need.  

 

It is up to you to make sure you have the correct paper work.

 

You would need what ever type of visa that will allow you to reenter the USA. 

I have contacted the US Customs and Border Protection department at the Port of Entry. The officials I talked to said I can enter US after the cruise with my expired visa, given my work authorization still valid. But I am not sure if the Cruise crew members have the same knowledge as the officials at the US CBP, since the most common case is that you carry a currently valid visa with your passport.

you might also want to check with the countries you will be visiting to find out what they will require for you to enter their country.

I checked that with the Mexico consulates, they don't need visa for tourists traveling on cruises.

Sijie- I too have traveled on an H1B... don't worry, as long as your work visa is still valid, they will restamp your passport and update your I-94 so you can reenter the country. Might be a good idea to carry your work visa with you if you have a copy. By the way, the people who will validate all your paperwork at the end of the cruise are Immigration officials who board the ship as soon as it docks, not Carnival people. They are very experienced with this process, so as long as you have your paperwork in order, you'll be fine. You will be asked to report to a special area on the ship on the morning of debarkation, and won't be able to leave the ship until your paperwork has been reviewed and approved.

I'm now a US citizen, but my first several cruises were while I still had an H1B visa. So you shouldn't worry about it, as long as you have your paperwork at hand.

to my knowledge you will need to get stamping , if not ur mercy of the officer. please consult immigration attorney before taking any decision. i have been on h1b before.

Sijie, My case is exactly the same as yours. I am planning fr a cruise this month-end. USCIS was not able to give me a clear answer and they were reading the rules from the book but not helping me specific to my case. So i called the Immigration officers at the Seaport from where I am going to take the cruise as they are the ones who would do my immigration. I sent them my valid I-797A form and after review they said am good to go with just my valid/approved I797 and Valid foreign passport (though the visa stamp in it is expired).

You may want to check with the Immigration officers as well and have them review your case and update you. I am planning to book my cruise. All the Best for yours! :)

Thank all of you very much for your kind replies! And I will take the advice and contact the seaport officials to see what they say.

Hi, Shaded Lady, Your experience is very helpful to me. Can you describe how the process is like when you board the ship? I suppose the Carnival people will check your passport and documents and collect them when you board the ship, given the information that I can find online. Do they question you why you don't have a currently valid visa stamp on your passport? Thanks a lot!!

When I boarded the ship when I still had my H1B visa, they only checked my passport for identification. When I mentioned that I had an I-94 card stamped with my visa information the Carnival employee didn't care at all. The only one who was concerned about my immigration status was Immigration and not until the end of the cruise. That official understood that as long as my travel visa was okay, he wasn't worried about the date on the I-94.

The previous poster had a lot more current information about the process, and I suggest you follow his advice regarding contacting the officials at the port you are leaving from... it has been almost 10 years since I went on a cruise with a visa, so while I think you're safe enough, things have changed since Sept 2001, so it might be smart to check with them. I'd hate to give you outdated information, although it sounds like he had no issues, because he checked in advance.

Hi Sijie, were u able to contact the seaport officials and get your answers? If so, could you share what did they say? Just trying to see if we got consistent answers. Thanks.

I did contact the Custom and Border Protection officials at the seaport that I am going to depart from and re-enter to US. They said I could travel with the expired H1B visa along with all the other legal documents, indicating that I am authorized to work in US until 2012. But I am nor sure if I should go ahead fax them the copy of my documents and get a formal confirmation, so far all I got is just verbal confirmation.