Can you travel on an H-1B visa and return to the US without trouble? That's the question many expats are now asking, following a wave of social media posts from H-1B visa holders whose visas were reportedly canceled after extended trips abroad.
So, can spending too much time outside the US put your H-1B visa at risk? On paper, legal experts say there's no rule preventing H-1B holders from staying abroad. However, they also caution that the duration of your absence does matter. If your time away is seen as 鈥渆xcessive,鈥� it could raise red flags with US authorities. In fact, several individuals have shared that their visas were revoked after stays of more than 60 days, even though they were still legally employed and within their visa terms.
Still, legal professionals stress that simply spending more than a certain number of days outside the US doesn't automatically lead to cancellation. As long as you remain employed by your sponsoring company, your H-1B status is valid, whether you're in the US or overseas. In theory, then, spending more than 60 days abroad shouldn't be a problem. That 60-day benchmark is more relevant to the grace period granted to H-1B holders who lose their jobs.That said, the Trump administration took a more rigid stance on immigration, and extended time abroad has increasingly been viewed as a sign of abandoning H-1B status. Legal experts have noted a rise in such cases in recent years.
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