Warning: This article is written only to share some personal experience. I have no intentions in giving advices about immigration status, and whoever read this should assume his/her own responsibility in handling the individual immigration status.
警告：這篇文章的用意完全是分享自己的經驗，我不是處理美國簽證的專業人士，也沒有意圖要提供任何有關簽證的專業建議。請讀者們對自己的簽證負全責。
Being in US on non-immigrant visa involves a lot of uncertainties. Sometimes, even a seemingly simple situation can create a lot of drama. There are many rules, some of which less known but can become handy if applied correctly. During this cruise trip, I have invoked the "auto revalidation" rule, and feel it might be useful to share what I learned about it.
人在美國，簽證有時候會帶來許多生活上的不確定性。明明就是很簡單的事情，也可以突然搞得很複雜。不過有一些比較少人知道的規定，在時機對的時候使用，顯得特別方便。我這次去坐船，就用到了 "auto revalidation" 這條規定。我覺得這條規定對和我差不多處境的人來說非常方便，所以特別在這分享一下經驗。
I am currently in H1b status. Like most people who previously studied and continued to enter the job market in US, I transferred from F1 to H1b using auto-status transfer (with a valid I-129), which means when my H1b came into effect, I swapped my status without leaving US. This is the most convenient, and I believe the most common, way people do it. Since I am busy working, I don't want to leave the country just to get a new H1b visa.
我現在是拿 H1B 工作簽證居留美國。大部分之前在美國讀書，開始工作，然後從 F1 轉成 H1B 身分的人，通常都會選擇在美國境內轉換身分（拿 I-129）。這樣做的好處是，在 H1B 生效的那一天，我不用離開美國，可以繼續正常工作，只是在移民身分上轉換。因為開始工作之後，假很珍貴，所以我想大部分人都會選擇這樣做，就不用為了辦 H1 簽證特別離境。
However this does create some inconvenience afterwords. While I am legally holding my H1b status staying in US, I do not have a H1b visa affixed to my passport. This is perfectly fine as long as I stay in US - a valid visa is only required when entering the country. However, if I ever travel out of US, when I come back I do need to have a visa matching with my purpose to enter US (since I am now working in US, that means I need to have a H1b visa).
但是缺點是，這樣做了之後，會造成一些日後的不便。雖然我在美國境內目前是以完全合法的 H1B 身分居留，但我的護照裡並沒有有效的 H1B 簽證。雖然簽證只有在入境的時候才需要，我人在美國境內的時候不成問題，但只要人一離開美國，下次入境的時候，我就得出示符合我身分的簽證（既然我是要回來工作，那我就得出示 H1B 簽證）。
Auto revalidation, however, is a very useful exception to the general rule stated above. It comes into play when all the following conditions are met (1) I am visiting only contiguous countries to US (that is, Canada, Mexico, and some Mexican Gulf Islands are considered contiguous), (2) The duration of my visit is shorter than 30 days. Under such conditions, when I complete my trip and re-enter US, I can be admitted as if I have never left the country and the previous status under which I last entered US is restored automatically again (hence the name auto revalidation). The most interesting thing about this rule is that even the previous visa has already expired, I can still invoke auto revalidation (Example: Say I got my F1 visa in 2006 and it is valid for 5 years. I became under H1b status in 2010 and did not leave US until 2012. If I visit Mexico in 2012, I can use auto revalidation to come back to US with my expired F1 visa and never have to get H1b visa.).
這篇我要介紹的特別規定，auto revalidation，就是上一段提到的一般情形之外，一個很有用的例外條款。auto revalidation 適用的條件是 (1) 我離開美國，是前往和它接壤的國家（包括加拿大、墨西哥、和一些墨西哥灣裡的島國）；(2) 我離開美國的時間短於三十天。如果這些條件都符合，我再次入境美國的時候，就可以使用這條規定，在移民身分的接續上，自動回復我上一次入境的時候的狀態，好像我從來沒有離開過美國一樣（所以這條規定的名字叫 "自動重新生效"）。這條規則最好玩的地方是，就算我前次入境美國的時候用的簽證已經過期了，我還是可以使用這條規定進入美國。例如說，假設我 2006年拿到 F1 簽證，效期五年；我在 2010年境內身分轉換，從 F1 變成 H1B身分，直到2012年都沒有離開過美國；2012年如果我去墨西哥旅遊，回到美國的時候，我可以用 auto-revalidation 的規定入境，即使我護照上從來沒有 H1B 簽證，而我的 F1 簽證早就過期而且也不符合我入境美國的原因了，也沒關係。
Of course, there is risk involved in using a less known rule. The most obvious one is that the immigration official who talks to you may not know about this rule at all, and gets confused why he should admit you into US. To avoid this, one should come prepared, get all the necessary and unnecessary documents ready, and most importantly, take a printout about the auto revalidation rules from USCIS web page with you.
當然，如果要用到比較少人知道的規定，的確是有一點風險。最主要的，是處理入境手續的移民官可能是新手，沒看過這條規定，而認為不應該讓你入境。為了避免這種不幸的情形發生，使用 auto revalidation 的時候，要準備好所有可能用到的文件，而且最好至少要隨身攜帶從美國移民局官網印下來的 auto revalidation 官方說明。
My personal experience with auto revalidation is a smooth one. I used this rule twice during my trip, first time at Vancouver, when we cleared US immigration before boarding the ship. Yes, the US immigration is at the port of Vancouver, to check the immigration status of people leaving on cruise boats to Alaska. The immigration officer knew about the rule, when he heard the keyword, he knew that I understood what I was doing and let us go without saying a word. The second time I used auto revalidation on the same trip was at Skagway, when we rented a car and drove to Yukon Territory of Canada. The immigration officer at the border check station also knew about this rule fairly well. Both times, I was able to come back into US with the F1 visa in my passport, plus the I-129 form showing my status transfer happened within US. I think that many people have done the same at these posts so the officials are well-versed to the rules.
我自己這次用到 auto revalidation 的經驗非常順利。在這趟旅行裡，這條規定總共用上了兩次，第一次是在溫哥華登上遊輪之前，得先通過美國移民關（說也奇怪，在加拿大的港口出境處，設有美國的入境移民關，所有要坐船去阿拉斯加的人，在還沒登上美國領土之前，就要先接受移民檢查）。當天的移民官很清楚這條規定，當他聽到 auto revalidation 的關鍵字的時候，很快就知道我用的是什麼規定，完全沒有特別詢問我。第二次，是在船程的一半停在 Skagway 這個港口的時候，我們一行人租車前往加拿大的 Yukon 領地。回來的時候，邊境檢查哨的移民官，也很清楚這條規定。所以，雖然我護照上只有完全不符合現在身分的 F1 簽證，我只要出示證明當初境內身分轉換核準的 I-129 表格，就可以順利回到美國。我猜，應該是很多情形相似的人曾經在這些關口用過這條規定，所以移民官都很清楚怎麼處理。
Of course, there are some tips that can make your trip work out smoothly if you need to use auto revalidation rule. The general guideline is, travel through the major posts, since the officials are more likely to come across this rule before. Also, try to avoid situations where your immigration status is checked by people other than US immigration officials. This is the case for many Mexican or Caribbean cruises, where the official immigration check happens at the end of the trip when you come back to US. Before boarding, the staff of the cruise company will verify you have a valid visa, to avoid the sticky situation that you are denied entrance at the end of cruise. They may not know about auto revalidation and deny you boarding the cruise ship. There goes your vacation. Ouch.
對要用到 auto revalidation 規定的人，以下提供一些技巧。一般說來，如果你從比較多人入境的主要關口進美國，那通常移民官之前都處理過 auto revalidation 的案件，比較不會有節外生枝的麻煩。最重要的，是避免發生需要由美國移民局之外的人檢查簽證的情形。例如，很多前往墨西哥或加勒比海的遊輪，是在遊輪結束回到美國的時候才接受移民官的檢查。為了避免遊客坐船回到美國的時候無法入境，船公司職員通常會在上船之前，檢查大家的簽證。這些船公司的職員可能比較不了解像 auto revalidation 這種複雜的規定，而認為這個遊客沒有正確的簽證，拒絕你上船。要是不幸發生這種狀況，假期就泡湯了。
As a conclusion, I think auto revalidation is a very feasible option. One should not let the fear about uncertain visa status hinder the freedom to make trip plans. After all, the rule is very clear, and as long as we work within the boundary of the regulation, there is really little chance any problem should ever occur.
結論，我認為 auto revalidation 是非常有用可行的選項。我們應該不要害怕簽證帶來的不確定性，如果知道自己在做什麼，就大可以自由地安排旅行計畫。畢竟這條規定白紙黑字，在移民局網站上寫得清清楚楚，只要使用的時候確定符合它的適用範圍，發生問題的可能性實在不高。
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