Michelle

Hi there,

I'm flying back to Scotland for Christmas holidays this year. My H1-B
visa was originally due to expire on Jan 7th, but my company has already
applied for an extension. It's a government agency, so I don't think
they're subject to the visa cap, and I don't think that there'll be any
problems.

It was a complete pain in the back side trying to get an appointment at
the London embassy for a visa stamp 2 years ago. Ridicolous phone
changes to make an appointment, not having any say in the date, time,
etc. I don't want to go through that again... or at least not over
Christmas.

My question is this.... If I return to Scotland in mid-December and
leave on Jan 5th, will I have any problems given that my stamp will be
invalid in 2 days? In the worst case scenario e.g. Glasgow Airport
flights are delayed due to snow, my postponed flight wouldn't take me to
the US until on or after Jan 7th - would US Immigration turn me away as
my stamp had expired? I'm sure cases like this might pop up now and
again. Maybe they have facilities at the major entry airports to do
biometrics stuff, etc. If I am refused entry, can I enter on a tourist
visa? Will it allow me to continue working (assuming my visa has been
approved/is still in progreess).

Any info greatly appreciated!

- Best regards,
Michelle

Crg14624

    > Hi there,
    > I'm flying back to Scotland for Christmas holidays this year. My H1-B
    > visa was originally due to expire on Jan 7th, but my company has
    > already
    > applied for an extension. It's a government agency, so I don't think
    > they're subject to the visa cap, and I don't think that there'll be
    > any
    > problems.
    > It was a complete pain in the back side trying to get an appointment
    > at
    > the London embassy for a visa stamp 2 years ago. Ridicolous phone
    > changes to make an appointment, not having any say in the date, time,
    > etc. I don't want to go through that again... or at least not over
    > Christmas.
    > My question is this.... If I return to Scotland in mid-December and
    > leave on Jan 5th, will I have any problems given that my stamp will be
    > invalid in 2 days? In the worst case scenario e.g. Glasgow Airport
    > flights are delayed due to snow, my postponed flight wouldn't take me
    > to
    > the US until on or after Jan 7th - would US Immigration turn me away
    > as
    > my stamp had expired? I'm sure cases like this might pop up now and
    > again. Maybe they have facilities at the major entry airports to do
    > biometrics stuff, etc. If I am refused entry, can I enter on a tourist
    > visa? Will it allow me to continue working (assuming my visa has been
    > approved/is still in progreess).
    > Any info greatly appreciated!
    >- Best regards,
    > Michelle

A visa only has to be valid at the time of entry. If you seek entry Jan
8th or later, you can't come in. I'd bring evidence that you've been
working at that company and evidence that you still have a job to return
to. Bring your new approval notice.

If you have a new approved petition until a later date than the one
indicated on the visa, and the visa is still valid, then they can give
you an I-94 until the date on your new petition. This is true only if
the current H1B visa has time left on it.

For example: Your visa has an exiration date of 12/1/04 and the visa
stamp has an petition date until 12/1/04. If you enter with that visa
on let's say 11/28/04 and show a new I-797 petition approval good until
12/1/07 then they can give you a new I-94 until 11/28/07. Request to go
to secondary or see a supervisor to get it done right if they try to
only admit you until 12/1/04 in this scenario.

If something happens and you can't get to the border before your H1B
visa expires then DO NOT seek admission using a tourist visa. You'd be
inadmissible pursuant to section 212(a)(7)(B)(i)(II) of the INA for not
having the correct visa to match the purpose of your visit. You may be
allowed to withdraw and return foreign, but you could be subjected to an
expedited removal order and banned for 5 years. The airline could be
fined a few thousand dollars for even bringing you in that situation.

Ingo Pakleppa - see web site for email

On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 02:18:55 +0000, crg14624 wrote:

    >
    >> Hi there,
    >> I'm flying back to Scotland for Christmas holidays this year. My H1-B
    >> visa was originally due to expire on Jan 7th, but my company has
    >> already
    >> applied for an extension. It's a government agency, so I don't think
    >> they're subject to the visa cap, and I don't think that there'll be
    >> any
    >> problems.
    >> It was a complete pain in the back side trying to get an appointment
    >> at
    >> the London embassy for a visa stamp 2 years ago. Ridicolous phone
    >> changes to make an appointment, not having any say in the date, time,
    >> etc. I don't want to go through that again... or at least not over
    >> Christmas.
    >> My question is this.... If I return to Scotland in mid-December and
    >> leave on Jan 5th, will I have any problems given that my stamp will be
    >> invalid in 2 days? In the worst case scenario e.g. Glasgow Airport
    >> flights are delayed due to snow, my postponed flight wouldn't take me
    >> to
    >> the US until on or after Jan 7th - would US Immigration turn me away
    >> as
    >> my stamp had expired? I'm sure cases like this might pop up now and
    >> again. Maybe they have facilities at the major entry airports to do
    >> biometrics stuff, etc. If I am refused entry, can I enter on a tourist
    >> visa? Will it allow me to continue working (assuming my visa has been
    >> approved/is still in progreess).
    >> Any info greatly appreciated!
    >>- Best regards,
    >> Michelle
    >
    > A visa only has to be valid at the time of entry. If you seek entry Jan
    > 8th or later, you can't come in. I'd bring evidence that you've been
    > working at that company and evidence that you still have a job to return
    > to. Bring your new approval notice.
    >
    > If you have a new approved petition until a later date than the one
    > indicated on the visa, and the visa is still valid, then they can give
    > you an I-94 until the date on your new petition. This is true only if
    > the current H1B visa has time left on it.
    >
    > For example: Your visa has an exiration date of 12/1/04 and the visa
    > stamp has an petition date until 12/1/04. If you enter with that visa
    > on let's say 11/28/04 and show a new I-797 petition approval good until
    > 12/1/07 then they can give you a new I-94 until 11/28/07. Request to go
    > to secondary or see a supervisor to get it done right if they try to
    > only admit you until 12/1/04 in this scenario.
    >
    > If something happens and you can't get to the border before your H1B
    > visa expires then DO NOT seek admission using a tourist visa. You'd be
    > inadmissible pursuant to section 212(a)(7)(B)(i)(II) of the INA for not
    > having the correct visa to match the purpose of your visit. You may be
    > allowed to withdraw and return foreign, but you could be subjected to an
    > expedited removal order and banned for 5 years. The airline could be
    > fined a few thousand dollars for even bringing you in that situation.

In addition to the excellent advice above, here is one more tidbit that
may help: what counts for the visa validity actually is the date of
*departure* from your point of embarcation, rather than of arrival in the
USA. So technically, getting snowed in in Glasgow shouldn't be a problem
as long as you checked in before the visa expired.

In practical terms, I wouldn't trust that immigration officers know about
that. On the bright side, they do have a certain amount of leeway of
admitting you anyway in such cases. People who usually would require a
visa, but have a reasonably good explanation why they don't, can have the
visa requirement waived at the airport. This is *not* the same as the visa
waiver, but rather you would be treated as if you had a visa. There will
be a substantial fee if this happens. Also, this is a discretionary
decision of the officer. You'd be well advised to be very friendly and
cooperative.

So if you were delayed because of snow in Glasgow, I'd be reasonably
certain that you would actually be admitted one way or another.

Of course, if you do travel on such a tight schedule, you will want to
have your extension approval with you. No point in arriving with your old
visa the day you have to leave the USA...

Crg14624

    > On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 02:18:55 +0000, crg14624 wrote:
    > >
    > >> Hi there,
    > >> I'm flying back to Scotland for Christmas holidays this year. My
    > >> H1-B
    > >> visa was originally due to expire on Jan 7th, but my company has
    > >> already
    > >> applied for an extension. It's a government agency, so I don't
    > >> think
    > >> they're subject to the visa cap, and I don't think that there'll be
    > >> any
    > >> problems.
    > >> It was a complete pain in the back side trying to get an
    > >> appointment
    > >> at
    > >> the London embassy for a visa stamp 2 years ago. Ridicolous phone
    > >> changes to make an appointment, not having any say in the date,
    > >> time,
    > >> etc. I don't want to go through that again... or at least not over
    > >> Christmas.
    > >> My question is this.... If I return to Scotland in mid-December and
    > >> leave on Jan 5th, will I have any problems given that my stamp will
    > >> be
    > >> invalid in 2 days? In the worst case scenario e.g. Glasgow Airport
    > >> flights are delayed due to snow, my postponed flight wouldn't take
    > >> me
    > >> to
    > >> the US until on or after Jan 7th - would US Immigration turn me
    > >> away
    > >> as
    > >> my stamp had expired? I'm sure cases like this might pop up now and
    > >> again. Maybe they have facilities at the major entry airports to do
    > >> biometrics stuff, etc. If I am refused entry, can I enter on a
    > >> tourist
    > >> visa? Will it allow me to continue working (assuming my visa has
    > >> been
    > >> approved/is still in progreess).
    > >> Any info greatly appreciated!
    > >>- Best regards,
    > >> Michelle
    > >
    > > A visa only has to be valid at the time of entry. If you seek entry
    > > Jan
    > > 8th or later, you can't come in. I'd bring evidence that you've
    > > been
    > > working at that company and evidence that you still have a job to
    > > return
    > > to. Bring your new approval notice.
    > >
    > > If you have a new approved petition until a later date than the one
    > > indicated on the visa, and the visa is still valid, then they can
    > > give
    > > you an I-94 until the date on your new petition. This is true only
    > > if
    > > the current H1B visa has time left on it.
    > >
    > > For example: Your visa has an exiration date of 12/1/04 and the
    > > visa
    > > stamp has an petition date until 12/1/04. If you enter with
    > > that visa
    > > on let's say 11/28/04 and show a new I-797 petition approval
    > > good until
    > > 12/1/07 then they can give you a new I-94 until 11/28/07. Request
    > > to go
    > > to secondary or see a supervisor to get it done right if they
    > > try to
    > > only admit you until 12/1/04 in this scenario.
    > >
    > > If something happens and you can't get to the border before your H1B
    > > visa expires then DO NOT seek admission using a tourist visa. You'd
    > > be
    > > inadmissible pursuant to section 212(a)(7)(B)(i)(II) of the INA for
    > > not
    > > having the correct visa to match the purpose of your visit. You may
    > > be
    > > allowed to withdraw and return foreign, but you could be subjected
    > > to an
    > > expedited removal order and banned for 5 years. The airline could
    > > be
    > > fined a few thousand dollars for even bringing you in that
    > > situation.
    > In addition to the excellent advice above, here is one more tidbit
    > that
    > may help: what counts for the visa validity actually is the date of
    > *departure* from your point of embarcation, rather than of arrival in
    > the
    > USA. So technically, getting snowed in in Glasgow shouldn't be a
    > problem
    > as long as you checked in before the visa expired.
    > In practical terms, I wouldn't trust that immigration officers know
    > about
    > that. On the bright side, they do have a certain amount of leeway of
    > admitting you anyway in such cases. People who usually would require a
    > visa, but have a reasonably good explanation why they don't, can have
    > the
    > visa requirement waived at the airport. This is *not* the same as the
    > visa
    > waiver, but rather you would be treated as if you had a visa. There
    > will
    > be a substantial fee if this happens. Also, this is a discretionary
    > decision of the officer. You'd be well advised to be very friendly and
    > cooperative.
    > So if you were delayed because of snow in Glasgow, I'd be reasonably
    > certain that you would actually be admitted one way or another.
    > Of course, if you do travel on such a tight schedule, you will want to
    > have your extension approval with you. No point in arriving with your
    > old
    > visa the day you have to leave the USA...
    > --
    > Remember, I am strictly a layperson without any legal training. I
    > encourage
    > everybody to seek competent legal counsel rather than relying on
    > usenet
    > newsgroups.
    > Please support H.R. 539, H.R. 832 and S. 1510. More information at
    > http://www.kkeane.com/lobbyspousal-faq.shtml
    > Please visit my new FAQ at http://www.kkeane.com (always under
    > construction)
    > My email address in usenet posts is now invalid for spam protection.
    > See
    > my Web site for information on how to contact me.
    > Please feel free to enjoy some of my photographs at my Web site
    > http://www.ingopakleppa.com ! Comments are welcome.

The fee for the I-193 waiver would be $250US if approved. You
supposedly can only get one I-193 waiver per lifetime. You're 100%
right about the discretionary waiver. They are used very sparingly
these days. The odds go up for granny and grampy from UK, and go down
close to zero for a 25yr old born in Saudi Arabia. They also have to
worry about the airline even letting them on the plane. If the airline
knows that the visa that a passenger is trying to use is expired, they
can be hit with a large fine for bringing that person to the US border.

Sylvia Ottemoeller

"Ingo Pakleppa - see web site for email" <> wrote in message
news:...

    > On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 02:18:55 +0000, crg14624 wrote:

    > >> I'm flying back to Scotland for Christmas holidays this year. My H1-B
    > >> visa was originally due to expire on Jan 7th, but my company has
already
    > >> applied for an extension. It's a government agency, so I don't think
    > >> they're subject to the visa cap, and I don't think that there'll be
    > >> any problems.
    > >>
    > >> It was a complete pain in the back side trying to get an appointment at
    > >> the London embassy for a visa stamp 2 years ago. Ridicolous phone
    > >> changes to make an appointment, not having any say in the date, time,
    > >> etc. I don't want to go through that again... or at least not over
    > >> Christmas.
    > >>
    > >> My question is this.... If I return to Scotland in mid-December and
    > >> leave on Jan 5th, will I have any problems given that my stamp will be
    > >> invalid in 2 days? In the worst case scenario e.g. Glasgow Airport
    > >> flights are delayed due to snow, my postponed flight wouldn't take me
to
    > >> the US until on or after Jan 7th - would US Immigration turn me away as
    > >> my stamp had expired? I'm sure cases like this might pop up now and
    > >> again. Maybe they have facilities at the major entry airports to do
    > >> biometrics stuff, etc. If I am refused entry, can I enter on a tourist
    > >> visa? Will it allow me to continue working (assuming my visa has been
    > >> approved/is still in progreess).

    > > A visa only has to be valid at the time of entry. If you seek entry Jan
    > > 8th or later, you can't come in. I'd bring evidence that you've been
    > > working at that company and evidence that you still have a job to return
    > > to. Bring your new approval notice.
    > >
    > > If you have a new approved petition until a later date than the one
    > > indicated on the visa, and the visa is still valid, then they can give
    > > you an I-94 until the date on your new petition. This is true only if
    > > the current H1B visa has time left on it.

[snip]

    > In addition to the excellent advice above, here is one more tidbit that
    > may help: what counts for the visa validity actually is the date of
    > *departure* from your point of embarcation, rather than of arrival in the
    > USA. So technically, getting snowed in in Glasgow shouldn't be a problem
    > as long as you checked in before the visa expired.
    > In practical terms, I wouldn't trust that immigration officers know about
    > that. On the bright side, they do have a certain amount of leeway of
    > admitting you anyway in such cases. People who usually would require a
    > visa, but have a reasonably good explanation why they don't, can have the
    > visa requirement waived at the airport. This is *not* the same as the visa
    > waiver, but rather you would be treated as if you had a visa. There will
    > be a substantial fee if this happens. Also, this is a discretionary
    > decision of the officer. You'd be well advised to be very friendly and
    > cooperative.

There is nearly zero tolerance for the lack of a visa any more. Even with
when all other paperwork shows eligibility to enter the U.S. in a status
(e.g., H-1B approval notice), this type of waiver of the requirement for a
valid visa is almost never granted. I know of several UCLA employees or
their dependents who were detained, handcuffed, kept overnight either in a
room at the airport or in a jail downtown, and placed on a flight to return
from whence they came. This extreme strictness started about a year ago.

    > So if you were delayed because of snow in Glasgow, I'd be reasonably
    > certain that you would actually be admitted one way or another.
    > Of course, if you do travel on such a tight schedule, you will want to
    > have your extension approval with you. No point in arriving with your old
    > visa the day you have to leave the USA...

Crg14624

    > "Ingo Pakleppa - see web site for email" <> wrote in
    > message
    > news:...
    > > On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 02:18:55 +0000, crg14624 wrote:
    > > >> I'm flying back to Scotland for Christmas holidays this year. My
    > > >> H1-B
    > > >> visa was originally due to expire on Jan 7th, but my company has
    > already
    > > >> applied for an extension. It's a government agency, so I don't
    > > >> think
    > > >> they're subject to the visa cap, and I don't think that there'll
    > > >> be
    > > >> any problems.
    > > >>
    > > >> It was a complete pain in the back side trying to get an
    > > >> appointment at
    > > >> the London embassy for a visa stamp 2 years ago. Ridicolous phone
    > > >> changes to make an appointment, not having any say in the date,
    > > >> time,
    > > >> etc. I don't want to go through that again... or at least not
    > > >> over
    > > >> Christmas.
    > > >>
    > > >> My question is this.... If I return to Scotland in mid-December
    > > >> and
    > > >> leave on Jan 5th, will I have any problems given that my stamp
    > > >> will be
    > > >> invalid in 2 days? In the worst case scenario e.g. Glasgow
    > > >> Airport
    > > >> flights are delayed due to snow, my postponed flight wouldn't
    > > >> take me
    > to
    > > >> the US until on or after Jan 7th - would US Immigration turn me
    > > >> away as
    > > >> my stamp had expired? I'm sure cases like this might pop up now
    > > >> and
    > > >> again. Maybe they have facilities at the major entry airports to
    > > >> do
    > > >> biometrics stuff, etc. If I am refused entry, can I enter on a
    > > >> tourist
    > > >> visa? Will it allow me to continue working (assuming my visa has
    > > >> been
    > > >> approved/is still in progreess).
    > > > A visa only has to be valid at the time of entry. If you seek
    > > > entry Jan
    > > > 8th or later, you can't come in. I'd bring evidence that you've
    > > > been
    > > > working at that company and evidence that you still have a job to
    > > > return
    > > > to. Bring your new approval notice.
    > > >
    > > > If you have a new approved petition until a later date than the
    > > > one
    > > > indicated on the visa, and the visa is still valid, then they can
    > > > give
    > > > you an I-94 until the date on your new petition. This is true only
    > > > if
    > > > the current H1B visa has time left on it.
    > [snip]
    > > In addition to the excellent advice above, here is one more tidbit
    > > that
    > > may help: what counts for the visa validity actually is the date of
    > > *departure* from your point of embarcation, rather than of arrival
    > > in the
    > > USA. So technically, getting snowed in in Glasgow shouldn't be a
    > > problem
    > > as long as you checked in before the visa expired.
    > > In practical terms, I wouldn't trust that immigration officers know
    > > about
    > > that. On the bright side, they do have a certain amount of leeway of
    > > admitting you anyway in such cases. People who usually would require
    > > a
    > > visa, but have a reasonably good explanation why they don't, can
    > > have the
    > > visa requirement waived at the airport. This is *not* the same as
    > > the visa
    > > waiver, but rather you would be treated as if you had a visa. There
    > > will
    > > be a substantial fee if this happens. Also, this is a discretionary
    > > decision of the officer. You'd be well advised to be very friendly
    > > and
    > > cooperative.
    > There is nearly zero tolerance for the lack of a visa any more.
    > Even with
    > when all other paperwork shows eligibility to enter the U.S. in
    > a status
    > (e.g., H-1B approval notice), this type of waiver of the requirement
    > for a
    > valid visa is almost never granted. I know of several UCLA
    > employees or
    > their dependents who were detained, handcuffed, kept overnight
    > either in a
    > room at the airport or in a jail downtown, and placed on a flight
    > to return
    > from whence they came. This extreme strictness started about a
    > year ago.
    > > So if you were delayed because of snow in Glasgow, I'd be reasonably
    > > certain that you would actually be admitted one way or another.
    > > Of course, if you do travel on such a tight schedule, you will want
    > > to
    > > have your extension approval with you. No point in arriving with
    > > your old
    > > visa the day you have to leave the USA...

The waivers have been making a comeback recently, but they are still
VERY rare. Seeking admission with the hope of getting one would be
extemely foolish.

J. J. Farrell

Michelle <> wrote in message news:<416c4428$>...
    >
    > I'm flying back to Scotland for Christmas holidays this year. My H1-B
    > visa was originally due to expire on Jan 7th, but my company has already
    > applied for an extension. It's a government agency, so I don't think
    > they're subject to the visa cap, and I don't think that there'll be any
    > problems.

Since it's an extension, the cap doesn't come into it anyway.

    > My question is this.... If I return to Scotland in mid-December and
    > leave on Jan 5th, will I have any problems given that my stamp will be
    > invalid in 2 days?

As long as you have the approval notice for the extension, there'll
be no problem (well, there'll probably be some problem as many front-
line immigration officers get things wrong when a situation is even
slightly out of the ordinary, but you should be allowed in as soon
as someone competent gets involved).

If you don't have the approval notice, you'll definitely have problems.
If you are admitted at all, it will only be until the end date of
your current petition, which is probably the same as the end date of
the visa. You'd have to leave by then, wait for the approval, and get
a visa before re-entering.

If it gets within a month of the date when you want to re-enter and
you haven't received the approval, I'd recommend going for Premium
Processing to make sure you have it in time.

    > In the worst case scenario e.g. Glasgow Airport
    > flights are delayed due to snow, my postponed flight wouldn't take me to
    > the US until on or after Jan 7th - would US Immigration turn me away as
    > my stamp had expired?

You'd certainly have some degree of trouble. I don't know what the
law says about these situations.

    > If I am refused entry, can I enter on a tourist
    > visa? Will it allow me to continue working (assuming my visa has been
    > approved/is still in progreess).

If you could get in, you certainly couldn't work. I don't think it
at all likely that they'd let you in on a visitor visa (or under the
visa waiver, which I suspect is what you mean).

Ingo Pakleppa - see web site for email

On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 11:09:14 +0000, crg14624 wrote:

    >
    >> On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 02:18:55 +0000, crg14624 wrote:
    >
    > The fee for the I-193 waiver would be $250US if approved. You
    > supposedly can only get one I-193 waiver per lifetime. You're 100%
    > right about the discretionary waiver. They are used very sparingly
    > these days. The odds go up for granny and grampy from UK, and go down
    > close to zero for a 25yr old born in Saudi Arabia. They also have to
    > worry about the airline even letting them on the plane. If the airline
    > knows that the visa that a passenger is trying to use is expired, they
    > can be hit with a large fine for bringing that person to the US border.

Thanks for the fee update! I don't think there is a rule per se about the
I-193 only once per lifetime, but indeed you shouldn't deliberately try to
get in that way. I hear that CBP recently relaxed their policies a bit,
and may now be a bit more generous. You are of course right that not
everybody has the same odds. In my mind, the described case probably has
reasonably good odds, though.

And since the passenger is from a visa waiver country, the fine is likely
not going to be an issue.

Ingo Pakleppa - see web site for email

On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 13:26:36 -0700, Sylvia Ottemoeller wrote:

    > There is nearly zero tolerance for the lack of a visa any more. Even
    > with when all other paperwork shows eligibility to enter the U.S. in a
    > status (e.g., H-1B approval notice), this type of waiver of the
    > requirement for a valid visa is almost never granted. I know of several
    > UCLA employees or their dependents who were detained, handcuffed, kept
    > overnight either in a room at the airport or in a jail downtown, and
    > placed on a flight to return from whence they came. This extreme
    > strictness started about a year ago.

I have heard this in particular in connection with the I visa for
journalists. After the international outcry that this issue sparked, it
appears that CBP did relax the policy, and now indeed uses the I-193 more
frequently at least for journalists. I seem to remember that they
generally relaxed these rules a little.

That said, of course I do agree that it is a good idea if you can avoid
it.

Crg14624

    > On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 11:09:14 +0000, crg14624 wrote:
    > >
    > >> On Wed, 13 Oct 2004 02:18:55 +0000, crg14624 wrote:
    > >
    > > The fee for the I-193 waiver would be $250US if approved. You
    > > supposedly can only get one I-193 waiver per lifetime. You're 100%
    > > right about the discretionary waiver. They are used very sparingly
    > > these days. The odds go up for granny and grampy from UK, and go
    > > down
    > > close to zero for a 25yr old born in Saudi Arabia. They also have
    > > to
    > > worry about the airline even letting them on the plane. If the
    > > airline
    > > knows that the visa that a passenger is trying to use is expired,
    > > they
    > > can be hit with a large fine for bringing that person to the US
    > > border.
    > Thanks for the fee update! I don't think there is a rule per se about
    > the
    > I-193 only once per lifetime, but indeed you shouldn't deliberately
    > try to
    > get in that way. I hear that CBP recently relaxed their policies a
    > bit,
    > and may now be a bit more generous. You are of course right that not
    > everybody has the same odds. In my mind, the described case probably
    > has
    > reasonably good odds, though.
    > And since the passenger is from a visa waiver country, the fine is
    > likely
    > not going to be an issue.
    > --
    > Remember, I am strictly a layperson without any legal training. I
    > encourage
    > everybody to seek competent legal counsel rather than relying on
    > usenet
    > newsgroups.
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I don't think they'd be as likely to offer the waiver to someone who
knew they weren't properly documented when they sought entry.

The airline is actually required to check these things. A statement is
taken from the passenger and depending on how things went down, the
airline can still be fined. For instance, of a French L1 shows the
airline his French passport with expired visa, along with an I-797
approval letter, the airline could be fined for boarding him.