{"id":512,"date":"2012-08-13T22:30:07","date_gmt":"2012-08-14T04:30:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=512"},"modified":"2026-08-15T23:19:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T05:19:14","slug":"visa-waiver-entry-prior-to-h1b-start-date","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=512","title":{"rendered":"Visa Waiver Entry Prior to H1B Start Date"},"content":{"rendered":"

My H1B visa was approved in June 2009 and my employment was supposed to start October 1, 2009.\u00a0Due to slowing business at my company, my boss asked me to start in January rather than in October.\u00a0The problem is that I already have a lease on an apartment and I would still like to come to the US in October.\u00a0Can I do that using the visa waiver program?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are no regulations that would bar you from attempting an entry through the visa waiver program or with a B1\/B2 visa.\u00a0However, you will need to justify your entry as consistent with an entry for tourist of business purposes.\u00a0The CBP officer that interviews you will have discretion to deny your entry if he or she believes otherwise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My H1B visa was approved in June 2009 and my employment was supposed to start October 1, 2009.\u00a0Due to slowing business at my company, my boss asked me to start in January rather than in October.\u00a0The problem is that I already have a lease on an apartment and I would still like to come to … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,10],"tags":[173,164],"class_list":["post-512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-h-1b-visa","category-visa-waiver-program","tag-h-1b-visa","tag-visa-waiver-program"],"yoast_head":"\nVisa Waiver Entry Prior to H1B Start Date - US Immigration Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=512\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Visa Waiver Entry Prior to H1B Start Date - US Immigration Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"My H1B visa was approved in June 2009 and my employment was supposed to start October 1, 2009.\u00a0Due to slowing business at my company, my boss asked me to start in January rather than in October.\u00a0The problem is that I already have a lease on an apartment and I would still like to come to ... 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