A man says his H-1B visa was canceled because he failed to pay a $600 traffic fine within the deadline.
A social media post referring to the H-1B visa cancellation status was shared on NRI channels, where the reason for the visa cancellation was not a “serious” violation of laws, but failure to pay a $600 traffic fine by the deadline.
The circular urged NRIs living in the US on H-1B visas not to treat traffic violations as a “non-serious” matter, as they could lead to visa cancellation. The post stated that the man was aware of the traffic violation and attended his first court hearing when the judge imposed a $600 fine.“Unfortunately, he later moved to a new apartment, missed the notice, and failed to pay by the deadline. Case information was shared with the Department of Homeland Security, and his visa was ultimately revoked.
He said he deeply regretted not paying the $600 fine on time.
Social media users said the fault was entirely on the man’s part because he showed up in court and was aware of the fine and simply “forgot” to pay the fine. Many pointed out that his visa should have been canceled because a $600 traffic fine is a huge amount and can be the result of many traffic violations.
Is it possible to cancel an H-1B visa due to a traffic problem? What to do in such cases?
There has been an increase in the number of precautionary visa cancellations recently.
The State Department has the authority to implement “precautionary visa cancellation” that occurs automatically for certain crimes, such as drink driving. If a court order is issued for non-payment of a fine, this order is entered into national databases.However, canceling your visa stamp does not mean canceling your H-1B status. If your visa stamp is precautionarily revoked while you are within the United States, it will generally remain in valid status as long as you continue to work for your sponsoring employer. However, the next time you leave the United States, you will not be allowed to re-enter without attending a new consular interview to resolve the legal issue.According to experts, H-1B visa holders should always update their addresses with USCIS.