Accidentally Admitted on B-2 Visa

Advice on what happens if you've been accidentally admitted as a B-2 visitor.

So you’ve just crossed the border, checked your I-94, and oops! You’ve been accidentally admitted on a B-2 visa, which is for tourist visitors, not a J-1 (if you’re an intern) or TN/H-1B (if you’re a full-time worker.)

You cannot legally start work, as you do not have work authorization.

There are many other variations of this mistake:

• Received incorrect visa stamp (or none at all), I-94 shows incorrect visa class (B-2), haven’t started work

• Received incorrect visa stamp (or none at all), I-94 shows incorrect visa class (B-2), started work

• Received correct visa stamp (i.e. J-1, TN, H-1B), I-94 shows incorrect visa class (B-2), haven’t started work yet

• Received correct visa stamp (i.e. J-1, TN, H-1B), I-94 shows incorrect visa class (B-2), started work

Disclaimer: This following is not legal advice. Please contact your immigration lawyer regardless of which situation you’re in, notifying them of any mistake that has occurred while you’ve tried to cross the border on a work visa.

🛫 Situations

Received incorrect visa stamp (or none at all), I-94 shows incorrect visa class (B-2), haven’t started work
If you didn’t receive a B-2 visa stamp at all, this means that your citizenship is from a country that doesn’t require tourist visas when entering the US, such as Canada. If you did receive a visa stamp, then your citizenship is from a country that does. If your I-94 also shows B-2, this most likely means that you’ve completely entered on the wrong visa.

• If you’re still at the airport (in Canada), exit the airport immediately, and re-enter, but this time ensuring that the border acknowledges and processes you as entering on a work visa.

• If you’ve already landed at your US destination, unfortunately you should fly back to Canada, and re-enter on the correct work visa. Fortunately, this isn’t a major issue, since you’re just rectifying it on the second entry.

• Do not start work.

Received incorrect visa stamp (or none at all), I-94 shows incorrect visa class (B-2), started work
If you’ve already started work, and it’s possible that you’ve already worked for a while before realizing this mistake, you need to contact your immigration lawyer immediately. You have unlawfully worked in the US, and this will be a serious issue if not rectified as soon as possible. There might be consequences for your employer too, since they were supposed to verify that you have work authorization before your official start date at the company via the I-94. Overlooking this fact is a serious issue.

Received correct visa stamp (i.e. J-1, TN, H-1B), I-94 shows incorrect visa class (B-2), haven’t started work yet
If you received the correct visa stamp in your passport (i.e. J-1, TN, H-1B) but your I-94 shows B-2, this is most likely error on part of the border agent who processed you, and isn’t your fault.

• If you’re still at the airport (in Canada), don’t exit the airport. Go back to security, and explain that you’ve just entered, but while the visa stamp is correct, the I-94 isn’t. They should be able to fix it there. Ensure that your I-94 switches over before you fly to your US destination.

• If you’ve already arrived at your US destination, immediately schedule an appointment at a Deferred Inspection Site and explain that you technically have the correct stamp, but the border agent made a mistake when inputting your I-94. They should be able to correct this in their system.

Received correct visa stamp (i.e. J-1, TN, H-1B), I-94 shows incorrect visa class (B-2), started work
If you’ve already started work, while it’s problematic that your I-94 isn’t consistent with your visa stamp, it’s not as serious as if you didn’t have the correct stamp at all. You should still notify your immigration lawyer immediately. Most likely they’ll recommend you to go to a Deferred Inspection Site, explain the mistake (which was not on your behalf), and correct this in their system. We would recommend you to not leave the US until this is fixed and you can view your I-94 with the correct status reflected.