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Canceled without prejudice means that it could be an administrative mistake from the US consulate or a duplicate visa in your passport.
US visa can be canceled by the US embassy with the stamp “Cancelled Without Prejudice“.
Canceled without Prejudice does not have any bad effect on your future or existing US visa applications. It does not mean that you did anything illegal. Do not worry. You are safe.
Example:
If you are going for an H1B visa interview and you currently have a valid H1B stamp in your passport, then the visa officer can cancel your current visa with the annotation “Cancelled Without Prejudice” as they are going to issue you a brand new H1B stamp. The duplicate visa stamp is what will be marked as canceled.
It is possible that some US consulates do not cancel the old visa before they approve the new one.
US visa canceled without prejudice is not serious. You are safe and can enter the US with a new visa or any other valid visa in your passport. Cancellation without prejudice does not affect your chances of a US visa in the future.
The cancellation only means that you may have a duplicate visa or the visa was issued in error.
You cannot enter the US with a visa that has been canceled without Prejudice.
You cannot fix or rectify the US visa that was canceled without prejudice. Once the visa is canceled, it cannot be fixed.
You have to get a new US visa to travel and enter the USA.
This article will discuss:
Canceled Without Prejudice Reasons
The cancellation reason varies by each US embassy as many people have reported that their B1/B2 tourist visa got canceled when they got approved for an H1B work visa while some other reliable source’s tourist visa was not canceled and they were working in the US using L or H visa.
Some consulates also stamp the expired visa with a “Cancelled Without Prejudice” stamp which is kind of not required. You cannot use an expired visa to enter the US anyway.
It is also possible that the H4 visa is canceled if the H1B primary no longer has a valid permit to work in the US.
Several people have shared their experience with US visa Cancellation without Prejudice.
Form 221g with Visa Cancelled Without Prejudice
US visa officer can issue you form 221 administrative processing at the time of visa interview (with DS160) and still cancel your existing valid US visa.
This is a normal process and nothing to worry about. Your visa interview result will not be affected by the cancellation of your existing visa.
Can I use My other US visa in my Passport if One is Cancelled?
You can use any other valid US visa to enter the USA if another has been canceled.
Stamping in Mexico or Canada
If you are currently in the US and thinking of going to Mexico or Canada for your visa stampings like F1, H1B, H4, or similar visa, then you will not be able to come back to the US if your new visa is not approved and the current one has been “canceled”.
Note that you cannot use the Automatic Visa Re-validation to enter the US from either Mexico or Canada if your visa has been canceled without prejudice.
A couple of people have reported that they were able to enter the US from Nogales, Mexico border while their H1B visa application was pending with form 221g processing, but this depends highly on luck and the individual immigration officer at port or entry.
The US embassy may cancel one or more visas at their discretion.
If the US consulate cancels your existing H1B but leaves your B1/B2 tourist visa intact, you can enter the US using a B1/B2 visa.
