u/Aware-Grass690

I recently got my F-1 --> O-1 change of status approved. I need to travel to my home country to get a visa stamp and for other urgent personal reasons. Due to consular appointment unavailability, it seems like I will stay in my home country for a period of 5 weeks. I was wondering if this will invite scrutiny at POE, especially pre-clearance airports like Abu Dhabi/Toronto? Technically, there is no LCA for O-1, and it is not 'tied' to a particular location in the same way that H-1B is. If I have the I-797A and visa stamp, along with written approval for short-term, international remote work from my employer, would that be enough? I'd appreciate any input, thanks! I've also contacted my attorney with this question. I was wondering if anyone has gone through similar experiences in the past. Thanks!

Update: My attorney mentioned that a letter from the employer and the attorney that authorizes remote work should be enough. I was also advised to avoid pre-clearance airports.

Just got my O-1A approved! Here’s a quick snapshot of my profile:

• Ph.D. in Engineering from a top-5 U.S. university
• Publications: 8 papers in Q1 journals, with ~180 citations at the time of filing. One paper ranked in the top 5% by citations (per Web of Science). Several others have 3-4× the citation count relative to the median impact factor of their respective journals, even for more recent publications.
• Peer review: Completed 20 reviews for Q1 journals (excluding re-reviews).
• Original contributions: Structured into two focused subsections highlighting the impact of two research thrusts. We submitted objective evidence of implementation at U.S. national labs (via OSTI reports) and international research institutes (Spain and India) in the nuclear energy domain. Citation counts were briefly discussed, but we didn't rely on it as the only evidence of “major significance.” (this approach was informed by recent EB-1 adjudication trends).
• High salary: Above the 90th percentile for my field in the MSA, supported by BLS/OEWS data as well as third-party sites (glassdoor/levels.fyi).
• Additional comparable evidence: Included invited minisymposium organizer role at a major international conference, multiple invited talks, an early-career DOE award (for national lab postdocs only), and a competitive research fellowship from a U.S. company. While these did not meet criteria like “major awards,” “outstanding membership,” or “major media,” they were included to strengthen FMD.

After spending 8 years in the US on F-1, this is such a relief! I was scared of getting RFE'd since my STEM OPT expires soon, but thankfully it didn't happen! Best of luck to everyone trying to get their O-1!