Travel Abroad and Reentry into the United States  

Travel Abroad: Basic Rules

Before leaving the U.S. make sure you have:

a valid passport,
your I-94 or a copy of the front and back of it.

The original I-94 is not essential, but you will need the information on it. If it is not available because it is at the Citizenship and Immigration and Services (CIS) or has been lost, you may obtain the information you need from a copy. If you do not have a copy, you will have to fill out a new I-94 at the port of departure. If you are traveling to Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean, see "Exceptions to the Rules" section of this we site.
 

Before entering your home country you will probably need:

a valid passport or some other acceptable proof that you are a citizen or legal resident of that country and have the right to return and enter it. Usually the passport is the document that identifies a person as a citizen of a country. It is important to keep your passport valid and to carry it with you when you leave the U.S.
 

Before entering another country you should:

contact the country's consulate or embassy and obtain a visa if necessary. One of the basic rights of any country under international law is the ability to determine who may enter its borders, under what conditions and rules they may enter, and how long they may stay. Many things affect whether you need a visa and how long it will take you to receive one. These include, but are not limited to, the purpose of your visit; the relationship between your country and the country you plan to visit; your current visa class or status in the U.S.; your previous visa history with the country you plan to visit. Contact the embassy or consulate of the country you plan to visit before you leave the U.S. in order to save yourself much time, trouble, expense, and disappointment at the border or airport. To obtain the contact information of the embassy of the country where you plan to visit, you may best check embassy web site at: http://www.embassy.org.

Notice:

Most temporary visas require that you have a residence abroad which you have no intention of abandoning. In most cases, consular and immigration officers are required by law to deny visas and deny admission to the U.S. to persons whom they believe intend to abandon their residence abroad and remain in the U.S. permanently. In other words, most visa classes require persons to possess "Non-Immigrant Intent." One exception is the H-1B, which permits you to have the intention to remain in the U.S. long-term, even though you hold the temporary status of H-1B. The O-1 also does not require that you have a residence abroad that you have no intention of abandoning. Before you travel, be sure to check with the UCIE staff or with a qualified immigration lawyer.

Re-entry Into the United States: Basic Rules

To reenter the U.S. you must have three things:
 

a valid unexpired passport. (Note: Canadian citizens may use other proof of Canadian citizenship when entering the U.S. from this hemisphere.)
 

a visa document which is valid on and beyond the date you plan to reenter the U.S. and which has been signed and updated, if needed, by the appropriate official.

PLEASE NOTE: any time you enter the U.S., you should be prepared to show proof that you have adequate financial support for the remainder of your program (i.e. assistantship award letter, bank statements, etc.). If, however, you need to obtain a new visa stamp while abroad, the UCIE will issue a new document DS-2019 or I-20 that specifically indicates its purpose is for obtaining a new visa stamp.

a valid and unexpired visa stamp in your passport that matches the visa document

(PLEASE NOTE: If you are a Canadian citizen, you are not required to obtain a visa stamp in your passport). All visa stamps include a visa type (such as B-1, J-1, F-2, etc.) and an ending date. It is imperative that you read the visa stamp carefully and make sure it is valid for reentry. The visa stamp may be valid for multiple entries or it may be limited to one or two entries. It may be valid for only a few months or for the entire time listed on the I-20, DS-2019, the I-797 Approval Notice or other visa document. The duration of the validity of the visa stamp and the number of entries it permits is, in general, based upon reciprocity with the sending country. That is, the restrictions the U.S. puts on a visa are similar to the restrictions the foreign country puts on the visas of U.S. citizens traveling to that country. Certain visa stamps may have other limitations as well.
 

Visa Renewal and Revalidation

If you are in an F or J visa classification and will need to obtain a new visa stamp prior to reentry, contact the UCIE at least two weeks before you leave the U.S. for a new visa document (I-20 or DS-2019). This new document will assist you in obtaining a new visa stamp. PLEASE NOTE: You also must be able to show proof that you have adequate financial support for the remainder of your program (i.e. assistantship award letter, bank statements, etc.).

If you are in H or O classification, your first H or O visa stamp must be obtained from a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. If you already have an H or O visa stamp and will need to have that stamp renewed or revalidated, you may do that either at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad, or by sending your passport to the U.S. Department of State Visa Office in Washington, D.C. For information on how to apply for a visa revalidation by mail, call the Visa Office at 202-663-1225 or visit their web site at:

 http://travel.state.gov/hlop.html

Travel Documents Checklist

The following are some guidelines for checking whether all of your documents are in order for travel:

Note: All students and scholars with the SEVIS documents ( I-20s or DS-2019s) need a recent signature on the back of these documents.

Exceptions to the Rules

Applicants for lawful permanent resident status ("green card"):
 

DO NOT TRAVEL using temporary visa documents such as an I-20, DS-2019, or I-797 Approval Notice or TN documents, even though you still may have these documents in your possession. Once you file an application for permanent residence, any temporary status you may have had is canceled. If it is necessary for you to travel abroad (e.g., family emergency), you must apply for and receive "advance parole" which is special permission to enter the U.S., from the Immigration and Naturalization Service. If you leave the U.S. without advance parole, you will have no legal way to reenter and will have to wait outside the U.S. and complete your permanent residence processing at a U.S. embassy or consulate.

Spouses of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents:

DO NOT TRAVEL using temporary visa documents such as an I-20, DS-2019, I-797, or TN documents. Consular and immigration officers generally assume that marriage to a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident indicates an intention to live in the U.S. permanently.

Others involved in the "green card" process:

DO NOT TRAVEL unless you have discussed your situation with the UCIE or with a qualified immigration lawyer. Certain actions that you take or that others take for you in the green card process can make it difficult or impossible for you to return to the U.S. in a temporary status. These actions include, but are not limited to, filing of labor certification application, immigrant petition based on family relationship, immigrant petition based on employment, or asylum application.

Canadian Citizens:

You are not required to carry a passport or a valid visa stamp to reenter the U.S. from Canada, but you must be able to prove Canadian citizenship with other documents, and you must have the appropriate visa document. However, passports and valid visa documents  are required to enter or reenter the U.S. from most other countries (as indicated above). When crossing into Canada from the U.S., the I-94 is not taken; it remains in the possession of the Canadian citizen.

Holders of F, J, H and O visa classes:

There are exceptions for certain persons who have changed their visa class in the U.S. (for example, the I-94 is marked to show a change from J-1 to F-1 status) for certain kinds of travel. Certain expired F and J visa stamps are considered valid, and for some who have changed visa class, the old visa may be considered to be revalidated and changed to the new class for travel only and solely to "contiguous territory and adjacent islands." Contiguous territory is Canada and Mexico, and adjacent islands are those in the Caribbean (except Cuba). This means that you do not need a new visa stamp to reenter the U.S. after this type of travel. This exception applies only as indicated below and ALL CRITERIA must be met. Furthermore, these exceptions may change as the political relationships between the U.S. and other countries change. Always check on the current status of these provisions before you travel.

There are exceptions for persons who entered the U.S. in H or O class (or who have changed to H or O class) for travel to contiguous territory only, Canada and Mexico. This exception does not include travel to adjacent islands, the Caribbean, and applies only as indicated below and ALL criteria must be met. Furthermore, these exceptions may change as the political relationships between the U.S. and other countries change. Always check on the current status of these provisions before you travel.

Criteria for Provisions Listed Above
 

The time outside the U.S. must be for less than 30 days.
You must have in hand and present to the immigration officer a valid unexpired visa document (see above).
You must have in hand and present to the immigration officer a valid unexpired passport.
You must have maintained F, J, or H class and you must intend to resume this class when you reenter the U.S.
You must have a valid I-94 and apply for reentry before the end of the authorized stay.
You must not be considered inadmissible to the U.S. under section 212(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and you must not have had your inadmissibility waived under section 212(d)(3)(A) of the INA.

Certain persons are generally not admissible to the U.S. based on one of the grounds of excludability listed in section 212(a) of the INA. To obtain a visa and enter the U.S., these individuals must have this inadmissibility waived. The most frequent example of this at colleges and universities is membership in the Communist Party. When these people apply for a visa such as F, J, or H, the consular officer usually grants a waiver of inadmissibility and makes a notation on the visa page of the passport that reads "212(d)(3)(A)." The notation refers to the section of the INA that gives a consular officer this waiver authority. The letter/number notation in the passport may vary slightly from that stated here. It is important to understand that if any similar notation appears in your passport or on the I-94 card, then the visa extension or revalidation options listed above are not available to you. You must have a proper, valid, unexpired visa stamp to enter the U.S. Do not confuse this with the 212(e) notation that only means that you are subject to the J-1 two-year home residence requirement.

Things to Do to Avoid the Problems

Understand the difference between a visa stamp, a visa document, and visa status.
 

A visa stamp is a stamp in your passport that gives you permission to enter the U.S. in a certain visa status. This entry stamp does not tell you how long you have permission to stay in the U.S.; it simply tells you how many times and for how long you have permission to apply for entry into the U.S. in that particular visa category. In order to use a visa stamp (entry stamp), you must have an accompanying visa document. The visa stamp may not be used without the appropriate visa document. The visa document indicates how long you have permission to remain in the U.S., what activities you have permission to pursue, and where you have permission to pursue those activities. The visa document, alone, does not give you permission to enter the U.S., but you must have a valid visa document in order to obtain and use your visa stamp. Visa status is the immigration category you are granted when you are admitted to the U.S. and it is noted on your visa document and on your Form I-94. The visa status noted on your visa document and the visa document itself determines the nature, location, and duration of your authorized activities, as well as your authorized length of stay in the U.S.

If you have more than one visa stamp in your passport, be sure to use the correct one to enter the country.

When you reenter the U.S., you are in the class in which you are admitted and which is written on your I-94 card by the Immigration Officer, regardless of what other stamps may be in your passport. For example, if you have a B-1/B-2 tourist stamp and a J-1 stamp and you use the B-1/B-2 stamp to enter the U.S., then you officially present in a tourist visa class, not J-1, even though you may have been in J-1 class before you left. If you enter in the wrong visa class, you cannot work or receive payments in the U.S. until the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) has changed your visa class back to one that permits work.

Citizen of a country that participates in the Visa Waiver Pilot Program

If you are a citizen of a country that participates in the Visa Waiver Pilot Program, meaning that you are allowed to enter the U.S. as a visitor without first obtaining a visa stamp, be sure that you do not enter the U.S. on this program. If you enter on this program, you will be admitted as a WT or WB and will only be allowed to remain in the U.S. for a maximum of 90 days and will not be eligible for employment and other benefits normally afforded persons in other temporary visa classifications. A WB or WT cannot be changed to another visa status nor can it be extended beyond the 90-day period.

If you go to a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad to get a visa stamp, you must take the proper visa documents.

If you do not have the proper document, such as the I-20, DS-2019, or I-797 Approval Notice, the consular officer has no evidence that you are entitled to that visa and cannot issue it. It does not matter that you already may have an old visa stamp in the passport. The old stamp provides no information about your current situation.

Do not attempt to enter the U.S. with an invalid visa stamp or no visa stamp at all.

If you fail to get a valid visa stamp and try to enter the U.S. with an expired stamp or with no proper stamp at all, the CIS officer at the port of entry has two choices: to deny you entry and send you back on the next plane; or to call a supervising officer and request permission to let you in without a visa. If, and only if, the supervising officer agrees, you may be admitted. You must pay a fee to cover the cost of this visa waiver request and a record will be made that a visa waiver was given, so that if you again try to reenter the U.S. without a visa you likely will be denied entry. Often this process is completed only after all other passengers have been admitted and it may take several hours.

Do not attempt to enter the U.S. without the proper visa document.

If you fail to present a valid visa document, such as an I-20, or DS-2019, and you try to enter the U.S., the CIS officer has two choices: to deny you entry and send you back on the next plane; or to admit you for a very short period of time (usually 30 days). If the latter case, you will be issued a Form I-515 that requires you to submit proper documents to your local CIS Office before the expiration date on your I-94. The time you spend explaining to the CIS officer why you do not have proper documents will not be pleasant, so please make sure you have what you need before you leave.

Do not attempt to enter the U.S. in the wrong visa class with the intention of changing it to the correct one later.

Some people enter the U.S. in the wrong visa class because it is easier, or faster, or they are not sure they will be able to get the proper visa. They then plan to change to the proper visa class after they arrive in the U.S. Examples: entering the U.S. as a tourist when the real intention is to enroll as a student or to change to J or H class in order to work. Generally this is considered visa fraud, and the CIS will examine very closely any application to change visa class under these circumstances. In addition, you cannot work until you have obtained the proper visa class and the necessary approval. Therefore, it is imperative that you enter in the proper visa class to avoid long delays and possible unpleasant exchanges with CIS.

Special Caution to Canadian Citizens:

If you are a Canadian citizen and are not entering the U.S. as a tourist, be certain to present the proper visa document to the Immigration Officer when entering the U.S. EVEN IF THE IMMIGRATION OFFICER DOES NOT ASK TO SEE THEM. Make sure that you are issued an I-94 card with the proper visa classification noted on it. If you do not present the visa document to the Immigration Officer for validation, you will have entered the U.S. as a tourist and will not be allowed to work until you have obtained approval to have your visa class changed.

If you are attempting to reenter in TN status, remember that the TN requires that you have an intention to return to Canada.