General Travel Advice

Contact your airline before all travel, to inquire about transit visas or any other requirements for travel both domestically and internationally. A transit visa may be required, even for layovers in countries other than your final destination. Please review TSA requirements before travel.

Visa

A visa is affixed to your passport by the U.S. Consulate or Embassy abroad and allows you to travel to the U.S. It only needs to be valid for your entry into the U.S., and does not have to remain valid throughout your stay in the U.S., provided that you maintain your immigration status. If you travel outside of the U.S. and need to re-enter, you must have a valid/unexpired visa to return. There are exceptions to this rule for travel to Canada, Mexico, and the adjacent islands.*
*See "Automatic Visa Revalidation" below.

Form I-94

An I-94 card is an arrival and departure record that you may have received at the Port of Entry (such as the airport) when entering the U.S. (the white card stapled into your passport). Your I-94 card must remain valid at all times if you have one. When departing the U.S., you will turn in your I-94 card, unless you are taking advantage of AVR.* As of May 2013, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) no longer issues a physical I-94 card. To retrieve your I-94 number, please visit this CBP site.

How Do I Obtain or Renew A Visa?

• When applying for a new visa, please find out:
  • whether an appointment is required, and how long it may take to process your request
  • what documents, forms, photos, and fees are required
  • if they allow visa applications from third-country nationals ("TCNs")
• Be prepared to show evidence of your financial resources
• Bring appropriate immigration documents: Form I-20, DS-2019 or I-797 (See "Quick Reference Table" below)
• If an initial F-1 or J-1, pay the SEVIS fee
• Schedule a flight that allows sufficient time for you to obtain a visa. Additional security checks are possible for certain individuals, which may result in delays of 30+ business days.
• Make sure your passport is valid for six months from the date of a visa application.
• Check with the local U.S. Embassy or Consulate for possible additional documentation needed.
• If you need a new visa and you travel outside the U.S., be aware that you are never guaranteed that a new visa will be issued, especially if you apply at a U.S. embassy or consulate in a country other than your home country.
• If you travel to a country other than your home country, you may need a visa to enter that country. Check that country's immigration website for more information.
• You may need a transit visa if arriving in a third country en route to another country.
• If you have changed status within the U.S. and now want to travel outside of the U.S., you will need to obtain a new entry visa to match your current status to return to the U.S.
• Canadian citizens: no visa is required except for statuses A, G, E, K, and V. 

Quick Reference Table

*Canadian citizens do not need a visa to enter the U.S.  Mexican citizens, however, must apply for a visa.
+ The SEVIS I-901 fee is required only for the initial visa application. 
**See "Travel Signatures" below.

Travel Signatures: F and J Status Only

Automatic Visa Revalidation (AVR)

Definition: Your expired U.S. entry visa is considered to be automatically extended to the date of re-entry provided that the visa has not been canceled and that you have not applied for a new visa. To take advantage of AVR, your travel must be to contiguous territories and for less than 30 days. Rules governing AVR are found in the United State's Code of Federal Regulation.
 

• Contiguous countries are: Canada, Mexico, and the adjacent islands: Saint Pierre, Miquelon, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, the Windward and Lee Islands, Trinidad, Martinique, the other British, French and Netherlands territories or possessions in or bordering on the Caribbean Sea
• Does not apply to individuals from Cuba, Syria, Sudan or Iran
• Do not surrender your paper I-94 card when departing U.S.
• If the flight attendant or officer asks for I-94, politely inform them that you are taking advantage of the AVR provision
• Only for travel less than 30 days
• Not valid for people who travel from a contiguous territory, such as Canada, to a non-contiguous country, such as Germany, and return to the U.S. via a contiguous territory
• H-1B workers are only allowed to take advantage of AVR for travel to Canada and Mexico ONLY Mexican nationals traveling to Mexico, must have a valid U.S. visa to reenter the U.S.
• If you have changed your status while in the U.S. and hold a visa for the previous status, you may still take advantage of AVR, as long as you bring the supporting documents for your new status (see the "Quick Reference Table" above). For example, if you changed your status from F-1 to H-1B, but still only have an expired F-1 visa; you may still use AVR.

Entering the U.S. - General Information

For the most accurate information regarding entry procedures to the U.S., please see the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol website. There you will find information regarding customs regulations, AVR, Form I-94, the Visa Waiver Program, and other useful updates to help with your travels to the U.S.