糖心logo

Normally, students with expired visas can’t come back into the United States after travel. But there is an exception called Automatic Revalidation for nonimmigrant F and J visa holders聽who meet certain requirements, including, but not limited to the following:

• Nonimmigrants who departed the United States for brief travel to Canada, Mexico, or an for 30 days or less.
• Nonimmigrants with a valid (unexpired) admission stamp or paper Form I-94 (arrival/departure record) endorsed by US Department of Homeland Security.

Many circumstances can void an F or J student鈥檚 eligibility to use Automatic Revalidation, including applying for a new F or J visa while you are abroad. For the most current information on Automatic Revalidations, .

You can also reference for more travel info and FAQs for nonimmigrant students.

Plan ahead

If your nonimmigrant F and J visa is expired, but you want to come back to the US after short travel using Automatic Revalidation, you need to do the following:

• Before you leave the US, make sure you have the necessary visas for all the countries you plan to visit.
• Keep a copy of your I-94 card with you. If you have an electronic I-94 record, print out a copy of it and bring it with you. When you return to the US, use the same Form I-94.
• Bring your immigration documents with you. This includes your passport, visa and I-94 card.
• If you鈥檙e traveling by car, tell the US Border Patrol officers you have a short trip planned and you intend to return using Automatic Revalidation.

Contact ISO聽if you have any questions before you travel.