Traveling Outside the U.S. with an Expired Visa

If your entry visa has expired and your travel does not qualify for visa revalidation, you must apply for a new visa at a U.S. consulate abroad before re-entering the U.S. Entry visas can only be issued outside the U.S.

The U.S. Department of State has updated its instructions for nonimmigrant visa applicants, effective September 6. The new instructions tighten the rules on applying for visas in a third country (not your country of nationality or residence).

“Applicants for U.S. nonimmigrant visas should schedule their visa interview appointments at the U.S. embassy or consulate in their country of nationality or residence,” the instructions state.

• You must be able to demonstrate residence in the country where you are applying, if the place of application is based on your residency.
• If you schedule an interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate in a third country, you “might find that it will be more difficult to qualify for the visa.”
• If you are from a country without a U.S. embassy or consulate, you must schedule your visa interview at a designated location. Consult the list of designated locations.

When you go to the consulate, you will need to bring your passport, I-20, financial documentation, and proof of full-time enrollment as well as any other documents requested by the consulate.

Automatic Visa Re-Validation

Returning from Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean Islands

You usually must have a valid visa to return to the U.S. from abroad. However, there is a special, limited provision called Automatic Visa Revalidation that applies to some travel. If you are in F-1 status and your F-1 visa is expired, you may still return to the U.S. from a trip to Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean Islands even with an expired visa, if you meet all of these conditions:

• your passport is valid you have a valid I-20 with a valid travel signature (if you are on OPT, the signature must be signed within the last 6 months)
• you have your EAD (OPT) card (if you have graduated and been approved for OPT)
•  you have an expired F-1 visa
• you only go to Canada, Mexico, and/or the Caribbean islands (except Cuba) and do not stay outside the U.S. for more than 30 days
• you do not apply for a new U.S. visa while abroad (otherwise you have to wait for it to be approved and use it to reenter)
• you keep your I-94 record when you depart the U.S. (retain it; don’t give it up at the border)
• you are not a citizen of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Sudan, North Korea, or Cuba

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

These are U.S. territories and thus an F-1 student does not need a visa to travel to those locations from within the U.S., or to return to the U.S. from those locations.