Can international students stay in the U.S. with expired visas?
Yes, the visa works like a key to enter the room. You need a key to open the door but you don’t necessarily need a key while you are staying in the room. Likewise, international students can stay legally in the United States even with expired visas as long as their I-94 record /visa stamp says D/S (To learn more about D/S, click the following related blog posts), but when students leave the country, they should show valid visas to re-enter the country.
Related blog post 1: How eliminating D/S will impact current students
Related blog post 2: My visa /passport is expired, can I apply for OPT?
However, there’s one exception to this regulation- automatic revalidation.
Eligible F and J visa holders, who satisfy all the eligibility for the automatic extension of validity of a visa at ports of entry, can be readmitted to the United States even with expired visas.
How? The validity of the visa that meets the eligibility for the automatic revalidation is considered as “extended” to the readmission date. What is more, a traveler, whose change of status request has been approved, may receive a visa that is converted to the changed classification upon re-entry.
Related blog post: How to transfer as an exchange student (J to F)
Would this mean that J and F visa holders with expired visas can travel to any country for any length of the period if they satisfy the automatic revalidation requirement? Or would this mean that they can apply for a new visa category overseas and receive the new visa category upon re-entry?
That sounds too good to be true, right? This blog post will deep dive into automatic revalidation and outline the eligibility for automatic revalidation with the goal of helping international students to make informed decisions.
The validity of an expired nonimmigrant visa issued under INA 101(a)(15) may be considered to be automatically extended to the date of application for readmission; and
(ii) In cases where the original nonimmigrant classification of an alien has been changed by DHS to another nonimmigrant classification, the validity of an expired or unexpired nonimmigrant visa may be considered to be automatically extended to the date of application for readmission, and the visa may be converted as necessary to that changed classification.
22 CFR 41.112(d)(1)
Disclaimer: SEVIS SAVVY delivers information based on the visa/immigration regulations and this is no legal advice by any means. Since institutional policies may vary, getting confirmation from your international student advisor will be helpful to ensure that you comply with institutional policies and processes.
Contents
Case study scenario
Q: I am currently working in the United States through the STEM OPT extension program. My employer would like to have me travel internationally for work but the problem is that my F-1 visa had been expired.
I was told that F or J visas can be revalidated if I travel to Canada or Mexico, is this right? If so, can I go to Mexico for a week come back with a revalidated visa, and go to the third country for the business trip? I would like to know more about automatic revalidation.
Regulation based answer
Eligibility for the automatic revalidation
The immigration regulation 22 CFR 41.112(d)(2) outlines the eligibility for the automatic extension of validity of a visa. I am going to explain each regulation below for your better understanding.
The validity of an expired nonimmigrant visa may be considered to be automatically extended only in the case of a nonimmigrant who:
- (i) “Is in possession of a Form I-94, Arrival-Departure Record, endorsed by DHS to show an unexpired period of initial admission or extension of stay”
- The Admit Until Date on your I-94 record should say D/S. Refer to this blog post to learn how to retrieve the I-94 record online: Not submit the I-94 record? 30 Chinese students are terminated
- “provided that in the case of a qualified F student or the accompanying spouse or child of such student, is in possession of a current Form I-20” that is issued and endorsed by the DSO
- Take a look at the “Travel Endorsement” section on page 2 of your Form I-20. Travel endorsement is valid for a year for current F-1 students and 6 months for OPT/STEM OPT students. In other words, the expected re-entry date should be within a year (or 6 months) from the date the newest/last signature was done. Otherwise, you should request the new I-20. Note that you can receive Form I-20 electronically: 2022 vaccine requirements and electronic I-20 for internationals
- “provided that in the case of a qualified J exchange visitor or the accompanying spouse or child of such exchange visitor, is in possession of a current Form DS-2019” that is issued and endorsed by RO
- Take a look at the “Travel Validation by Responsible Officer” section on page 1 of your Form DS-2019. Travel endorsement is valid for a year for J-1 students. In other words, the expected re-entry date should be within a year from the date the newest/last signature was done. Otherwise, you should request the new DS-2019. Note that Form DS-2019s cannot be sent out electronically unlike Form I-20s.
- (ii) “Is applying for readmission after an absence not exceeding 30 days solely in contiguous territory, or adjacent islands other than Cuba”
- F, J, and Q-2 students can seek reentry after travel to Canada or Mexico or adjacent islands other than Cuba. On the other hand, M students can only travel to Canada or Mexico to take advantage of the automatic revalidation.
- A list of adjacent islands defined by INA, Section 101(b)(5): Saint Pierre, Miquelon, The Dominican Republic, Haiti, Bermuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, The Windward and Leeward Islands, Trinidad, Martinique, Other British, French, and Netherlands territory or possessions in or bordering on the Caribbean Sea)
- (iii) “Has maintained and intends to resume nonimmigrant status”
- (iv) “Is applying for readmission within the authorized period of initial admission or extension of stay”
- Authorized period of initial admission or extension of stay can be interpreted as the program end date for F and J students and OPT/ STEM OPT end date for OPT and STEM OPT participants.
- (v) “Is in possession of a valid passport”
- (vi) is not inadmissable under INA 212(d)(3)
- who have not had a visa canceled including due to visa overstay.
- (vii) “Has not applied for a new visa while abroad”
- To take advantage of automatic revalidation, you should not apply for a new visa while you are in Canada or Mexico or adjacent islands other than Cuba
Additionally, according to the Automatic Revalidation Fact Sheet on the CBP website, students who hold the citizenship listed in the State Sponsor of Terrorism designated country, including Iran, Syria and Sudan are not eligible for the Automatic Revalidation and must be issued a visa to re-enter the U.S.
Traveling to a third country
Now, let’s go back to the case study scenario. For non-immigrants who satisfy all the eligibility for automatic validation, their visas will be extended to the “date of application for readmission.” It is worth noting that the visa is not extended to a future date.
To put it differently, the automatic revalidation extends the expired visa to the date that students seek to enter the U.S., not to the future date including program end date or OPT/STEM OPT end date.
Therefore, the student in the case study scenario can come back to the U.S. provided that the student meets all automatic revalidation requirements.
However, the student still needs a valid visa if he/she chooses to travel to a third country (other than Canada or Mexico, adjacent islands but Cuba) and come back to the U.S.
Hope this helps F-1 visa students and J-1 visa students who want to learn more about automatic validation. All other visa information can be found on the F-1 visa information page and J-1 visa information page. All case studies for OPT and STEM OPT students can be found on the OPT and STEM OPT pages.
