For International Visitors Already at Jefferson > Automatic VISA Revalidation
Automatic VISA Revalidation
PLEASE NOTE: NO TRAVEL SHOULD TAKE PLACE UNTIL ALL DOCUMENTS
(PASSPORT, VISA, I-94, DS-2019 OR IAP-66, I-20, I-797, ETC.) HAVE BEEN REVIEWED
BY OIES.
What is Automatic Visa Revalidation?
The procedure known as "automatic visa revalidation" allows a person
with an expired visa to re-enter the United States after a visit to Canada,
Mexico, and "adjacent islands" (see below) using a valid, unexpired
I-94 in place of a visa.
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Criteria for "automatic visa revalidation:"
- The person seeking re-entry must be returning from a visit to Canada or
Mexico of fewer than 30 days duration (N.B.: this procedure is not available
if the visa holder has visited any countries other than Canada, Mexico, or
"adjacent islands"). The Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA)
defines adjacent islands as "St. Pierre, Miquelon, the Dominican Republic,
Haiti, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, the Windward and Leeward Islands,
Trinidad, Martinique and other British, French and Netherlands territories
or possessions in or bordering on the Caribbean Sea." [INA 101(b)(5)]
- The person seeking re-entry must be in possession of a valid, unexpired
Form I-94 (Departure Record);
- Individuals in Nonimmigrant Student or Scholar (F and J) status must also
have a current I-20 or IAP-66, as appropriate;
- The person seeking re-entry must have a valid passport; and
- Individuals in employment-based category such as H-1 or O-1 should have
a current Form I-797 (Notice of Action/Approval Notice). (Mexico and Canada
only)
- Effective April 1, 2002, automatic visa revalidation does not apply to nationals
of countries identified as supporting terrorism.
Anyone meeting these criteria should be allowed to re-enter the United States
as though they had never left. If the person seeking re-entry has had his or
her status changed (such as from F-1 to H-1, or B-2 to F-2), then the person
should be readmitted in the changed classification as if they have a visa in
the proper category.
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Automatic Visa Revalidation Issues
There are certain issues that must be kept in mind before using Automatic Visa
Revalidation:
- The person applying for re-entry must present an original Form I-94 (Departure
Record). This means that you cannot allow the airline (or anyone else) to
remove your Form I-94 (Departure Record) when you depart from the U.S.
- The Form I-94 (Departure Record) presented must be valid. This means that
it cannot have expired or be for an incorrect nonimmigrant status. An example
of this would be the case of a visitor (B-2) who is attending school, but
who has not received change of status to F-1, but departs and tries to re-enter.
In this case, the person would be returning to the U.S. to attend school,
but would not have a student Form I-94 (Departure Record) with an F-1 status
marked on it; this individual would not be eligible for the automatic visa
revalidation.
- The person seeking re-entry must not have violated his or her status when
previously in the U. S. If a person entered the U. S. as in Nonimmigrant Student
(F-1) status, violated status by accepting unauthorized employment, and then
tried to re-enter using a Form I-94 (Departure Record) with F-1 indicated
and an I-20 (and no visa), he/she could be refused entry to the U. S.
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Temporary Restrictions Effective April 1, 2002 Imposed by the U. S. Department
of State
Effective April 1, 2002, citizens of "state sponsors of terrorism"
(see below) will no longer be able to take advantage of the automatic revalidation
benefit. In addition, any nonimmigrant (not just citizens of "state sponsors
of terrorism") who chooses to apply for a new visa while in contiguous
territory will no longer be eligible for the "automatic revalidation"
benefit during the course of that trip, but would rather have to wait until
the visa is granted in order to reenter the United States. The State Department
will accept comments on this rule until May 6, 2002. More detailed information
about these two new restrictions is available at:
http://www.nafsa.org/
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Regulations Effective 4/1/2002
Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1104; 8 U.S.C. 1181, 1201, 1202; Pub. L. 105-277, 112 Stat.
2681 et seq.
Sec. 41.112 Validity of visa. * * * * *
(d) Automatic extension of validity at ports of entry. (1) Provided that the
requirements set out in paragraph (d)(2) of this section are fully met, the
following provisions apply to nonimmigrant aliens seeking readmission at ports
of entry:
(i) 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 INS 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.
(2) The provisions in paragraph (d)(1) of this section are applicable only
in the case of a nonimmigrant alien who:
(i) Is in possession of a Form I-94, Arrival-Departure Record, endorsed by INS
to show an unexpired period of initial admission or extension of stay, or, in
the case of a qualified F or J student or exchange visitor or the accompanying
spouse or child of such an alien, is in possession of a current Form I-20, Certificate
of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status, or Form IAP-66, Certificate
of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor Status, issued by the school the student
has been authorized to attend by INS, or by the sponsor of the exchange program
in which the alien has been authorized to participate by INS, and endorsed by
the issuing school official or program sponsor to indicate the period of initial
admission or extension of stay authorized by INS;
(ii) Is applying for readmission after an absence not exceeding 30 days solely
in contiguous territory, or, in the case of a student or exchange visitor or
accompanying spouse or child meeting the stipulations of paragraph (d)(2)(i)
of this section, after an absence not exceeding 30 days in contiguous territory
or adjacent islands other than Cuba;
(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;
(v) Is in possession of a valid passport;
(vi) Does not require authorization for admission under INA 212(d)(3); and
(vii) Has not applied for a new visa while abroad.
(3) The provisions in paragraphs (d)(1) and (d)(2) of this section shall not
apply to the nationals of countries identified as supporting terrorism in the
Department's annual report to Congress entitled Patterns of Global Terrorism.
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What countries have been identified as supporting terrorism and under what
authority?
Several laws require the United States Department of State to designate a foreign
state as one sponsoring terrorism. They are: Section 620A of the foreign Assistance
Act, Section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act, and Section 6(j) of the Export
Administration Act. Consequently, the Department periodically publishes a report,
Patterns of Global Terrorism, updating such designations. Currently, the designated
countries are Iran, Syria, Sudan, and Cuba.
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