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If the U.S. visa stamp in your passport is about to expire or has expired, and you are not planning to travel outside the U.S., you do not need a new visa.
The visa that is stamped in your passport is for entry purposes only. Once you are in the U.S., your Certificate of Eligibility (I-20 or DS-2019) and I-94 become the active documents that permit you to remain in the U.S. You are allowed to stay in the U.S. for D/S, which means, “Duration of Status,” the period of time that you are a student in good standing. The anticipated completion date noted on your I-20 or DS-2019 is the expiration date of your status. If you will need an extension of your I-20 or DS-2019, you must request an extension at the International Student Services office before the expiration date listed on your documents.
If you are planning to travel outside the U.S, even if the visa stamp in your passport is still valid (not expired and with available/multiple entries), you may still need to obtain a new visa to return. If you have been outside of U.S. for more than 5 months, we encourage you to contact U.S. Consulate in your home country to check whether you need to apply for a new visa.
Upon your return to the U.S., please provide ISS with a copy of your new visa (if applicable) and I-94 card.
You should schedule a visa interview at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate of your country of nationality or residence. If your country of nationality or residence does not have a U.S. embassy or consulate, there is a .
- Residence requirement: If you are applying for a visa based on the country of residence, you will be required to demonstrate residency in the country you are applying to.
- Applying in a country that is not your country of nationality, residence, or designated embassy or consulate: it may be more difficult to apply for a visa and appointment wait times will be significantly longer.
For detailed information, visit the following websites:
The following documents are needed for gaining a new visa after your previous visa has become invalid / expired:
- A valid passport.
- Current I-20 or DS-2019, signed for travel within 12 months by an International Student Services Advisor.
- Proof of financial support. This proof can be a copy of your bank statement, assistantship letter, scholarship letter, affidavit of support, or any combination sufficient to prove full financial support as indicated on your I-20 or DS-2019.
- Copies of your LSU transcript to prove you have been a full-time student in good standing since your enrollment as an F-1 or J-1 student. This transcript will be your proof of enrollment for all past semesters. If you were enrolled at another U.S. institution as an F-1 or J-1 student prior to enrollment at LSU, you will need a copy of that transcript at well.
- If you are pre-registered for future terms, the Office of the Registrar (Thomas Boyd) can provide pre-registration verification. You can print your schedule from Workday.
- One passport-size photograph. This photograph is a standard passport “facing front” picture. It may be wise to take two photographs with you.
Each embassy or consulate may have additional requirements. For details, visit USEmbassy.gov.
Remember that evidence of sufficient ties to your home country is still necessary. This evidence is important and needs to show that you intend to return home after your studies. Under U.S. law, all applicants for non-immigrant visas are viewed as intending immigrants unless they can show the consular officer that they are not. You must therefore be able to show that you have reasons for returning to your home country that are stronger than those for remaining in the United States.
"Ties" to your home country are the things that bind you to your hometown, homeland, or current place of residence: job, family, financial prospects that you own or will inherit, investments, etc. You may be asked about your specific intentions or promise of future employment, family or other relationships, educational objectives, grades, long-range plans, and career prospects in your home country. Each person’s situation is different, and there is no single document, certificate, or letter that can guarantee visa issuance.
Note: If an F-1 or J-1 student’s U.S. visa stamp is valid (unexpired), this provision/benefit is not needed for your travel to Canada, Mexico, or adjacent islands. You may re-enter the U.S., even if your trip is less than or more than 30 days, with your valid visa and all other required documents for re-entry.
The rule found in the Code of Federal Regulations at 22 CFR 41.112(d) allows non-immigrant visa holders to re-enter the U.S. under certain circumstances without a valid (unexpired) U.S. non-immigrant visa stamp.
To be eligible for this provision, the following conditions must apply:
- Your period abroad did not exceed 30 days.
- Your visit included only Canada or Mexico (contiguous territory). If you are an F or J non-immigrant visa holder, this provision also includes the following adjacent islands: Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Martinique, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Trinidad and Tobago, Anguilla, Antigua, Guadeloupe, Nevis, St. Kitts, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and other British, French, or Dutch territories or possessions in or bordering on the Caribbean Sea. Cuba is not included.
- You are otherwise admissible to the U.S.
- You did not apply for a new U.S. visa while abroad.
- You have maintained valid non-immigrant status prior to departure from the U.S. and will return to the U.S. to resume that same status.
- You are in possession of appropriate documents to demonstrate status:
- A valid passport.
- Your most recently issued original I-94 card. The I-94 should be retained, not surrendered upon departure from the U.S. if automatic visa revalidation is to be used.
- A valid form DS-2019 signed for re-entry for J-1 visa holders and valid form I-20 for F-1 visa holders.
- You are not a national of Cuba, Iran, Syria, or Sudan.
If you meet the above conditions, you may re-enter the U.S with an expired F or J (as applicable) visa stamp using automatic visa revalidation. Also, if you changed status from another visa category to F or J and never obtained an F-1 or J-1 visa stamp, you may re-enter the U.S. without any visa stamp using automatic visa revalidation if the above conditions are met.
Upon your return to the U.S., please provide ISS with a copy of your new visa (if applicable) and I-94 card.