Valid Passport   

A valid passport means that the passport has an expiration date of no less than 6 months in the future. A student who needs to renew a passport should contact the embassy of the home country located in Washington, DC. Renewal procedures and processing times are different for every country. Information about foreign embassies located in Washington, DC can be found at http://www.embassy.org.

Some students who renew passports during their stay in the U.S. will have 2 passports—the old passport containing the valid F-1 visa and the new valid passport which does not contain a visa sticker. USCIS will honor the unexpired F-1 visa sticker in the old passport if both passports are presented at the same time.

Valid Visa   

Before you make plans to travel outside of the U.S., you should check to see if the F-1 visa stamp in the passport is still valid for re-entering the United States. If the expiration date has passed, a new visa must be obtained at a U.S. consulate or embassy while out of the U.S. It is not possible to obtain F visas while in the United States. Information about U.S. Embassies is available at http://www.state.gov/www/regions_missions.html.

It is best to apply for a new F-1 visa sticker in the student’s home country. Obtaining a new visa in a third country can be difficult, because the U.S. embassy performs a series of background checks on all visa applicants. Student visas are issued in Canada and Mexico by appointment only. Appointments can be made with the U.S. embassies in Canada and Mexico by visiting the following internet site: http://www.nvars.com.

See our checklist for required materials to renew your student visa.

Form I-20 or DS-2019 with travel authorization   

All F/J students must have a signature from one of the OIE advisors on their I-20/DS-2019 before they leave the U.S. To obtain the required signature on your I-20 or DS-2019, a student has two options.

Option #1: The OIE dedicates a whole day for signing documents before travel. Travel Signature Day is scheduled each semester on "Reading Day" (the day after classes and before final exams each semester). Students can come to Travel Signature Day with their immigration documents to get an instant travel signature, have the opportunity to speak with an advisor if they have questions and enjoy snacks and door prizes in a relaxing studying break environment.

Option #2, allows students to bring their documents to 110 E. Clayton Street, 4th Floor, Bank of America Building about 2 weeks before the planned departure from the U.S. The receptionist will give your documents to an advisor for the signature. Once the documents are ready the advisor will e-mail the student to come back to pick them up.

Travel signatures are valid for travel for re-entry for one year. Students are encouraged to request a history of enrollment from the Registrar's Office. While this history is not necessary for travel, it can be useful for obtaining a new student visa.