Immigration Bulletin
The US Department of State has changed the "automatic revalidation of
visa" benefit that allows F or J students and scholars to travel
to "contiguous countries" (Canada, Mexico and adjacent islands other
than Cuba) for trips of 30 days or less and return to the US even if
the US visa stamp in their passport is expired or their immigration
status has been changed in the U.S.
Beginning April 1, 2002, F and J students and scholars from
all countries who go to Canada or Mexico to apply for a new visa,
will not be allowed to re-enter the US on an expired visa stamp if
the new visa is not approved at the US consulate. Students and
scholars can still visit Canada and Mexico and re-enter the US on an
expired visa stamp, as long as they have not applied for a new visa
and been denied.
For students and scholars making arrangements for visa applications in
Mexico or Canada, this has a significant effect. After April 1st, if
the application for the visa is denied, the student or scholar would
in most cases need to depart from Mexico or Canada to their home
country to apply for a new visa to re-enter the U.S.
Additionally, beginning April 1, 2002, citizens from Iraq, Iran, Syria,
Libya,
Sudan, North Korea, and Cuba will not be allowed to re-enter the US
at any time with an expired US visa stamp, even if the trip is only
to contiguous territory.
Questions and Answers to clarify certain circumstances:
1. Q. I don't understand what automatic revalidation is anyway.
Can you explain?
A. Automatic revalidation of visa is a benefit under 22CFR 41.112 (d)
that allows certain non-immigrants to re-enter the U.S. after a 30-
day or less visit to "contiguous territory" (Canada, Mexico, and in
the case of F and J non-immigrants, the adjacent islands other than
Cuba) without having to obtain a new visa prior to re-entry. For
entry under these circumstances, the requirements would be valid
entry documents endorsed for travel (I-20,IAP-66), valid passport
with current or expired visa, and I-94 arrival/departure card
(retained at departure).
2. Q. A student has a conference to attend in Canada (or Mexico)
for a few days and his/her U.S. visa has expired. Can he/she still go
and return to the U.S. under "automatic revalidation."
A. Yes, automatic revalidation is still available to the student if
he/she does not plan to apply for a U.S. visa except for citizens of
the seven countries listed above.
3. Q. What about the waiting period for visas for individuals from
certain countries. How does this effect them if they want to get a
visa?
A. The State Department announced in November 2001 that all men
between ages 16 and 45 from certain Arab and Muslim countries would
be subject to a waiting period for non-immigrant visa applications
that would add an additional period of up to 20 working days to the
application process. Theses countries include: Afghanistan, Algeria,
Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan,
Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan,
Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. For
these individuals, the waiting period would be problematic if they
applied for a visa in Mexico or Canada since they would have to wait
until the visa is granted in order to re-enter the U.S.
Additionally, our understanding is that Juarez is not making visa
appointments for these individuals at this time because of the
automatic revalidation issue.
4. Q. A student changed his/her status from F-2 to F-1 in the U.S.
and would like to apply for an F-1 visa in Juarez. May he/she make
an appointment, and is it possible to re-enter if the student is
denied?
A. If the student is not from any of the countries listed above,
he/she would be able to make an appointment to apply for a visa, but
it would be a risk if he/she were denied. However, the new restrictions on
automatic revalidation would not allow him/her to re-enter as
F-1 if he/she did not have a valid F-1 visa. INS/the Department of
State may come out with further clarification for these particular
circumstances, but at this time, our interpretation would be that the
student would not be able to re-enter as an F-1 without a valid F-1
visa.
5. Q. If the student can't go to Mexico or Canada to apply for a
visa, how risky is it to go to another country to apply for the visa?
A. The visa process is not effected by the change in automatic
revalidation. The Department of State has always recommend applying
for a visa in
the student's home country, and that process has not changed.
If the student needs to apply for a visa in another country, he/she
will want to check the web site for the specific consulate to find
out the process there. That web site is:
http://travel.state.gov/links.html.
6. Q. How will INS know that that a student applied for a visa in
Mexico or Juarez?
A. When the visa application is submitted to the Consular Official
along with the passport, a notation is put on the back page of the
passport to indicate the receipt of that application, no matter
whether the visa is later issued or not.
7. Q. I have more questions; who do I contact?
A. Come by the International Office and speak to any of the advisors on
call.
|
