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Temporary Restrictions Imposed by the U. S. Department of State, as of April 1, 2002

Effective April 1, 2002, citizens of "state sponsors of terrorism" ( currently Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Sudan, North Korea, and Cuba) will no longer be able to take advantage of the automatic revalidation benefit. In addition, any nonimmigrant (not just someone from the seven countries listed above) 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/content/ProfessionalandEducationalResources/Immigration Advising Resources/pa2002B.htm

General principles and procedures for automatic visa revalidation in Canada, Mexico and adjacent islands

Specifically for Automatic Visa Revalidation you should be aware of the following:

There is a procedure available in the law, known as "automatic visa revalidation," which 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.

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 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.
Individuals in employment-based category such as H-1 or O-1 should have a current Form I-797 (Notice of Action/Approval Notice).

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.

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), she could be refused entry to the U. S.

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 specific legal authority for this provision is found at Title 22, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 41.112(d), and is quoted below in its entirety:

(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:

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
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:

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;

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;

Has maintained and intends to resume nonimmigrant status.
Is applying for readmission within the authorized period of initial admission or extension of stay.
Is in possession of a valid passport.
Does not require authorization for admission under INA 212(d)(3).

(3) The provisions in paragraphs (d)(1) and (d)(2) of this section shall not apply to nationals of Iraq.

March 12, 2002 - Practice Advisory 2002-B: DOS changes to "automatic revalidation of visa" benefits Original posting March 8 with subsequent updates (Source: NAFSA: Association of International Education). On March 7, 2002, the State Department issued a rule amending 22 C.F.R. section 112(d), the "automatic revalidation of visa" benefit that allows certain non-immigrants to reenter the United States after a 30-day or less visit to "contiguous territory." This advisory describes the two changes to the benefit, both of which are effective April 1, 2002. First, citizens of "state sponsors of terrorism" will no longer be able to take advantage of the automatic revalidation benefit. Second, any nonimmigrant who chooses to apply for a new visa while in contiguous territory will not 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. Additional information can also be found at Siskind's the ABC's of immigration - Visa Revalidation.

September 20, 2001 - State department temporarily prohibits third country processing in Mexico and Canada (read more) The American Immigration Lawyers Association is reporting that it has been told by the State Department that the government is temporarily suspending the online nonimmigrant visa appointment system and the 900 toll number appointments for ALL nationals of third countries seeking to process visas at border posts. The policy went into effect 11/16/01. Readers are warned that if they are not a national of the border country where they seek to process a visa, they may end up stranded outside the US.

Summary: If you choose to travel outside of the United States during this time you should make sure that you stay up to date on the news and events happening around the world - and be aware of the potential difficulties with travel as well as with re-entry into the United States. You may expect longer than normal lines at Ports of Entry, more extensive questioning about your travel, increased security checks at airports within the US and possibly abroad, increased security checks by the airlines prior to boarding, and increased restrictions on your carryon luggage. Recommendations for documents include.... (more details select the link above......)

Summary: The Office of International Education continues to advise ALL non-immigrants traveling outside of the Auburn area to carry with them all their original identification documents: VALID Passport (if your visa is in an older passport carry that passport in ADDITION to the new one, the visa need not be valid as long as it was valid when you entered the country and all your other documents remain current/valid), I-94 card, I-20 or IAP-66 (current), and if applicable a copy of any other documents such as EAD card (associated with OPT, economic hardship, etc.). At this time we also continue to urge all who have declared immigrant intent or who have successfully achieved permanent residency as well as those on work visas (H1B, TN or other) to make sure you carry all your documents when traveling outside the Auburn area as well. This advisory remains in effect at all times. (more details select the link above......)