{"id":18185,"date":"2012-10-15T09:11:06","date_gmt":"2012-10-15T14:11:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/?page_id=18185"},"modified":"2025-06-20T16:58:04","modified_gmt":"2025-06-20T16:58:04","slug":"travel","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/isss\/f1\/travel\/","title":{"rendered":"Travel | Reentry | Vacation"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><strong>PLAN YOUR TRAVEL\u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-24624 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/isss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2021\/11\/Screen-Shot-2021-11-11-at-7.39.41-PM.png\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 232px) 100vw, 232px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/isss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2021\/11\/Screen-Shot-2021-11-11-at-7.39.41-PM.png 590w, https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/isss\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/83\/2021\/11\/Screen-Shot-2021-11-11-at-7.39.41-PM-300x162.png 300w\" alt=\"\" width=\"303\" height=\"164\" \/><\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>To avoid unnecessary inconvenience for your reentry, we strongly recommend you obtain a travel signature prior to your travel from your advisor. All the international student advisors at Â̲èÖ±²¥ are Designated School Officials (DSO) who can sign these documents.<\/p>\n<h3>What documents does an F-1 student need to reenter the U.S.?<\/h3>\n<p>According to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the basic documents for an F-1 student&#8217;s re-entry to the U.S. after traveling abroad<em><strong>\u00a0for less than 5 months<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0are listed below:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A current Form I-20 is endorsed for travel and signed by a DSO<\/li>\n<li>A current passport valid for at least six months after the date of the reentry or, if you are from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ice.gov\/sevis\/travel\/faq_f2.htm#_Toc81222004\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a country on this list<\/a>, a passport that is current through the date of entry<\/li>\n<li>A valid, current visa unless\u00a0you traveled to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ice.gov\/sevis\/travel\/faq_f2.htm#_Toc81222003\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">contiguous country or adjacent island<\/a> for less than thirty days<\/li>\n<li>Financial information showing proof of necessary funds to cover tuition and living expenses<\/li>\n<li>Evidence of student status (like your unofficial transcript, letter from the ISSS department, EAD card\/OPT employment letter)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Besides, bringing your most recent I-94 will facilitate your reentry (<a href=\"https:\/\/i94.cbp.dhs.gov\/I94\/#\/home\">get a copy of your electronic I-94 record<\/a>), if reentering through a land port of entry (POE). If you are flying, the airline will collect your I-94 prior to departure and you will complete a new one upon reentry. In addition, students are recommended to present evidence of student status (recent tuition receipts, transcripts), and the name and contact information of a school&#8217;s DSO as needed. Please note:\u00a0<em>If the student is from a visa-exempt country (e.g. Canada), the student does not need a visa to reenter the United States from the western hemisphere.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>If an F-1 student who is not from a visa-exempt country travels abroad <strong>for more than 5 months<\/strong>, it means that the student will have to enter an initial status, which requires a new SEVIS record, a new I-20, a new payment of the SEVIS I-901 fee, and a new F-1 visa.<\/p>\n<p>We encourage you to get travel insurance while you are traveling in a country that is not your home country. Please follow<strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/visaguide.world\/travel-insurance\/student-travel-insurance\/\">Student Travel Insurance<\/a> <\/strong>information to learn more.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Travel and reentry while on OPT<\/h3>\n<p>An F-1 student engaged in pre-completion OPT should follow the same procedure to travel abroad and re-enter as all F-1 students. At the port of entry, be prepared to present your EAD card upon request by U.S. border officials.<\/p>\n<p>If you have post-completion OPT after completion of studies and wish to travel outside the U.S., upon reentering you must present to the U.S. border officials\u00a0<strong>an unexpired EAD, and a valid Form I-20 endorsed by the DSO within 6 months of the reentry date<\/strong>. We also recommend that you have a job offer (as evidence of returning to resume employment) and a valid, unexpired F-1 visa in your passport. If you have not yet received your EAD and are still in the pending stage, this is riskier. Please consult with your advisor. Please note: if your F-1 visa expires upon the time you plan to reenter, you will have to apply for a new F-1 visa. However, there is a risk that consulates may be unwilling to issue new F-1 visas to students who have completed their studies and are simply reentering the United States.<\/p>\n<p>Students who are approved for post-completion OPT continue to be in F-1 status. They are therefore subject not only to the requirements that they have an I-20 endorsed for travel and an EAD, but to the requirement that they have a valid F-1 visa to re-enter the United States unless they are exempt from the visa requirement. In other words, these students will have to present a Form I-20 endorsed by the DSO within the preceding 6 months, an unexpired EAD, and evidence of returning to resume employment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Please consult with your advisor if you plan to travel on OPT.<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Travel to Canada and Mexico<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Although Canada and Mexico share the border with the United States, an international student will still need to apply for a visa to enter each of the countries unless the student is from a visa-exempt country to Canada or Mexico. In fact, Mexico and Canada have distinct entry requirements. For more details, please visit the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.cic.gc.ca\/english\/visit\/visas.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Canadian Visa Information<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/embamex.sre.gob.mx\/finlandia\/index.php\/traveling\/visas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mexican Visa Information<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>If F-1 students and their dependents travel for\u00a0<strong>less than 30 days<\/strong>\u00a0solely to Canada, Mexico, or\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ice.gov\/sevis\/travel\/faq_f2.htm#_Toc81222015\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">adjacent islands in the Caribbean<\/a>\u00a0(except Cuba),\u00a0 their expired F visas are considered to be &#8220;extended&#8221; to the date of re-entry, eliminating the need to obtain a new visa at a U.S. consulate before that particular re-entry. This is known as automatic visa revalidation. However,\u00a0 the automatic re-validation is available only when the following conditions are met:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The F non-immigrant is not a national of one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/state-sponsors-of-terrorism\/\">countries<\/a> Iran, Syria, Sudan, and North Korea.<\/li>\n<li><em>The F non-immigrant\u00a0satisfies each of these conditions:<\/em>\n<ul>\n<li>Is applying for readmission to the United States after an absence not exceeding 30 days solely in the contiguous territory (Canada or Mexico) or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ice.gov\/sevis\/travel#_Toc81222015\">adjacent islands<\/a> in the Caribbean (other than Cuba).<\/li>\n<li>Has maintained and intends to resume his or her F status and is reentering the United States prior to the expiration of the previously authorized stay.<\/li>\n<li>Presents a currently valid Form I-20 issued by the school he or she is authorized to attend and endorsed by the DSO for travel.<\/li>\n<li>Is in possession of a valid passport.<\/li>\n<li>Presents an unexpired Form I-94.<\/li>\n<li>Does not require the authorization of temporary admission to the United States under a provision for waiver of inadmissibility.<\/li>\n<li>Has not applied for a visa while abroad.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PLAN YOUR TRAVEL\u00a0 To avoid unnecessary inconvenience for your reentry, we strongly recommend you obtain a travel signature prior to your travel from your advisor. All the international student advisors at Â̲èÖ±²¥ are Designated School Officials (DSO) who can sign these documents. What documents does an F-1 student need to reenter the U.S.? According &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":23936,"parent":18168,"menu_order":8,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-fullwidth.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-18185","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/isss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/isss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/isss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/isss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/isss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18185"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/isss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18185\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25969,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/isss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18185\/revisions\/25969"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/isss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/18168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/isss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/isss\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}