"Visa" and "Status": A Common Confusion

In discussing immigration issues, there is often confusion among students and scholars visiting the US over what is meant by the term "visa" and what constitutes the concept of "status." In light of the misunderstandings that sometimes occur, the Office for International Students & Scholars wishes to help clearly delineate the differences between these important words.

Differentiating between "Visa" and "Status"

Visa

A visa is a physical item that has limited relevance and variable validity during a nonimmigrant alien’s stay in the US. The visa is a sticker placed in the passport (its present format covering an entire page) by an official of the Department of State at a US consular office. Once the visa has been obtained by the alien, it is needed only at the time he or she applies for admission to the US by presenting him- or herself to an immigration official at a US port of entry.

A particular visa ceases to have purpose after an alien has used it to enter the US, at least until such time that the alien has left the US and wishes to use that visa to reenter the country. Thus, the visa is often referred to as an "entry visa," helping to distinguish it from the concept sometimes called "visa status" discussed bellow. Since the visa’s sole function is to permit an alien admission to the US, the visa can expire at any time after the alien has entered the US without negatively affecting the alien’ nonimmigrant status.

Status

Nonimmigrant status (commonly referred to as "status" or as "visa status" or "immigrant status") is a nonphysical entity, a legal condition, granted to an alien by an officer of the Department of Homeland Security by admitting the alien into the US at a port of entry. Once the alien has obtained nonimmigrant status, he or she is expected to maintain that status throughout his or her stay in the US unless the status is legally changed to another.

Because the visa needs to be valid only for entry into the US in a certain status and may expire anytime thereafter, it is clearly inappropriate to reference the visa when attempting to determine whether or not an alien is maintaining his or her nonimmigrant status. Documents other than the visa are meant to provide at least initial evidence of the validity of a nonimmigrant alien’s status. Example of these documents and their functions follow.

Documenting Status

Eligibility Documents

For the majority of students and scholars, the I-20 (for individuals in F status) and the DS-2019 (for those in J status) are the forms, collectively referred to here as "eligibility documents," that provide relevant information about the status they are expected to maintain. Among the purposes that the documents serve are the following:

• To evidence eligibility to apply for a US entry visa at a US consular office and admission to the US at a port of entry
• To show the parameters of the program for which status was granted
• To initiate changes or updates to the status once it has been granted

I-94

For all nonimmigrant aliens, the I-94 is the document at the port of entry. The I-94 is a 3" x 5" white card, referred to as the Departure Record or Arrival/Departure Record. It is generally stapled to the passport by the Customs and Border Patrol officer at the port of entry and contains the terms of individuals’ admissions into the US, such as the visa status granted and the period of stay allowed. Since the I-94 is taken from the alien upon departure from the US, and a new I-94 is issued to him or her upon return to the US, the terms of admission are subject to renegotiation with each reentry. It is, therefore, extremely important to consider information contained in the eligibility documents AND the I-94 when a nonimmigrant alien’s maintenance of status is called into question.

Overview: Forms and Functions

Source: Fosnocht, David (Ed.) 2000: NAFSA Advisor’s Manual of Federal Regulations Affecting Foreign Students and Scholars 2000 Edition, NAFSA: Association of International Educators, USA