INFORMATION FOR J-1 EXCHANGE VISITORS

Applying for a J Visa and Automatic Visa Revalidation

Immigration Status vs. Visa

There is often confusion about which document is the visa and which document designates your immigration status. This confusion is compounded by the frequent use of the word "visa" to mean many different concepts. Your Form I-94 card designates your immigration status. The Form I-94 card is the white card issued to you by USCIS when you enter the United States at a designated port of entry. A visa is the document issued by the US State Department at a US embassy and affixed to a page in your passport. The visa grants you eligibility to enter the US in a specific immigration status. A J-1 visa cannot be issued without a valid Form DS-2019.

Applying for a Visa

All visa applications require a valid passport, a completed visa application, Form DS-160, and visa processing fee. Because the processing of visa applications varies at each consulate, it is important that you visit the website of the consulate where you will be applying for a visa in order to see what documentation is required. The time needed for processing an application may also be indicated on the consulate’s website. Information on individual US consular office procedures for processing visa applications can be found at:
http://usembassy.state.gov

Form DS-160 can be found on the designated consulate’s web page or at:
http://travel.state.gov/visa/forms/forms_4230.html/

Security Checks

All visa applicants will undergo security checks. Security checks can delay or even result in the denial of a visa. Because of this, you should apply for the visa well in advance of the date you wish to travel to the US. The State Department has its own reasons for running security checks on applicants. There is no way to predict with certainty who will be subject to these checks. However, you are more likely to be subject to an in-depth security check if you meet one of the following criteria:

1. You are applying for a visa in a third country.
2. You are coming from or have traveled in certain countries, including the seven countries on the US State Department’s List of State Sponsors of Terrorism: Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria. Experience has shown that persons from Russia and China are also subject to in-depth security checks.
3. You are engaged either professionally or academically in any of the fields listed on the US State Department’s Technology Alert List ("TAL"). These fields include, but are not limited to, physics, engineering, chemistry, biology, architecture, and urban planning.

Applying for a Visa at a US Consulate in Canada or Mexico

If you wish to apply for a visa at a US consulate in Canada or Mexico, you must make an appointment with the consulate where you will be filing your visa application. You can make this appointment online at:
https://www.nvars.com

It is essential to note that if the consulate in Canada or Mexico denies your visa application, you will not be eligible to return to the US under the provisions of automatic visa revalidation.

Automatic Visa Revalidation

If the visa page in your passport is expired, you may not need to obtain a new visa in certain circumstances. If you travel for less than 30 days solely to Canada, Mexico, or the adjacent islands in the Caribbean, you may be eligible for automatic revalidation of an expired visa or for the conversion of a J visa to the proper status (if you have changed status while in the US). Adjacent islands include: Saint Pierre, Miquelon, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, the Windward and Leeward Islands, Trinidad, Martinique, and other British, French, and Dutch territories or possessions in or bordering on the Caribbean Ocean. Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and certain other US territories and possessions are part of the US, under automatic visa revalidation or conversion, no visa is necessary for travel to or return from these locations. However, you should always carry full documentation (passport, DS-2019, and I-94 card) before boarding the flight back to the continental US.

To be eligible for automatic revalidation at the port of entry, you must:

• Have in your passport an expired visa for either your current status or a previous status.
• Seek to reenter the US after an absence of no more than 30 days and having been solely in Canada, Mexico, or the adjacent Caribbean islands.
• Have Form I-94 endorsed by a USCIS officer to show a valid period of stay in the US.
• Have a valid Form DS-2019 signed by the J-1 program sponsor. Washington University’s Office for International Students and Scholars has staff members who are allowed to sign the DS-2019 for those on Washington University’s J-1 Program.
• Have a valid passport (unless exempt from passport requirements).
• Have maintained lawful J visa status and intend to continue to do so upon reentry.
• Nonimmigrants from Cuba, Iran, Sudan and Syria are NOT eligible for automatic visa revalidation, even if traveling with a valid Form I-94.
• Not have applied for a visa in the contiguous territory of Mexico or Canada.

Please note that any time you leave the country, there is no guarantee you will be able to return. This is especially true of automatic revalidation, as some officers at the port of entry are not aware of the guidelines for automatic revalidation.

NOTE:

• You should keep your I-94 card when traveling to contiguous territory by air. Airlines will wish to collect the I-94 card upon departure, but you cannot qualify for automatic visa revalidation if you cannot present the I-94 at the time of reentry to the US.
• If you qualify for a change of status or extension of stay, these procedures must be completed before travel outside the US. You should bring all prior copies of Forms DS-2019 and IAP-66 when traveling in order to show continuity of J status.
• If you apply for and are refused visa issuance while outside the US, you are prohibited from returning to the US, even if you are in possession of a valid I-94 card.
• If you reenter the US under the automatic revalidation or conversion provision, you will return in exactly the same status and condition under which you left.

Visiting a Country Other Than Your Home Country

Those who apply for a visa in a country other than their country of citizenship are referred to as Third Country Nationals ("TCNs"). Visas may be necessary for travel to a third country. If you are planning to visit a third country to apply for your visa, you should contact the consulate or embassy of that country to determine what documents are necessary for entry to the US. You can access a list of foreign consular offices in the United States at the following website:
http://www.state.gov/s/cpr/rls/fco/c9299.htm

Although some US consulates accept visa applications from TCNs, the process will likely be more time-consuming because the consular officer must take extra measures to verify the applicant’s relationship to his or her home country and to the United States. TCN visa applications have a higher risk of being denied than those from nationals of that country, and applying for a visa in a third country is not recommended. In the event that your visa is denied and you are prohibited from returning to the US, it is essential that you make alternative plans before leaving the US. Because of the high risk of being barred reentry to the US, you should evaluate your reasons for travel in relation to your desire to continue your program in the US. For information on US consular office procedures for processing visa applications, please see:
http://usembassy.state.gov

The same regulations and procedures for automatic extension of visas apply to the J-2 dependent as to the J-1 principal participant. Since the dependent’s stay in the US is valid only while the J-1 participant maintains status here, it is not legitimate for the dependent to remain in the United States while the J-1 exchange visitor is absent from the country for any significant period of time.

Further Questions

If you should have further questions, please contact an advisor at the Office for International Students and Scholars (OISS) by e-mail at: oiss@wustl.edu or by telephone at (314) 935-5910.