Automatic Revalidation Explained

Automatic visa revalidation allows certain non-immigrants to be admitted in the U.S. even if they are entering on an expired visa (normally, you need to have a valid unexpired visa to be able to come to the U.S.). This blog post will discuss who is eligible for an automatic  revalidation, what requirements need to be met, and what to do if you were admitted in a wrong status.

The following categories of non-immigrants are eligible for automatic visa revalidation:

• F-1 students and J-1 visitors who left the U.S. for less than 30 days while travelling to Canada, Mexico, or an adjacent island, or
• Non-immigrants with an expired visa but an unexpired I-94 that traveled to Canada or Mexico for less than 30 days.

The following requirements will need to be met to qualify for the automatic visa revalidation:

• You have maintained your nonimmigrant status in the US ;
• You intend to resume your nonimmigrant status in the US;
• You have a valid passport;
• You have not applied for a visa while abroad;
• You have only traveled to Canada or Mexico for less than 30 days (or if you travelled as an F student/J exchange visitor, you only travelled to Canada, Mexico, or an adjacent island)

Please also note that if you are travelling as an F-1 student, you will need a valid I-20 and if you are travelling as a J-1 visa, you will need the DS2019 form.

If you asked CBP to admit you on your original status that was on the I-94, but for some reason you were admitted in another status (e.g. you were coming back from Canada with your expired E2 visa an unexpired I-94 showing your E2 status), but you were admitted in another status (e.g. B visitor), you can ask your local CBP to get to get your I-94 corrected. Mistakes like this sometimes happen, often if you are going through the global entry kiosk, so you should always try to talk to a CBP officer when asking for an automatic visa revalidation. Additionally, you should always make it clear at the border which status you are entering on and explain the automatic visa revalidation to the officer so you are admitted in the correct status. Once you are in the U.S., the CBP may sometimes not want to correct your I-94, so it’s best practice to make sure you are being admitted in the proper visa category when you interact with CBP at the border.