• Please read the handout on J-1 Travel Information – click here.

• The J-1 visa is a laminated page placed in your passport by a U.S. consular officer in a U.S. Embassy. Your J-1 visa is an entry permit to the U.S. and must be valid and unexpired when you seek entry to the U.S. It can expire while you are in the U.S. without having any negative effect on your J-1 status.

• If your J-1 visa has expired and you wish to travel outside the U.S., you must obtain a new J-1 visa before seeking reentry to the U.S. The only exception to this rule are trips to Canada, Mexico or the islands of the Caribbean (other than Cuba). Under the “Automatic revalidation of visa” benefit, you may reenter the US with an expired visa as though the visa were still valid. An expired J-1 visa may be considered to be automatically extended to the date of application for readmission to the US (and therefore the visa in the passport need not have an expiration date that is in the future), provided you do the following:

1. Apply for readmission to US after an absence not exceeding 30 days in contiguous territory (Canada or Mexico) or adjacent islands (Saint 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 other than Cuba);
2. Maintain lawful J-1 status and intend to continue doing so;
3. Present a valid passport containing Form I-94 which authorizes a stay beyond the date of entry (e.g., D/S);
4. Present a properly endorsed Form DS-2019.

• Under these circumstances, you may be saved the necessity of applying for a new J-1 visa even if your visa has expired. An exchange visitor whose visa has been canceled or voided is not eligible for automatic revalidation of visa benefit. Citizens of “state sponsors of terrorism” cannot take advantage of the automatic revalidation benefit. Any non-immigrant who chooses to apply for a new visa while in contiguous territory is not eligible for the automatic revalidation benefit during the course of that trip, but has to wait until the visa is granted in order to enter the US.

• Documents you will need for visa issuance: You will need a valid passport, a current photograph, a properly endorsed Form DS-2019, proof of financial capability for continuing your J-1 activity, and continued nonimmigrant intent. Please check the Department of State website to inquire what other documents you may need: http://travel.state.gov

• Where to apply: Although you may be able to secure an original or renewal of a J-1 visa in a foreign country other than your own, your chances of being issued a J-1 visa are greatest when you apply at a US consular office in your country of citizenship or permanent residency. You may face more stringent requirements in a third country and should allow more time in case of delays. It is not possible to obtain a J-1 visa in the US.

• When to apply: You usually cannot apply for a new visa until 90 days before the expiration of the old one.

If you obtain a new J-1 visa, please make sure to provide a copy of the new visa to International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) upon your return to the U.S.

• Please contact Claudia Zitzmann, Associate Director, ISSS, at czitzmann@miami.edu or at (305) 284-2928 if you have any questions regarding visa renewal for J-1 scholars.