International Scholars

Travel

Prior to travel outside the United States, H-1B Employees must schedule an appointment to borrow the top portion of their H-1B approval notice (I-797) for re-entry to the United States. Additionally, read and follow the instructions below to ensure you have the proper documentation for re-entry, travel abroad, and post-arrival.

Be aware if you have an H-1B petition that is currently being processed by the Office of International Affairs (OIA) or has been submitted to USCIS and is pending approval, departing the United States may negatively impact the processing of your petition. If you are in this situation, consult the Office of International Affairs Immigration Specialist/Coordinator assigned to your case before making any travel plans outside the United States.

Documents needed for re-entry into the United States:

For travel abroad

For post-arrival

Automatic revalidation
Re-entry on any expired U.S. visa stamp that has not been cancelled (or marked "CWOP"—cancelled without prejudice) is allowed under Automatic Revalidation only for trips to Canada or Mexico lasting 30 days or less. This is not applicable to citizens/nationals of Iran, Syria, Sudan, or Cuba. If you received a paper I-94 card then keep it when leaving the U.S. and show it upon re-entry.

If you choose to apply for a U.S. visa in Canada and are not issued a new visa, you will not be readmitted to the U.S. under Automatic Revalidation. You will need to travel directly to your home country to obtain a new visa in order to re-enter the U.S.

221(g) administrative processing

Some individuals may be subject to further administrative processing under the 221(g) section of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act. Please note that this can cause significant delays in your travel plans. Below find some recommendations that will help you prepare for this process.

Be prepared to have the following documents with you for the interview:

Prepare a written statement addressing the following information:

Time: Consulates indicate that this processing takes a minimum of two weeks, and may require substantially longer. We are unable to provide a more specific completion date.