The US Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) recently published a fact sheet about automatic visa revalidation. This revalidation allows a nonimmigrant to travel to Canada or Mexico for less than 30 days, and return using an expired visa if the foreign national also has an unexpired I-94. The provision applies to people who are returning in a different status to that on their visa, as well as to people who have had their initial status extended. For example, a person can return from a short trip to Canada with an expired L-1 visa stamp and an L-1 extension approval notice with an unexpired I-94. Another example would be a person returning from a short trip to Mexico, and using an expired F-1 visa stamp and a change of status H-1B approval notice to enter.
The revalidation provision does NOT apply if the foreign national:
- has applied for a visa while on that trip to Canada or Mexico;
- is from Iran, Syria, Sudan or Cuba; or
- entered under the Visa Waiver Program.
