Travel for F-1 visa students
F-1 visa holding students may leave the U.S. for temporary trips while they are studying. However, some specific details must be observed when traveling:
- Be certain to have a valid F-1 visa in your passport upon your return. **
- Be certain that your form I-20 has been endorsed for travel on page two by staff in the International Student Services office. We recommend that this travel endorsement be applied within 6 months of your planned trip. Please plan to get this endorsement at least one week prior to traveling, and if traveling with an F-2 dependent, get the I-20 endorsement for them as well.
- Be certain that your passport will still be valid for at least six months into the future upon your return to the U.S. This is a mandatory condition of maintaining legal F-1 status while inside the U.S.
- Before leaving, check for any possible need for transit visas in other countries on the way to your destination.
- Be prepared with alternate plans in case your travel is unexpectedly disrupted.
** Automatic Revalidation – for some F-1 visa holders, it is possible to take short trips to Canada or Mexico (30 days or less), under the Automatic Revalidation program, which recognizes expired F-1 visas in combination with Active I-20s for travel purposes.
Travel Endorsement Request Form
Form I-515A – Temporary Entry, with mandatory reporting requirements
The Form I-515A is sometimes issued by U.S. Department of Homeland Security officers inside U.S. airports or at U.S. border crossings, when an F-1/J-1 student's or scholar's documentation is missing some items, or if the documentation has raised some minor questions. The I-515A can be issued to F-2 and J-2 family members as well. The I-515A grants F and J visa holders temporary admission into the United States for 30 days, so that they can correct any paperwork issues that prevented their admission for a longer period of time. To maintain legal nonimmigrant student status, the visa holder must address the requests on the Form I-515A promptly – a specific deadline will be issued by the officers at the border crossing.
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) will send "Intent to Terminate" notices to students and exchange visitors and their dependents who have failed to comply with the Form I-515A directive by the specified deadline. Recipients of the "Intent to Terminate" notices will have 14 days, as of the date the letter is sent, to respond. Failure to comply will result in the termination of their SEVIS record.
Therefore, it is vitally important that you contact the International Student Services Office immediately upon receiving a I-515A. Do not hesitate, delay, or put off the mandatory response required to regain full time student status. Contact TheWorld@memphis.edu with any concerns regarding the I-515A.