Page Tools

Visa & Travel

Traveling Outside the U.S.

Before entering another country, contact the country's consulate or embassy and obtain a visa if one is required for citizens from your country of citizenship or lawful residence. Many factors affect whether you need a visa and how long it will take you to obtain one. These factors include, but are not limited to, the purpose of your visit; the relationship between your country and the country you plan to visit; your current visa class or status in the U.S.; and your previous visa history with the country you plan to visit.

The International Services Office provides a travel letter stating that you are in valid immigrant status, your position at Salk (e.g. Research Associate), and the dates of travel. Please alert the International Services Office of your travel plans in advance so a travel letter may be prepared.

Special Registration

For those who must be concerned with special registration, remember to request an "exit interview" whenever you leave the U.S. You must request the exit interview from a US Customs & Border Patrol officer. Failure to get an exit interview before leaving will result in serious trouble of reentry into the U.S. Be sure to arrive earlier at the airport to allow time for the exit interview.

Obtaining a New Visa
If you will be traveling outside the U.S. and the visa stamp in your passport has expired, you will need to obtain a new one at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad prior to reentering the U.S. A visa cannot be obtained from within the U.S. Visa stamps are not required for Canadian citizens.

To apply for a new visa, international scholars should take the following:

For more information regarding additional necessary documents or paperwork, consult the website for the U.S. embassy or consulate that you will be visiting. Allow ample time to make the visa appointment and receive your visa sticker. Visa holders can check current visa wait times, determined by U.S. consulate location.

Applying for a visa to the U.S. in Canada or Mexico

Although it is usually best to apply for a visa at a U.S. Consulate or Embassy in your home country, it may be possible for you to travel to Canada or Mexico to obtain a visa in your passport. As information is subject to change, we advise you to check for updated information at the State Department's Website. Not everyone is eligible to apply for a visa at a Consulate in a third country. You are only eligible to do so if you have never been out of status in the U.S. because you overstayed the terms of your visa. If you remained in the U.S. longer than the period authorized, you are required to apply for a new visa in your country of citizenship.

If you are not a citizen of Canada or Mexico, you must make an appointment to apply for a visa at one of the U.S. Consulates located near the U.S. border in Canada or Mexico. U.S. Consulates are located in Canada at: Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto and Vancouver. Border Consulates in Mexico are in Cuidad Juarez, Matamoros and Tijuana.

Third party nationals wishing to make an appointment for a visa application in Canada or Mexico may do so using the State Department's internet-based appointment system. There is a fee to use this system which must be paid with a major credit card. You may also schedule an appointment in Canada or Mexico by telephone. From the U.S., call 1-900-443-3131. From Canada, you may call 1-900-451-2778. There is a substantial per minute charge for these calls. If you are unable to make a 1-900 call, and wish to charge the call to your credit card, you should call 1-888-840-0032 from a touch tone phone. Be sure to have your credit card number handy.

Once you have scheduled your appointment, either over the internet or by telephone, you will be sent a confirmation letter and Form OF-156, Application for a Non-immigrant Visa. You will also be given information about the Consulate where you have scheduled your appointment and instructions about what documents to bring with you. You will be sent a letter verifying the day and time of your appointment at the U.S. Consulate. Be sure to take this letter with you or you may be denied entry to the Consulate.

Reentry into the U.S.- General Requirements

J-1 Scholars and J-2 Dependents must have the following:

H-1Bs and O-1s must have:

H-4 and O-3 Dependents must have:

TNs must have:

TD Dependents must have:

If you obtained a travel letter from the International Services Office prior to your departure, you may present the document if needed.

Automatic Visa Revalidation

US Department of State regulations permit certain non-immigrants to re-enter the United States after a 30-day or less visit to Canada, Mexico, or other adjacent islands (other than Cuba) without having to obtain a new visa prior to re-entry. This is called automatic visa revalidation (AVR).

Automatic revalidation applies in two ways.

  1. If you have a visa sticker in your passport that matches your current status, but has expired, that visa sticker is considered to be automatically revalidated to a current date for your return to the U.S.
  2. If you have changed status while in the U.S., and you have a visa sticker that matches your old status (either expired or unexpired), that visa sticker is considered to be automatically changed to a stamp matching the new status and revalidated to a current date for your return to the U.S. even though it is not the same as your current status and has, perhaps, expired.

Individuals seeking to benefit from this provision must retain their I-94 when leaving the U.S. as it is essential for re-entry. In addition, all other travel documents relevant to the particular status (passport, DS-2019 for J-1s, I-797 for H-1Bs etc.) must be carried and properly endorsed. When requesting a travel letter from the International Services Office, please state that you will be using the AVR program so your letter may reflect this.

Individuals traveling on passports issued by Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Sudan, North Korea and Cuba may not benefit from this provision. Anyone who is visiting Canada or Mexico in order to apply for a new visa may no longer benefit from automatic revalidation. Please note that persons in H status are only eligible for automatic visa revalidation in Canada and Mexico and not in the adjacent islands. Check the U.S. State Department Website for the most recent information.

Visa Wait Times

Visa holders can check current visa wait times, determined by U.S. consulate location.

Security Checks

All visa applicants will undergo security checks. Security checks can delay or even result in the denial of a visa. Because of this, you should apply for the visa well in advance of the date you wish to travel to the U.S. The State Department has its own reasons for running security checks on applicants, and there is no way to predict with certainty who will be subject to these checks. However, you are more likely to be subject to an in-depth security check if you meet one of the following criteria:

  1. You are applying for a visa in a third country.
  2. You are coming from or have traveled in certain countries, including the seven countries on the U.S. State Department’s List of State Sponsors of Terrorism: Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria. Experience has shown that persons from Russia and China are also subject to in-depth security checks.

You are engaged either professionally or academically in any of the fields listed on the U.S. State Department’s Technology Alert List ("TAL"). These fields include, but are not limited to: engineering, chemistry, biology, physics, architecture and urban planning.