If you are only traveling to Canada or Mexico for a period of less than 30 days, you may be eligible to re-enter the US on the basis of an expired visa in your passport under a process called “automatic visa revalidation.”

In order to take advantage of Automatic Revalidation all of the following must apply:

• The visit is ONLY to Canada or Mexico and you may NOT travel to any other country.
• You did not apply for a new US visa stamp while in Canada/Mexico.
• Your passport must be valid for at least six months from your date of re-entry to the U.S., unless your country is a member of the so-called “six-month club [1].”
• You must possess your portion of the approval notice (bottom left side of the I-797) – if in H-1B status
• You must possess an unexpired I-94 record* or admission stamp.
• You must apply for readmission to the U.S. within the authorized period of your immigration status.
• You must have maintained and intend to resume your non-immigrant status.

NOTE: When exiting the U.S. for Automatic Revalidation do not surrender your I-94—you will need it for reentry.

Automatic revalidation is not available to nationals from countries identified as state sponsors of terrorism [2]. Individuals who apply for a new visa in Canada and/or Mexico, but are denied such a visa, are also not eligible to benefit from the automatic visa revalidation option.

We recommend that individuals planning to re-enter the US under the automatic visa revalidation process carry with them the CBP article [3] on automatic visa revalidation. In addition, please print the relevant regulations [4].

If you will be traveling by air, you should confirm that your airline is familiar with the visa revalidation process and will issue you a boarding pass when returning to the US even though you have an expired US visa in your passport.