Travel

Travel Plan All students who plan to travel outside the US must request a travel endorsement signature from ISSS office. Request travel endorsements at least 3 weeks before your planned departure from the US. Be sure to clear your student account balance before requesting a travel endorsement.

If you are a student holding an F-1 or J-1 visa and you plan to travel outside the United States or to your home country, in order to be readmitted to the US you need to present to the Immigration Officer, at the port of entry, the following documents:

Valid Passport. It must be valid for at least 6 months in the future from the time you enter the US.
Valid F-1 or J-1 Visa stamp in your passport. If you need to apply for a new visa please see our Visa Renewal information.
Valid I-20 or DS-2019 with a travel endorsement signature from ISSS office within 6 months from the time your plan to reenter the US.
Proof of Financial Support
UIW Transcript and proof of enrollment in the current and upcoming semester.

Special Instructions

If you have been approved for a change to F-1 or J-1 status though a USCIS application while in the United States, you must apply for an F-1 or J-1 visa before you can reenter the country.

If you have married to a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident, or have been included in a petition for permanent residency (I-485), please consult with ISSS before you finalize plans for your trip.

If you are on OPT or awaiting a decision on an OPT application, please consult with ISSS before you finalize plans for your trip.

Automatic Revalidation

F-1 and J-1 students from most countries, who plan to travel to Canada, Mexico or adjacent Islands (Bermuda, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Miquelon, St. Pierre, Trinidad and Tobago, Windward and Leeward Islands) a less than 30 days, can travel with an expired visa. You may however be required to apply for a visa to enter these countries.

In order to be readmitted to the US you need to present to the Immigration Officer, at the port of entry, the following documents:

Valid Passport. It must be valid for at least 6 months in the future from the time you enter the US.
Valid I-94 with "D/S" notation
Valid I-20 or DS-2019 with a travel endorsement signature from ISSS office within 6 months from the time your plan to reenter the US.
Proof of Financial Support
UIW Transcript and proof of enrollment in the current and upcoming semester.

For more information about Automatic Revalidation see the US Department of State website regarding Automatic Revalidation as well as the Custom and Border Protection Fact sheet:

Exceptions

Automatic Revalidation does not apply under the following circumstances:

You applied for a new visa and it has not been issued
You applied for a new visa and were denied
You have a terminated SEVIS record indicating that you are out of status
You have been out the United States for more than thirty days
You are a citizen of one of the following countries: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan

Secondary Inspection:

Whether traveling by sea, land or air, if your information cannot be automatically verified by the inspector or you do not have all the required documentation, you may be directed to an interview area known as “secondary inspection.” Secondary inspection allows inspectors to conduct additional research in order to verify information. Verifications are done apart from the primary inspection lines so that an individual case will not cause delays for other arriving passengers.

In the case your admission/participation needs to be verified, we strongly advise that you have readily available the name and phone number of our UIW International Student Office, (210) 805-5705. In the event you arrive during non-business hours (evenings, weekends, holidays), your phone call will be forwarded to the UIW University Police, they will then contact our office.

Failure to provide proper documentation and to comply with entry/exit procedures is cause to refuse the student or exchange visitor admission into the United States. In limited circumstances, if a student or exchange visitor is mostly, but no fully in compliance, he/she may be issued a Form I-515A “Notice to Student or Exchange Visitor”. This form authorizes temporary admission into the United States and requires the student or exchange visitor to immediately bring the Form I-515A and all of your immigration documents to UIW International Student Office. Noncompliance with the directions contained on this forms may result in denied re-entry.