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Visa expiration while you are a student
What should an international student do if your US visa expired or will expire while you are still a student?
The visa is your permission to cross a border and enter a country, and so it must be valid at the time you cross the border to enter the United States. At the time you enter you receive a red stamp, and the red stamp controls how long you can stay. For students, the red stamp should say that the expiration date of your permission to stay in the United States is D/S, which means Duration of Status, which means that as long as you are maintaining student status you may stay in the US. Maintaining student status means being enrolled full time, not breaking the laws, etc.
So, if you don’t depart from the US, you can stay 4 years to do your Bachelor degree, several more years to do a Master, several more years again to do a PhD etc, and that is all OK even though your visa expires.
If you leave the US, you will need a new visa to return. This can best be obtained in your home country from the US Embassy or Consulate there. If you return home the next time you depart the United States, you can apply for a new visa then. If you stay in the United States straight through until you graduate, you are not required to obtain any new visa.
One tricky thing is what happens if you wish to go to some country aside from your home country after your visa expired – in that case it is difficult, as they are unlikely to approve a visa for you outside your home country, so in some ways this can limit your opportunities for travel.
If your visa has expired there are special provisions for visiting "Contiguous Territory" (Canada, Mexico, and some Caribbean Islands) for a short visit and returning directly to the US. You can learn more here. |
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