Advance planning can facilitate international travel during the holiday season for foreign nationals and their families. Foreign national employees in the United States in nonimmigrant visa status who are traveling internationally over the upcoming holiday season should plan now to ensure they have the proper documents in hand and visa appointments scheduled in advance at U.S. consulates outside of the U.S.

Check the Validity of Visa Stamp

To re-enter the U.S. after travel abroad, foreign nationals must have a visa stamp in their passport that reflects their current status in the U.S. and that is valid at the time they re-enter the country. Before traveling internationally, foreign nationals should check the validity of the visa stamp in their passports.  If the visa stamp has expired or will expire before they return to the U.S., they will need to apply for a new visa at a U.S. consulate.

Scheduling Visa Appointments

To obtain a new visa at a U.S. consulate, the foreign national must complete an online Form DS-160 at https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/, pay a visa application fee, and schedule a visa appointment. Many consulates now allow foreign nationals to pay the application fee and schedule visa appointments online through an official U.S. visa information and appointment service site. More information, including links to the various visa services sites, is available at: https://usvisa-info.com/

Additionally, detailed information on obtaining a visa, including current appointment wait times, is available on the U.S. Department of State’s website at http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english.html.

Attending a Visa Appointment

Foreign nationals should be prepared to attend their visa appointments with the proper documents. Consulates will require that applicants provide their current and expired passports, DS-160 barcode confirmation page, appointment confirmation notice, a Form I-797 Approval Notice, one passport-size photo, and an employment verification letter or paystubs to demonstrate continued employment. Passports must be valid for at least six months and contain at least one blank page. Foreign nationals should be sure to also check the consulate’s website to confirm whether any additional documents are required. Dependents applying for a visa should also bring evidence of the relationship, for example marriage and birth certificates.

Entry Into the U.S.

When re-entering the U.S., foreign nationals should present their passport bearing their current visa stamp and the Form I-797 Approval Notice to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer at the port of entry. The officer will stamp the passport with an admission stamp that will show the date of admission, class of admission, and the expiration date that of the person’s admission period. An electronic Arrival/Departure record (I-94 record) will then be created, which can be retrieved from the CBP website at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/request.html. Foreign nationals should print out the electronic I-94 for their records and provide a copy to Pryor Cashman.

Foreign nationals should carefully review their admission stamp and their I-94 record to ensure they reflect their correct status and expiration date, as an error, particularly on the I-94 record, can have a serious negative impact on the foreign national’s status in the U.S.