Review OIA’s recent messages to current/continuing students here.
Currently studying F-1 students should carry the following to re-enter the U.S.:
This page is for currently registered students who are still studying. Alumni should review the OPT/STEM OPT travel guidelines as they are different.
For re-entry to the U.S., currently enrolled students need a Travel Signature on I-20 page 2 from an OIA Designated School Official (DSO) dated within the last twelve months.
You should already have a travel signature! If you are in active status with us, OIA already produced a new Travel Signature I-20 automatically for you during Fall 2024. To access your Fall 2024 I-20 with an updated travel signature, simply login to your OIA Student Portal, go to Control Center (3) and find it under Documents. Students who arrived to start school in Spring 2025 received theirs then. We will automatically produce new travel signatures again in Fall 2025.
As with all I-20s, you should print your updated Fall 2024 Travel Signature I-20, sign page 1 bottom, and carry the paper I-20 with you when you re-enter the U.S. On updated I-20s, such as CPT, Extension, or FTE, we issue travel signatures automatically. You should always carry the most recently produced I-20 as a paper document during re-entry.
The signature is valid for the full calendar year from the date signed, for multiple entries. Travel Signature is not needed to leave the U.S., only to re-enter.
Your passport always should be valid at least six months into the future. It is particularly important when re-entering the U.S. If your passport will expire sometime during your studies or OPT period, many students have the option to renew it inside the U.S. You would do so by contacting your own Embassy/Consulate, which is likely either in NYC or DC. Depending on your citizenship, each Embassy/Consulate will have their own process for their citizens to renew.
If your entry visa has expired, you must renew it in order to re-enter the U.S. You are not able to renew your entry visa inside the U.S. Visas are only issued at U.S. consulates, which are only outside the country. We do not recommend leaving specifically to renew your visa, unless you have another reason to travel, as you may remain legally in F-1 status with an expired visa.
When you travel outside the U.S with an expired visa, you need to make plans and allow time for visa application and approval before your planned re-entry date. We generally recommend that you apply for your visa at the consulate nearest to your home residence, even for renewal. It may be possible to apply at a consulate in a different country, such as Canada or Mexico, but there are some risks with this. You need to prove ties to your home country during your visa application, and it is easier to do so when you apply at your local consulate. In addition, if your visa is denied, you must return to your local consulate to reapply again
Review our F-1 Visa Application resources before re-applying. Remember that F-1 is a non-immigrant, temporary status. As with the first visa application, students should demonstrate non-immigrant, temporary intent, and show ties to their home country. If your visa is denied, you should request the denial reason in writing from the consulate and consult OIA@pratt.edu.
The requirement to have a valid visa to re-enter the U.S. has one exception. F-1 status holders with expired visas may be eligible to travel for short trips to Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. The benefit is called Automatic Revalidation of visa and allows return to the U.S. despite the visa being expired. The following requirements must be met:
If you are going to use Automatic Revalidation, we recommend bringing with you: