Students Traveling Outside the U.S.

Effective as of March 19, 2002 some European Union (E.U.) countries began requiring airport transit visas from foreign nationals traveling from the U.S. via Europe. Please visit the following page for more information:

• Transit Visa Requirements for European Union Travel

If you have plans to travel outside of the U.S., please make sure that your Certificate of Eligibility (I-20 or DS-2019) is endorsed for travel before you leave and that the travel signature will still be valid upon re-entry.

Travel signatures on I-20s and DS-2019s are valid for one year, though it is recommended to have a signature no more than 6 months old if you will need to apply for a visa while abroad. Be sure to check your I-20 to see if it says "Initial" or "Transfer" instead of "Continuing Student." Only I-20s indicating "Continued attendance at this school" in item #3 should be signed for travel.

If you changed or are changing degree level or major, you must ask for a new I-20 from an ISS advisor prior to your departure from the U.S.

Please fill out the F-1 or J-1 travel request form, which can be picked up in our office or found on our Website. You will need to submit this form at our reception desk, along with your original I-20/DS-2019, passport, visa, and I-94 (for you and any dependents). Alternatively, you can get travel signature within a day if you sign up for Travel Signature Day. ISS organizes Travel Signature Day two times per semester toward peak travel times. Please refer to the ISS Events page for upcoming Travel Signature Day announcements.

• F-1/F-2 Travel Sheet
• J-1/J-2 Travel Sheet

Should you have a health insurance block, please visit Health Insurance page to find out how get it removed based on your particular situation.

If you are a sponsored student and your Certificate of Eligibility was issued by Texas A&M University, the travel request form must also be signed by the Sponsored Student Programs Office. If you are a sponsored student and your Certificate of Eligibility was NOT issued by Texas A&M University, then please contact the sponsoring agency that issued your document to obtain the appropriate travel signature.

Remember that many students travel at Christmas, Spring and Summer breaks, and ISS processes documents as they come in, so the longer you wait, the longer the queue will be. This is why we usually recommend that you plan on submitting your documents immediately.

Please visit the following pages for the latest student visa updates and visa renewal requirements:

• FAQ for F-nonimmigrants: Entry & Exit by DHS, updated 01/2009
• Validity of Student Visas Subsequent to a Break (longer than 5 months) in Studies Department of State Visa Policy Telegram, 12/2005

If you will need a new U.S. visa in order to re-enter, please be aware that you may face delays in visa issuance from a U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Significant delays in visa issuance may occur if you are in certain technical fields of study OR are from one of the following countries:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates or Yemen.

Consulates and Embassies are more frequently conducting background checks on individuals from these countries and individuals in certain technical fields, resulting in significant delays in visa processing times. There might be processing delays up to 120 days to obtain new visas. If you are a citizen of one of these countries, or are in high tech fields, AND you need a new visa to re-enter, it is NOT ADVISABLE for you to travel. Please contact ISS if you have questions regarding this.

If you need a new U.S. visa in order to re-enter, please refer to the following resources:

• Applying for A Student Visa
• Applying for visas in Mexico and Canada
• Automatic Visa Revalidation for students traveling to Canada or Mexico. Please speak to ISS before going to Canada or Mexico.

Please be aware that most international students and scholars on F and J visas are subject to the "SEVIS I-901 fee". Please consult the Sevis I-901 Fee page to see if it affects you. If you determined that you must pay the fee, be sure to pay it at least 3 days prior to the visa appointment at the U.S. embassy or consulate, because the visa application requires proof of the payment, the SEVIS identification number to which the fee was paid.