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J-1 ECFMG Travel

What You'll Need

To reenter the United States after international travel, as a J-1 ECFMG visa holder you will need:

  • Your passport, which must be valid for at least six months
  • Your valid J-1 visa, except for Canadian citizens
  • Your original Form DS-2019 containing travel signature

ECFMG signatures for Form DS-2019 travel validation are valid for one year. A new travel-validated DS-2019 is not required if you have a current unexpired travel signature on your DS-2019.

How to Request a Travel-Validated Form DS-2019 from ECFMG

ECFMG will process the request within seven to 10 business days. All Request for Duplicate Form DS-2019s are mailed through the United States Postal Service using first-class mail.

You can receive the new DS-2019 with travel endorsement sooner by express mailing. When mailing, the pre-addressed, prepaid shipping label can be uploaded to your record in OASIS. This shipping label must be uploaded:

  • At the same time that the completed and fully signed Request for Duplicate Form DS-2019 is submitted
  • As a separate document

If you apply for a new J-1 visa at a U.S. Consulate, please request and receive the travel-validated Form DS-2019 from ECFMG. This should be done prior to scheduling the visa interview appointment at the U.S. Consulate.

You do not need to leave the U.S. before your visa expiration date (not referring to visa status) as the visa stamp is the document for entry to the U.S.

Visa Versus Visa Status

The terms “visa” and “visa status” have different definitions.

A visa is the physical stamp on a passport page that permits a foreign national to enter the United States in a specific visa classification. Visas can only be obtained at U.S. Consulates outside of the United States.

Visa status determines an individual’s purpose for being in the United States. Upon entry to the United States, visa status is reflected on Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record.

In the case of physicians sponsored by ECFMG, Form I-94 should always reflect J-1 status with the notation of duration of status (D/S).

The expiration of the visa in a passport will not affect your stay if you are maintaining J-1 visa status in the United States.

The only time you require a valid J-1 visa is if you are physically outside of the United States and need to enter the United States in J-1 status.

Travel to Canada, Mexico, and Adjacent Islands of the United States

J-1 physicians and their J-2 dependents traveling to Canada, Mexico, and adjacent islands of the United States for less than 30 days are not required to have valid visas in their passport upon reentry to the United States as long as they:

  • Previously entered the United States in a nonimmigrant visa category
  • Have maintained valid nonimmigrant status

A J-1 physician who chooses to apply for a nonimmigrant visa stamp at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate in a contiguous territory (Canada, Mexico, or the adjacent islands) is not eligible to return to the United States under the automatic revalidation provision of immigration law:

  • While the application is pending or
  • If the application is denied at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate

You must present the following to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer upon reentry to the United States:

  • Travel-validated Form DS-2019 (validated by ECFMG Regional Advisor)
  • Valid passport
  • A previously issued visa, which may be expired or in a category other than J
  • Form I-94 reflecting J-1 visa status

Reentry to the United States

When reentering the United States, you must apply for admission via U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). A CBP officer will inspect the documents.

You will present your passport, visa, and Form DS-2019 to the CBP officer.

The officer will issue a Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record. Your Form I-94 should be notated with J-1 “Duration of Status (D/S).”

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