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J-1 Exchange Visitor Travel

Getting Started

J-1 exchange visitors who will travel outside the United States should contact their assigned adviser in UT Southwestern's Office of International Affairs (OIA) two to three weeks before your anticipated date of travel.

Upon receiving the notification, your OIA adviser will send you the travel signature request form.

Once you complete the form and email it back to the OIA adviser, the adviser will sign and return an electronic DS-2019 endorsed for travel.

Travel signatures are valid for one year.

When traveling outside the U.S., you need the proper documents to return, including:

  • Passport valid for six months beyond the current program or employment end date
  • Valid J-1 visa stamp (for citizens of certain countries, reentry from Canada, Mexico, and the adjacent islands may be allowed with an expired visa)
  • DS-2019 with valid travel signature

Returning from Canada, Mexico, and the Adjacent Islands

J-1 exchange visitors usually must have a valid visa to return to the U.S. from abroad. However, the automatic validation provision of immigration law may apply to some travel.

If you travel to Canada, Mexico, or “adjacent islands” for less than 30 days, you may be eligible for automatic visa validation. This means that you may travel to these countries for less than 30 days and return to the U.S. with an expired visa stamp, as long as:

  • Your passport is valid.
  • You have a valid DS-2019 with a valid travel signature.
  • You only go to Canada, Mexico, and/or the Caribbean islands and do not stay outside the U.S. for more than 30 days.
  • You do not apply for a new U.S. visa while abroad (otherwise, you will have to wait for it to be approved and use it to reenter).

A J-1 visitor 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 a U.S. embassy or consulate

Renewing the Visa Stamp

U.S. consulates and embassies requires J-1 visitors who are renewing their visa to:

  • Complete the DS-160 Nonimmigrant Visa Application
  • Pay the nonimmigrant visa application fee
  • Make an appointment to interview for the J-visaat the nearest U.S. Consulate or Embassy
  • Bring the following documents to the interview:
    • Passport (valid at least six months beyond current end date)
    • DS-2019 form
    • Visa application confirmation page
    • Visa application fee payment receipt

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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