Can You Travel Abroad While on Optional Practical Training?

Students who are participating in Optional Practical Training (OPT) and a post-completion OPT STEM extension must follow the same procedures for traveling abroad that apply to all international students.

If you are planning to travel abroad on OPT, it is very important to consult with your DSO or any designated professional for advice before you leave. This will help to reduce any risk of re-entry difficulties while you are overseas.

Passport

Depending on your travel plans, you may need to present a passport at the airport if flying or at the border if travelling by car. You will also need to obtain a visa in your destination country for entry.

Passports are issued by government agencies and are legal identification documents that verify your identity. They have various security features to help prevent passport fraud and counterfeiting. Some of these features include holograms that light up under UV light, an electronic chip with the bearer’s information and optically variable ink that changes colour under different light sources.

A valid passport must be dated in advance of your intended trip, and have at least two blank pages. Some countries require that passports be valid for a specific number of months beyond the planned date of travel, so be sure to check your destination’s travel requirements before you leave.

For international trips, a valid passport is essential to boarding an airplane. You may be denied boarding if your passport is expired or you have missing pages.

Your passport should contain your name, address and a photo of yourself. The photograph must be clear, front-facing and of a suitable size. It must show you looking relaxed and smiling.

You should also make sure that the photo you provide is a recent one and does not have any visible dots. This is important, as a photograph with dots can cause the image to appear grainy and therefore not be accepted for a passport.

If your passport is lost or stolen, it should be reported immediately to the embassy or consulate that issued your visa. This will ensure that your visa is not invalidated for future travel to the United States.

Some students are issued emergency passports to be used in emergencies, such as when theirs is stolen or misplaced. They are valid for up to six months and can be used while you wait for a new passport.

In addition, automatic visa revalidation is available for travel to short-term tourist trips to certain islands adjacent to the United States (e.g. Bermuda, Jamaica).

If you are planning to travel outside the United States while your F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT) is in progress, it is highly recommended that you consult with an advisor in OISS before you travel. This will ensure that you are ready for any travel restrictions, quarantines or COVID vaccine requirements, which are sometimes required by the countries you visit.

I-20

A visa is a document that entitles a visitor to travel to the United States. The visitor must apply for the visa at an embassy or consulate outside of the U.S. The visitor then presents their documents to an inspector at a port-of-entry. The inspector then decides whether or not the visitor may enter the U.S.

Depending on the type of visa and country, the visa may be valid for several months or years. The length of validity depends on reciprocity agreements between the U.S. and the visitor’s home country.

When a visitor reaches their home country, they may need to obtain an additional type of visa called a ‘visa extension’. The ‘extension’ usually is valid for a specific period of time, and once it expires the visa holder must re-apply at the embassy or consulate in their home country.

If a visa extension is granted, it will give you more time to visit the United States. This extended visa allows you to visit the United States for a number of years and may allow you to enter and exit the U.S. many times during that time.

You can also travel while you are on opt or STEM, as long as you have all of the required documents (see below). Be sure to request a travel signature endorsement that will not be more than 6 months old as of your return date to the United States and have proof of employment that does not exceed the allowed unemployment limits in your current status.

Students who accrue more than the allowed amount of unemployment while on OPT or STEM will not be able to re-enter the United States on an expired visa, as they are considered out-of-status. Additionally, traveling on an expired visa may result in a denial of your F-1 visa application or a reentry bar on your passport.

The visa holder must re-enter the United States on a new nonimmigrant visa that matches the visa he or she is applying for. If the visa is voided due to a violation of immigration laws, it will be considered invalid and the person will no longer have status in the United States. This could have serious consequences including removal from the United States and reentry bars on their passport.

EAD

Many international students like to travel abroad while on their OPT (optional practical training) period. They also want to go back home for a holiday, to meet their family and friends or just to freshen up themselves before starting work in the United States.

But, before traveling, it is important to know whether you can re-enter the USA after traveling abroad with an expired visa. If your F-1 student visa expires while you are traveling on your OPT, you will need to apply for a new visa before coming back to the United States.

You can only re-enter the USA with an unexpired F-1 student visa, I-20, valid I-797 receipt notice, employer or job offer letter and a valid passport. This document can be obtained from the US Embassy abroad.

If you have post-completion OPT or STEM OPT Extension, and your employer has offered you a job or job offer, you may leave the country with your unexpired F-1 student visa, valid I-20 with travel signature signed within last six months, employer or job offer letter and a passport. This is a very easy way to return to the United States after your OPT or STEM OPT Extension has ended.

But, it is important to remember that the actual EAD is not valid until you receive it from USCIS, so you must wait to begin employment until the EAD start date on the plastic EAD itself. If you do not have your EAD when you begin employment, you will be required to work without an EAD, which could result in denial of admission into the United States by CBP officers at the port of entry.

If your EAD has been terminated, you must stop working before you re-enter the United States with an expired F-1 student visa and I-20. If you continue to work with an expired EAD, your visa will be denied and you will no longer be able to come to the United States.

Visa

A visa is a stamp in a passport that grants you official permission to enter, leave or stay in a particular country for a specified period of time. There are many types of visas, including tourist, student, work and transit. Each type of visa varies in validity, length of authorized stay and requirements.

For nonimmigrants, re-entry to the United States with an expired visa is normally prohibited, except in some specific situations. For example, F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors may be eligible for a program called automatic revalidation when traveling to Canada, Mexico or adjacent island nations as part of their study, research, business or cultural activities.

The length of time for which a visa is valid depends on reciprocity agreements between the U.S. and other countries. Each country has a different agreement with the U.S., and visas range in validity from two months to several years.

Depending on your country of citizenship, you may be required to obtain a visa for Canada, Mexico or any other Caribbean nation before entering those countries. You will also need to have a current, valid nonimmigrant visa to travel to the United States if you plan on visiting any other countries.

However, if you have a valid visa and are able to prove that your visa or your permit to stay in the United States has expired, you can re-enter the U.S. under this program, if you meet all eligibility requirements and have not previously violated the laws that govern visa expiration.

If your visa is currently expired, you should check the USCIS website to see if you are a candidate for automatic revalidation. If you are not, you will need to re-apply for a new visa in your home country before traveling to the United States again.

You can check the status of your application online through USCIS’s Check Case Processing Times page. If you are unsure of the status, it is recommended that you consult an immigration lawyer to determine the best course of action. If you are concerned about the status of your application, it is also a good idea to notify your advisor at the old school and BIO about your travel plans before departure.