O-1 Visa

The Department of Homeland Security records all entries to and exits from the United States. Changes have been made to the exit procedures when departing the U.S. Commercial airlines should be following these procedures to report your departure to the Department of Homeland Security. If you have any questions please contact the director of the OISS or visit the Department of Homeland Security website.

The following documents are required upon entering the United States:

• Valid Passport: If your passport will expire soon, you must renew your passport before re-entry to the U.S.
• Original Form I-797, Approval Notice for O-1 status
• Valid O-1 visa stamped in passport: If your visa has expired or will expire before returning to the U.S., you must renew the visa at a U.S. consulate while abroad. (Canadians are exempt from this requirement).
• Although not required, it is recommended that you have a letter from your department confirming your employment upon your entry to the U.S.

Dependents applying for an O-3 visa will need to submit a copy of the main applicant’s Form I-797 Approval Notice when applying for an O-3 visa, as well as documentation of the relationship to the O-1 (i.e., birth certificate, marriage certificate). Dependents will need to show their valid passports with valid O-3 entry visas in order to enter the U.S.

All O-1 scholars and their O-3 dependents should check the date marked on the I-94 card upon re-entry to the U.S. The date marked on the I-94 should match the end date of the O-1 I-797 approval notice. Sometimes, O-1 scholars are given a 10-day grace period on the I-94 card (an extra 10 days after the end date of the I-797 approval notice).

If your I-94 card is marked with another date (before the end date on the I-797 approval notice), you should contact the OISS immediately.

Scholars are encouraged to send the director of the OISS a copy of their new I-94 card after they arrive in the U.S.

You are not permitted to travel abroad while an application for change of status is pending. If you travel outside of the U.S. while an application to change status is pending, you are considered by USCIS to have abandoned your application. In this event, an O-1 petition may be approved, but you must apply for an O-1 visa at a U.S. consulate abroad to enter the U.S. in O-1 status.

Although it is permissible to travel while a petition to extend O-1 status is pending with USCIS, you will still need a valid O-1 visa and a valid Form I-797 to re-enter the U.S. If the extension of stay is not approved by the time you need to re-enter the U.S., you may use your prior approval notice, but only if the period of employment on the notice has not yet expired and the O-1 visa in your passport is still valid. If an O extension is pending while you are outside of the U.S. and you intend to enter after the date of the current petition, you will not be eligible to enter the U.S. until the petition has been approved. If the previous petition is no longer valid, it is likely that your visa has also expired and that you will need a new visa to return to the U.S. in O-1 status. In this circumstance, you should NOT enter the country as a tourist because those in tourist status are not allowed to work in the U.S.

Your I-94 record (paper or electronic) designates your immigration status. The Form I-94 card is found on the lower right hand corner of the Form I-797 Approval Notice, which is issued to you by USCIS upon approval of your O-1 petition, or was issued by the Customs and Border Patrol Officer at the port of entry to the U.S. (recorded electronically, if entering by air or sea; recorded on paper if entering by land). A visa is the document issued by the U.S. State Department at a U.S. embassy and grants you eligibility to enter the U.S. in a specific status.

All visa applicants will undergo security checks, commonly referred to at consulates as administrative processing. Security checks can delay or even result in the denial of a visa. Because of this, you should apply for the visa well in advance of the date you wish to travel to the U.S.. The State Department has its own reasons for running security checks on applicants, and there is no way to predict with certainty who will be subject to these checks. However, you are more likely to be subject to an in-depth security check if you meet one of the following criteria:

• You are applying for a visa in a third country.
• You are coming from or have traveled in certain countries, including the seven countries on the U.S. State Department’s List of State Sponsors of Terrorism: Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria. Experience has shown that persons from Russia and China are also subject to in-depth security checks.
• You are engaged either professionally or academically in any of the fields listed on the U.S. State Department’s Technology Alert List (“TAL”). These fields include, but are not limited to: engineering, chemistry, biology, physics, architecture and urban planning.

Persons applying for a visa in a country other than their country of citizenship are referred to as Third Country Nationals (“TCNs”). Visas may be necessary for travel to a third country. If you are applying for a visa in a third country, you will need to contact that country’s consulate in either the United States or abroad to determine if a visa or other documents are necessary for entry. You can access a list of foreign consular offices in the U.S. at the Department of State website.

Although some consulates accept visa applications from TCNs, the process will likely be more time-consuming because the consular officer must take extra measures to verify the applicant’s relationship to his or her home country and to the U.S. Because TCN visa applications have a higher risk of being denied than those who are residents in that country, applying for a visa in a third country is not recommended. Due to this high risk, it is essential that you make alternative plans before leaving the U.S. in the event that your visa application is denied and you are prohibited from re-entering the country. In light of the possibility of being barred re-entry to the U.S., you should evaluate your reasons for travel in relation to your desire to continue your program in the U.S.

Find information on U.S. consular office procedures for processing visa applications on the U.S. Embassy website.

If you wish you to apply for a visa at a U.S. consulate in Canada or Mexico, you must make an appointment with the consulate where you will be filing your visa application.

Read complete instructions for TCN visa applications in Canada and Mexico on a website provided by the Department of State.

Please note that if the consulate in Canada or Mexico denies your visa application, you will not be eligible to return to the U.S. under the provisions of automatic visa revalidation.