International Affairs @Penn

Travel and Reentry


If you plan to travel outside the US and reenter during your stay at Penn, you must have the following documents:

F-1/F-2 Visa Holders

  • Valid Passport
  • Valid I-20 form
  • Valid F visa stamp*
  • Valid travel signature on page 3 of I-20
    (Signatures are valid for 1 year and can be obtained only by an ISSS official)

J-1/J-2 Visa Holders

  • Valid Passport
  • Valid DS-2019 form
  • Valid J visa stamp*
  • Valid travel signature in travel signature section of DS-2019
    (Signatures are valid for 1 year and can be obtained only by an ISSS official)

H-1B Visa Holders

  • Valid Passport
  • Current I-797 (H-1B approval notice) valid for employment at the University of Pennsylvania
  • Valid H visa stamp (except Canadian citizens, who are exempt from this requirement)
  • Most recent pay stub from the University of Pennsylvania

Canadian Citizens

  • Proof of Canadian citizenship
  • Valid travel signature on one of the two documents listed above

Automatic Revalidation

*If you have an expired visa stamp, you are permitted to travel to the following areas and permitted to reenter the US under automatic revalidation. However, your stay in these areas cannot exceed 30 days.

  • Canada
  • Mexico
  • Adjacent Islands (Excluding Cuba) :
    • Bahamas
    • Barbados
    • Bermuda
    • Dominican Republic
    • Haiti
    • Jamaica
    • Martinique
    • Miquelon
    • Saint Pierre
    • Trinidad and Tobago
    • Windward and Leeward Islands
    • other British, French and Netherlands territories or possessions in or bordering on the Caribbean Sea

Countries Ineligible for Automatic Revalidation

  • Cuba
  • Iran
  • Iraq
  • Libya
  • North Korea
  • Sudan
  • Syria

Related Links:

We also suggest that you review the US Department of State's Travel Information page, which displays frequent travel advisories.

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