Travel Outside the United States This Summer

If you are in the United States in nonimmigrant status (such as H-1, L-1, etc.) and are planning on taking a trip outside the United States, please give careful consideration before you do.

If you currently have a valid visa stamped in your passport for the nonimmigrant classification that you presently hold, you should have no problem reentering the United States with such visa and travel outside the U.S. is, therefore, not a problem.

However, if you do not have a currently valid visa, or if you will need to obtain a new visa before entering the United States because your visa is for a different classification than the status you currently hold, you may want to consider not travelling this summer. For example, if you entered the U.S. on an H-1 visa valid until January 2004 and you now have received an extension of H-1 stay valid to January 2007, you will need to apply for a visa to reenter the U.S. or, if you entered on an F-1 and later changed to H-1 and have not left the U.S., you will need to apply for a visa to reenter the U.S.
While many people are having visas issued within a couple of weeks, many others are not so fortunate and there are stories of U.S. Consulates taking 2 months or longer to issue visas. This is due to the fact that security checks must be completed before visas are issued. If you are one of the many who are stuck outside the United States for an extended period of time, this could have a drastic effect on your travel plans, employment, etc. Unfortunately, there is virtually no way to try to anticipate potential problems prior to leaving the United States.

If you must travel outside the United States and you need to obtain a new visa stamp, please contact our office before you do so.

Disclaimer: Nothing in this memorandum should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. The information is intended to be general and should not be relied upon for any specific situation.