Renewing Your Visa

A valid visa stamp in your passport is required for re-entry. If your visa stamp has expired, you will need to go to a U.S. consulate or embassy ideally in your home country to apply for the new visa stamp. You may not renew your visa within the U.S.

Visa stamp applicants are normally required to submit the following documentation:

1. valid passport
2. current passport-size photographs
3. current and valid Form I-20 for F-1 visa holders or Form DS-2019 for J-1 visa holders (Students - please note if the dates, degree level, and major or department listed on your I-20/DS-2019 have changed, you must request a new I-20/DS-2019 from the I-Center.)
4. proof of financial support
5. non-immigrant visa application, available from the U.S. consulate abroad
6. a valid EAD card and an employer's letter showing evidence of employment or a job offer if the student is on F-1 post-completion practical training

Students. It is also advisable for continuing students to submit copies of transcripts or an academic advisor's letter stating that the student is making good progress toward the degree and explaining the nature of any research. You may also wish to obtain a personalized copy of this letter concerning "Fundamental Research At Stanford.". If you have any questions concerning this letter, please discuss them with an advisor at the I-Center.

Go here for important points to remember when applying for a nonimmigrant visa>>

Scholars. Supporting documentation may take the form of the Stanford invitation letter , correspondence in which funding is promised, bank statements and anything that may be needed to establish ties to the home country. This could be a contract for a job to be taken up at home up after the Exchange Visitor has returned from Stanford, evidence of property ownership, or anything else that would tend to suggest that the Visitor is likely to return home.

Applying for a visa not in your home country

Whenever you apply to the U.S. consulate for a new entry visa stamp, you always run the risk that your application may be denied. It is not recommended that you apply for a visa stamp at a U.S. consulate in a country of which you are not a citizen. If you apply for a visa outside of your home country and are denied, you cannot enter the U.S. and must return from that country to your home country.

If you wish to attempt to apply for a visa in a country that is not your home country (as a "third country national"), you must first check with the embassy/consular office directly to see if they accept visa applications from third country nationals. Consular offices are not obligated to process visa applications from citizens outside their normal jurisdiction.

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