Fall Break International Travel Guidance

As we method fall break, we’ve got compiled a listing of reminders about worldwide journey on your evaluation.

There are dangers concerned with worldwide journey for worldwide college students and students resulting from added scrutiny and enhanced screening for visa purposes (if you should get a brand new visa) and on the U.S. ports of entry. We advise warning when contemplating worldwide journey for private or skilled causes, as U.S. immigration coverage stays topic to alter. OISS doesn’t know what immigration coverage adjustments may be applied and whether or not these adjustments will affect your skill to re-enter the U.S. As such, it’s best to assess your danger tolerance (see beneath on the best way to decide your danger stage) and determine accordingly.

We are right here to offer info and help that can assist you navigate any choices concerning worldwide journey and different immigration points. If you’ve got any questions or issues, please don’t hesitate to contact your designated OISS adviser.

If you’re a H-1B visa holder, please evaluation the latest presidential proclamation on H-1B staff, and seek the advice of along with your designated OISS adviser earlier than making any journey plans. 

Before You Leave

Check Your Immigration Documents

Pack all of your immigration paperwork in your carry-on. Please evaluation all of the paperwork you need to carry and guarantee they’re legitimate for journey earlier than you allow the U.S. (See detailed steerage for F-1/J-1 pupil journey or J-1/H-1B scholar journey).

Note: There are extra issues and paperwork wanted to journey after commencement utilizing F-1 OPT.

Valid Passport

Your passport should be legitimate for no less than six months into the long run on the time of re-entry to the U.S. Some international locations have an settlement with the U.S. that exempts their nationals from the six-month rule for U.S. entry functions solely.

Valid Visa

You additionally want a sound visa to re-enter the U.S. (aside from Canadian residents, who don’t want one). Please examine the expiration date of the visa in your passport. If your visa has expired, apply for a brand new one by submitting the online nonimmigrant visa application (DS-160).

Valid Travel Signature (For F-1 and J-1)

If you might be in F-1 or J-1 standing, you need to additionally be sure that your I-20 or DS-2019 has a sound journey signature to re-enter the U.S. Please keep in mind that journey signatures are solely legitimate for one yr however are appropriate for a number of entries. Travel signatures may be discovered on the second web page of your I-20 or the primary web page of your DS-2019. If you want a  new journey signature, please contact your designated OISS adviser, and they’ll electronically ship you a brand new I-20 or DS-2019 with a journey signature.

Assess Your International Travel Risk

We have created a general guide to evaluate your risk level when considering international travel. Please word that this information doesn’t represent authorized or immigration recommendation. Additional components and different private circumstances can change your danger ranges. For extra personalised and detailed steerage, contact your designated OISS adviser.

While Outside the U.S.

Check Recent Immigration Actions and Updates

OISS is carefully monitoring latest government orders and their potential affect. Stay up-to-date with the most recent immigration actions, updates, and OISS steerage, together with new FAQs. Check again typically for brand new info that can assist you navigate these coverage adjustments. Although it’s potential that new government orders or immigration coverage adjustments that affect your skill to re-enter the U.S. might be introduced, we have no idea what the scope of those orders may be, what exceptions they could embrace, and when these orders would take impact.

Use Yale’s International Travel Resources

Register your travel with Yale. In the occasion of a major emergency, Yale will have the ability to contact you. We is not going to know in case you are in a location affected by a significant emergency you probably have not registered your journey.

In an emergency, contact International SOS Global Travel Assistance. All members of the Yale neighborhood are mechanically enrolled with International SOS (ISOS), which supplies pre-travel consultations and 24/7/365 home and worldwide emergency medical, safety, and journey help for Yale vacationers and accompanying household whereas multiple hundred miles from residence.

While Re-Entering the U.S.

Follow the Protocols for Issues on the U.S. Port of Entry

If you encounter points on the U.S. border and the CBP officer has questions that OISS can reply, please ask the officer in the event that they want to name OISS for affirmation. During workplace hours, OISS may be reached by calling our entrance desk at (203) 432-2305, and also you or the federal agent/officer will probably be related to an OISS adviser. After hours, please name Yale Security at (203) 785-5555, and they’ll instantly name the OISS director or affiliate director. See our present Travel Guidance web page for extra particulars.

Understand What It Means to be Sent to Secondary Inspection

Most Yale college students and students will clear U.S. immigration after your paperwork are reviewed by a CBP officer. However, just a few of chances are you’ll be referred to a different officer to confirm your pupil or worker standing or for added questioning. This is known as “secondary inspection”. Although a referral to secondary inspection can lead you to suppose there’s a drawback, there’s often little trigger for alarm. Some inspections will solely final a short while, however a few of you may want to attend some time to finish the method. If the CBP officer has questions that OISS can reply, please observe the abovementioned protocols.

Educate Yourself About Searches of Electronic Devices & Practice Digital Hygiene

International vacationers face added scrutiny and enhanced screening on the U.S. ports of entry. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued up to date info (final modified January 7, 2025) on conducting border searches of electronic devices. Please word that CBP officers might ask people to offer entry to telephones, tablets, laptops, and different digital units, in addition to social media profiles, e-mail, and related accounts when getting into or exiting the U.S. Please confer with Yale Information Security’s general advice about traveling securely with electronic devices, which incorporates borrowing a Yale loaner system, and the University Privacy Office’s suggestions about protecting your privacy and managing your digital footprint.

You ought to consider your danger concerning your social media presence and digital footprint to find out what, if any, motion it’s best to take earlier than touring. If you might be severely involved about your social media or web presence, it’s best to converse to an skilled immigration legal professional that can assist you take into account your journey plans. Some useful assets to think about are listed beneath:

After You Arrive within the U.S.

Check Your I-94 Record

I-94 is your arrival and departure file that’s mechanically created on-line upon your entry to the U.S. After you re-enter the U.S. on the finish of summer time, please examine your I-94 file and be sure to have been admitted within the right visa standing and the right period (i.e., for D/S, period of standing, in case you are in F-1 or J-1 standing). If you see an error in your I-94 file, please contact your OISS adviser.