Requesting a Travel Signature | OISSS

If you’re a scholar in F-1 or J-1 standing, your Form I-20 or Form DS-2019 should have a legitimate journey signature when re-entering the U.S. Travel signatures are issued by your ISSS scholar advisor. J-1 college students who’re sponsored by different organizations resembling IIE / Fulbright would get their Form DS-2019 signed by their sponsor.

• Travel signature validity: Your journey signature have to be not more than one yr outdated on the date of your return to the U.S. (or six months for college kids on post-completion OPT or STEM Extension OPT).
• Signature required upon re-entry, not departure: You don’t have to have an up to date journey signature earlier than you allow the U.S. – solely by the point you come back.
• Requesting a signature from overseas: If you forgot to get a signature earlier than you left the U.S., you’ll be able to nonetheless request one by means of the OISSS Gateway (see hyperlink beneath) and we’ll ship you an up to date Form I-20 or DS-2019 electronically. You can then obtain and print out the shape earlier than returning to the U.S.Students: Request an I-20/DS-2019 with travel signature through your OISSS Gateway portal

Travel Signature Eligibility

A journey signature signifies that you’ve got been sustaining legitimate F-1 or J-1 standing and are planning to come back again to the U.S. to proceed your program at Brown after a brief absence resembling a trip or break. Accordingly, a journey signature can’t be granted if:

• You have completed or stopped your program at Brown (together with any post-completion OPT or Academic Training), or aren’t persevering with for every other motive.
• You are not sustaining legitimate F-1 or J-1 standing.
• You intend to be exterior of the U.S. for an prolonged absence of greater than 5 months.
• You plan to go away the U.S. and are available again in a unique standing, resembling everlasting resident.

Missing Signature Upon Arrival: Requesting Form I-515A for Temporary Entry

If you might be unable to get an up to date journey signature by the point you arrive within the U.S., do not panic! You can ask the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer to difficulty Form I-515A to you. Form I-515 is issued when the CBP officer decides to allow you to to enter the U.S. for a brief interval of 30 days. After getting into, you have to report back to ISSS instantly to get an up to date journey signature. You will then be given directions for eradicating the 30-day restrict in your keep.

Form I-515A is issued on the discretion of the CBP officer and provided that the officer is satisfied that you simply plan to be a full-time scholar and in any other case eligible to re-enter the U.S. on an F-1 or J-1 visa. You should have different legitimate journey paperwork, resembling an unexpired passport and F-1 or J-1 entry visa, if wanted.