United States: 2026 Holiday Travel Guidelines for Foreign Nationals

Before you plan to travel abroad this holiday season, make sure to do the following:

Check your passport validity. In general, your passport must be valid for at least six months beyond the expiration of your period of admission to the United States. This is to ensure that you will be able to leave the United States at the end of your stay and proceed to your home country or another country. There are some exceptions to this rule. Many countries have an agreement with the United States under which a passport is deemed valid for an additional six months past its expiration date so that the passport holder can return to their country of citizenship.

Please note, however, that your passport must be valid for the entire duration of your intended stay in the United States in order for you to be granted admission for that full period of stay. In general, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will not admit foreign nationals beyond the date of their passport expiration, even if the foreign national has a Form I-797 approval notice or other immigration document approving status beyond that date. There can be serious consequences to a truncated admission period based on passport expiration date – and this type of admission is not an error – so foreign nationals should be more vigilant than ever in renewing their passports well in advance, and in tracking their I-94 admission records as detailed below.

If you have questions about your passport validity and reentry, contact your designated Fragomen professional or click here for more information.

Check your visa to make sure it’s valid for reentry to the United States. When you come back to the United States after international travel, the visa stamp in your passport must reflect your current nonimmigrant visa status, it must be unexpired, and, if the visa has a limited number of entries, it must have a remaining valid entry available on the intended date of reentry to the United States. Canadian citizens are generally not required to have a valid visa to enter the United States, unless they are E-1 or E-2 nonimmigrants.

Under certain circumstances, if you are making a short trip of 30 days or less to Canada or Mexico and have a valid I-94 arrival record, you can reenter on a previously issued visa even if it has expired, an option called “automatic visa revalidation”. But if you have applied for a new visa while in Canada or Mexico or if you are a citizen or national of Cuba, Iran, North Korea, you must wait to obtain the new visa in order to reenter the United States. Citizens of Syria and Sudan may also be unable to use automatic visa revalidation to reenter the country.

For additional information on visa requirements, click here.

If you are an adjustment applicant, find out whether you need advance permission to travel before you leave the United States. If you are an applicant for adjustment of status to permanent residence, you may be required to obtain advance permission to travel – known as advance parole – in order to leave the United States while your adjustment application is pending. If you already have a valid H-1B, H-4, L-1, or L-2 visa, you may be able to reenter the United States on that visa, without the need for advance parole. But family members in H-4 status who have worked in the United States pursuant to an employment authorization document (EAD) issued in connection with their adjustment of status application should be cautious when traveling, and are advised to obtain advance parole before leaving the country.

If you are an adjustment of status applicant, you should contact your Fragomen professional prior to any international travel to determine the impact of travel on all pending applications and on your underlying nonimmigrant status.

Do you have a change of status request pending with USCIS? If you have either a pending Form I-129 petition or a Form I-539 application requesting a change of status to another nonimmigrant category, you should avoid international travel until it is adjudicated. USCIS will consider the change of status request to be abandoned if you depart the United States while it is pending. Though, generally, a nonimmigrant petition can still be approved after a change of status denial, you would need to depart the United States, apply for and obtain a new visa, and then reenter in order to take up the new status. If travel during the pendency of a change of status is unavoidable, please consult your Fragomen professional.

Do you have an extension of stay pending with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)? If you are the principal beneficiary of a nonimmigrant visa petition, travel abroad while a Form I-129 petition to extend your nonimmigrant status is pending should not affect your extension request.

If you're planning business or tourist travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program, make sure you comply with program requirements. The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) allows citizens and nationals of designated countries to enter the United States for up to 90 days of business or tourist travel without a visa, provided that they meet specific registration and passport requirements, and provided that they only engage in permitted business visitor or tourist activities. If you're planning to travel under the VWP, you will need to submit an application for a valid registration in the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) at least 72 hours before your departure for the United States. Find out more about VWP passport and ESTA requirements here.

If you’re a Chinese national traveling on a ten-year visitor visa, make sure you’re enrolled in the Electronic Visa Update System (EVUS). If you’re not enrolled, make sure to do so at least 72 hours before travel. Failure to enroll could result in a provisional revocation of your visa and delays in your travel plans. Find out more about EVUS enrollment here. As noted above, any business visitor or tourist must engage only in permitted business visitor or tourist activities during their stay in the United States.

Foreign national students should ensure they remain in active SEVIS status and have all required documentation to travel. Student visa applicants and student visa holders have come under intense scrutiny during the Trump Administration. Before making travel plans, foreign nationals in student nonimmigrant status (F, M or J) who plan to return to the United States as students should confirm with their schools that their profiles remain active in SEVIS. Students should also monitor the email address they used for their student DS-160 visa application for any visa revocation letters from the Department of State.

Any foreign national with a prior arrest or interaction with law enforcement should consult with immigration counsel prior to making international travel plans. Foreign nationals with prior arrests or interactions with law enforcement have been subject to a broad range of government focus and action, from scrutiny at the border and visa delays and denials to visa revocation. In many instances, the government has taken visa denial and revocation action regardless of whether the foreign national’s prior arrest resulted in charges, and where the individual’s history with law enforcement was previously disclosed to the government in prior visa applications. This includes cases where one or multiple visas have been issued over several years to the foreign national and where applicable, a waiver was granted. Individuals with any type of history with law enforcement should consult with immigration counsel and understand the risks of international travel before finalizing plans.

Be aware of new nonimmigrant visa application policies and restrictions before planning to apply for a new visa at a U.S. consulate. If your visa is not valid and you will need to apply for and obtain a new one at a consulate abroad, you should try to secure a visa appointment before you make your travel plans. 

Visa application options for most applicants have narrowed in this Trump Administration, as the Department of State has significantly restricted its policies on third-country national visa applications and interview waiver availability. In general, most nonimmigrant visa applicants will be required to appear for an in-person interview at a U.S. consulate in their country of residence or nationality, including applicants under 14 and over 79 years of age.

Visa applicants in several categories are experiencing a higher level of scrutiny, with especially elevated scrutiny for B-1/B-2 business visitor and/or tourist visa applicants. In addition, nationals of certain countries seeking a new visa may be subject to a travel ban imposed by President Trump. Further information on the travel ban can be found here.

U.S. consulates overseas are busiest during the travel season. If you will apply for a new visa while abroad, check the relevant consulate or embassy for specific information about appointments, application procedures, and processing times. If you cannot secure an appointment before you depart the United States, you may face extended delays and uncertainties abroad. It is advised that you consult with counsel before departing so that you are fully aware of any risks given your particular circumstances.

Plan for possible security clearance delays during the visa application process. If you need to apply for a new visa before returning to the United States, be prepared for the possibility of lengthy wait times or that your application may be flagged for enhanced security checks. The U.S. consulate may require your visa application to undergo additional security screening based on your country of nationality, whether your name is similar to an individual listed in a U.S. government security database, prior interactions with law enforcement, or whether your job or degree is in a high-technology field, among other reasons. Security checks are a regular part of the visa application process, but a subset of applications are identified by the State Department and other agencies for more stringent vetting. Under the Trump Administration, the frequency of security clearances and clearance-related delays has increased, and visa issuance outcomes have become more unpredictable.

If a security clearance is required, your visa cannot be issued until the clearance has been completed. Because this process is confidential, the consulate will not confirm that a clearance is in process but may indicate that "administrative processing" is underway. Security clearances can take anywhere from a few days to over a year, depending on the reason for the clearance request. In general, the government will not expedite a security clearance. If you were previously subject to a security check, you are at increased risk for another and should consider that risk, and likely delays, before making travel plans. For more information, click here.

Be aware of increases in visa refusal rates at U.S consulates for those with prior arrests. If you have had any arrests or other interactions with law enforcement – even if the incident occurred long ago, you have previously disclosed the issue in prior visa applications and received a visa – you should consult with counsel prior to making any international travel plans.

At the U.S. port of entry, be prepared for enhanced security screening procedures. When you return to the United States, you will need to go through the Biometric Data Collection System, a check-in process where your fingerprints, photograph, and travel documents are scanned against U.S. national security and police databases. You may also be subject to intensive questioning about your immigration status, travel history, the purpose of your visit, background, history of arrests or convictions, employment, and other issues. This could include a search of your electronic devices. Foreign nationals with prior arrests or other law enforcement interactions have been especially subject to increased scrutiny at ports of entry.

It is important to remain patient during the inspection process. Before you travel, check your employer’s procedures for dealing with searches of company-owned phones, laptops, and other devices. During inspection, answer questions to the best of your ability. If you don't understand a question, ask for clarification. If you are detained at the port of entry, you are generally not entitled to have a lawyer present, but you should ask for permission to call Fragomen offices if the need arises. You should explain that contacting Fragomen will allow us in turn to contact your employer if further information is required. If you have had any prior interactions with law enforcement, even if you have previously traveled without issue, it is recommended that you seek counsel prior to making international travel plans. For more information about border procedures, click here.

Obtain your Form I-94 arrival record. Once you have been admitted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at an air or sea port of entry, you will be issued an electronic I-94 record showing the date and class of admission, and the expiration date of your authorized stay. Your immigration information and duration of stay will be entered into CBP's online I-94 arrival record system. The expiration date on the I-94 record is very important – it marks the expiration of your eligibility to remain in valid legal status in the United States. Overstaying this date can have serious consequences.

After your arrival in the United States, you must obtain a printout of your online I-94 here. You should send a copy to your Fragomen professional and retain one for your records. Notify your Fragomen professional as soon as possible if you see any irregularities or errors in your I-94 record. If your I-94 record reflects your passport expiration date, and this date is earlier than your intended date of authorized stay, this is not an error, but it must be addressed as soon as possible; it is important to notify your Fragomen professional immediately.

On our firm's website, you will find detailed information on international travel and immigration obligations.