Travel and Re-Entry Documents

If you want to travel to a country outside the United States, you'll need:

• Valid passport
• Valid Visa
• I-94
• Form I-20 (properly endorsed for re-entry)

Your passport is issued by your home country and must remain valid while you are in the United States. If your passport is within six months of expiring and you want to renew your passport while in the U.S., contact your country's embassy at embassy.org  to renew your passport.

A nonimmigrant student must have an F-1 Visa to be considered for entry into the U.S.; however, having one does not guarantee you will be allowed in. When you present your passport with and F-1 Visa in it at the border, an immigration officer will determine whether or not you can officially enter the U.S.

For information on applying for an F-1 Visa, go here. For information on maintaining your F-1 Visa go here.

Form I-20 is a three-page document issued by Bethel University. 

You must be accepted for admission to Bethel University and receive your original Form I-20 before your visa interview. 

For re-entry the Form I-20 must have a valid signature by a Principal Designated School Official or Designated School Official on page 2 of the form.

Form I-20, your F-1 student visa, and your passport will be needed at the time of entry and re-entry into the U.S. 

You must keep the original I-20 and any additional I-20s that are issued to you. Be sure that your I-20 is always valid during your stay in the U.S. 

If you will not complete your program of studies by the Program End Date shown on your form I-20, you need to extend your Program End Date by contacting the International Student Affairs Coordinator two to three weeks before the program end date for instructions on how to extend your program.

The entry stamp placed in your passport at the time of entry into the U.S. indicates your visa status and approved length of stay in the U.S. 

F-1 Visa status students should have "F-1/D-S" stamped in his/her passport at the port of entry. "D/S" indicates that you may stay in the U.S. as long as you are complying with the purpose of your visa status as an F-1 student.

You may need to show evidence of your I-94 Arrival/Departure printout when you apply for some services. Examples are a social security card, a Tennessee driver's license, or to request benefits from USCIS.

Follow the prompts Here to access your Form I-94.