Travel to Canada, Mexico, or Adjacent Islands

Travel to Canada

To find out if you require a tourist visa (called a Temporary Resident Visa) to enter Canada and to obtain detailed guidelines on the application process, visit the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC): www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/index.asp.

The CIC office closest to Babson College is in New York: 
Consulate General of Canada, Immigration Section
1251 Avenue of the Americas, Concourse Level 
New York, NY 10020-1175 
Tel.: (212) 596-1783 
Fax: (212) 596-1791 or (212) 596-1725 

Renewing a Visa in Canada or Mexico

A citizen of a country other than that in which they will apply for a U.S. visa is called a third-country national (TCN). A TCN must make an appointment for a visa interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate in Canada or Mexico. Detailed information is available online at: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/info/info_5213.html#apply

Note: U.S. embassies and consulates along the U.S. border cannot accept applications from nationals of countries designated by DOS as state sponsors of terrorism: Cuba, Iran, Syria and Sudan. 

Automatic Visa Revalidation (AVR)

 The Automatic Visa Revalidation (AVR) provision allows full-time students in F-1/J-1 status whose U.S. entry visa has expired (but has not been canceled) to travel to Canada, Mexico or an adjacent Caribbean island* (except Cuba) for less than 30 days and re-enter the U.S in valid F-1/J-1 status with their expired visa. AVR is provided for in 8CFR 214.2(f)(4) and 22CFR41.125(f)(1,2) of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations.

If utilizing AVR, DO NOT release your Form I-94 card upon entry into Canada, Mexico or an adjacent island*. Upon re-entry to the U.S., inform the U.S. border official that you are taking advantage of "Automatic Visa Revalidation" and present your Form I-94, Form I-20/DS-2019, passport, and expired F-1/J-1 visa. 

You are NOT Eligible for AVR if you:

• Are a citizen of Cuba, Iran, Sudan or Syria (countries designated by DOS as state sponsors of terrorism)
• Apply for a U.S. visa while in Canada, Mexico, or an adjacent island*. You must wait for the visa to be issued before you can return to the U.S. If your visa application is denied, you must travel elsewhere (most likely your home country) to apply for the U.S. visa before returning to the U.S.
• Depart Canada, Mexico, or an adjacent island* for another country. Example: you cannot travel to Canada, depart to another country, return to Canada, and then return to the U.S. within 30 days under AVR

*Adjacent Islands : Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Barbuda, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Marie-Galante, Martinique, Miquelon, Montserrat, Saba, St. Barthelemy, St. Christopher, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Pierre, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks, Caicos Island and other British, French and Netherlands territory or possessions bordering the Caribbean Sea.