Travel to Mexico or Canada
- Automatic Visa Revalidation
- Travel to Mexico
- Travel to Canada
- Applying for a Visa in Mexico and Canada
Automatic Visa Revalidation
In 2002, The U.S. Department of State announced new rules for non-immigrants who use the "automatic revalidation of visa" benefit [22 CFR 41.112(d)] to re-enter the United States after a 30-day or less visit to a "contiguous territory" (Canada, Mexico, and, in the case of F and J non-immigrants, the "adjacent islands other than Cuba" ) without having to obtain a new visa prior to re-entryBack to top
Travel to Mexico
Mexican tourist cards or visas are required of all persons in order to visit Mexico. Tourist cards/visas are obtained at the Mexican Consulate. Tourist cards are normally processed within one hour: visas could take a little longer. Some visas are free: for others, there is a charge. Some visas require three photos.To find out whether or not a tourist card or visa is needed, and documents required for obtaining the card/visa, contact the Mexican Consulate:
Consulado General de M茅xico
532 Folsom St
San Francisco CA 94105
Telephone: (415) 354-1700
Facsimile: (415) 495-3971
Consulado de México en San Francisco
Visiting Mexico
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Travel to Canada
Citizens from certain countries who wish to visit Canada are required to obtain a visitor's visa (tourist visa) from the Canadian Consulate General in Los Angeles:Immigration Section
Canadian Consulate General
300 S. Grand Ave. 10th Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Phone: (213) 346-2700
Fax: (213) 625-7154
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/offices/missions/los-angeles.asp
Citizens of countries such as Australia, New Zealand and different European countries are likely to be exempt from the visa requirement, but to be certain, contact the Consulate in Los Angeles.
Remember, the Consulate in San Francisco does not process visa requests for entering Canada. You should forward your visa request to the Consulate in Los Angeles. The San Francisco Consulate does offer a special "800 number" for the province that you might visit (i.e. for tourist information for Ontario you may call 1-800-668-2746).
San Francisco/Silicon Valley
Consulate General of Canada
580 California Street, 14th floor
San Francisco, CA 94104
Phone: (415) 834-3180
Fax (415) 834-3189
sfran@international.gc.ca
Visiting Canada
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Applying for a Visa in Mexico and Canada
Applying for an F-1 student visa can be complicated and frustrating. Moreover, there is no guarantee
that the visa officer at the U.S. embassy or consulate will automatically issue you a new visa.
You will need to convince the U.S. embassy or consulate that you are a serious student who has maintained
full-time student status and earned good grades. You must also show sufficient financial support and
demonstrate evidence that you will return to your home country after you have completed your studies at SF State.
We recommend that you call or visit the website of the non-immigrant visa section of the U.S.
embassy or consulate where you will be applying for a visa in advance to learn about their specific
procedures and policies regarding F-1 student visa applications. For example, some U.S. embassies and
consulates will require you to make an appointment in advance while others may operate on a drop-in basis.
Some may accept F-1 visa applications only during certain hours of the day. We suggest that you do some
research in advance of your visit so that you will be well prepared.
See information about who can/can not apply for visas in Mexico at http://monterrey.usconsulate.gov/visa_nmx.html
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