I am a student in the US and I am scheduled to defend my PhD in March. I recently got PR and need to land in Canada by mid-February. My US visa has expired and if I leave the US I don't know how much time it might take to be able to get a new visa (especially given that I am from a country with travel ban) and if I'll be able to get back to the US by my defense date. Is there a way to land in Canada (for example through Peace Arch Park) and return to the US without a visa? If not, would that be possible to contact IRCC explain the situation and ask them to extend my landing deadline by two months? Has anybody done this before?
Landing from the US and returning
- Thread starter Mat_M
- Start date
You have no problem going to Canada and then back to the US with the expired visa:
I wish to travel to Canada, Mexico, or one of the islands adjacent to the United States. Can I return if my visa is expired?
Yes, in most cases. You can usually revalidate an expired visa automatically when returning from a visit of less than thirty days to Canada, Mexico, or one of the islands adjacent to the United States provided that you have a valid Form I-20 and a valid unexpired Form I-94. This process is known as automatic visa revalidation.
https://www.ice.gov/sevis/travel
I wish to travel to Canada, Mexico, or one of the islands adjacent to the United States. Can I return if my visa is expired?
Yes, in most cases. You can usually revalidate an expired visa automatically when returning from a visit of less than thirty days to Canada, Mexico, or one of the islands adjacent to the United States provided that you have a valid Form I-20 and a valid unexpired Form I-94. This process is known as automatic visa revalidation.
https://www.ice.gov/sevis/travel
Thank you so much for the information. Unfortunately I am from Iran and:You are totally welcome! I am in the same situation
"Be a citizen of a country other than Syria, Iran, Sudan or Cuba. Nationals of these countries are not eligible for visa revalidation. If you are a national of one of the above countries, you must always have a valid visa in your passport to enter the United States."