TSRI International Office

Immigration Documents & Definitions

Passport

All foreign national employees must have a valid passport or national identification document at all times while residing in the U.S. Passports must remain valid at least 6 months into the future. Passports can be renewed at scholar's home country consulate. For a list of foreign consulates in the U.S., click here.

Visa

Visas are issued at U.S. consulates abroad. It is affixed to a page in the passport and it is an entry document only. It allows foreign nationals to apply for entry at a U.S. Port of Entry, i.e. airport, seaport, land border crossings. Once entry is approved, the alien enters the U.S. in the immigration status that matches the visa classification. For a list of U.S. consulates abroad, visit here.

There are two kinds of visas - immigrant and non-immigrant. The International Office provides services to foreign nationals at TSRI on non-immigrant visas - letter visa classifications that reflect the specific purpose for coming to the U.S.

Status

After the port of entry inspector allows admission, an immigration status is granted and stamped on the I-94 card and the eligibility document. To maintain legal immigration status in the US, the following documents must be valid: passport, I-94 card and the visa eligibility document (not the visa stamp in your passport).

I-94 Card

Also referred to as the Departure Record, the I-94 card is usually a little white card stapled to a passport page. It should contain an immigration stamp in red ink in the upper right side. This is the evidence that the alien was inspected and legally admitted to the U.S. In this section, the port of entry inspector hand writes the immigration status and expiration date (or "D/S") of the alien’s stay in U.S. The 11 digit number on the upper left side is an important immigration identifier.

"D/S"

Duration of Status means the alien can remain in the U.S. until the expiration date of their eligibility document. Aliens in F status (I-20) have 60 days grace period to depart the U.S.; aliens in J status (DS-2019) have 30 days grace period.