Expired I20

[meghadooth]

Hi,

This is Arun from Arizona. I realized last week that my SEVIS I20 and my F1 visa have expired around 2 months back. I have around a year more left in my graduate studies. I went and spoke with the International Student Office at my school and they gave me two options: either to apply to BCIS for reinstatement or to apply for a new I20. They further mentioned that reinstatement was a risky option. Now they already started processing my new I20. As soon as I receive my new I20 I am required to go out of US and reapply for the F1 visa with the new I20. I wanted to know if I could apply for the new F1 visa from one of the US Consulates in Mexico/Canada or do I have to apply for the F1 visa in India ? Please advice.

Thanks,

Arun.

 

[LucyMO]

yes, you can go to Mexico or Canada. Be prepared to leave for INdia, if you don't get a visa.

 

[meghadooth]

Thanks for the info...

Lucy, Thanks for the info. After talking with a few fellow students here who had faced a similar situation last year, I decided to go with the reinstatement option. Reinstatement seems to be less riskier compared with the process of getting a new visa, but the main problem is resinstatement could take a long time and I won't be able to travel outside US till I get reinstated. Thanks again for the information.

Arun.