Concordia College

Visiting Canada

The Canadian border is just a short drive from Concordia. If you plan on visiting Canada while a student here, you’ll want to learn more about the process from Canadian Government Immigration. Canada requires visitors from many countries to have a visa in order to enter the county. Find out if your home country is included.

Apply for a visa and learn more about traveling in Canada.

Please allow adequate time to obtain the Canadian visa as you plan your travel - it commonly takes about three weeks to arrange.  As with any travel outside the United States, be sure your passport is valid and carry it with you, and have your I-20 signed before you go and carry it with you.

Returning to the United States
Ideally, your visa to enter the United States will still be valid, and in that case when you return you can present your passport with currently valid visa and your I-20 and re-enter the United States.  That is the best case and best way to do it.

If your visa is no longer valid, the situation is more complex.  Current regulations allow you to travel to contiguous territory for up to 30 days and re-enter with your passport and valid I-20 even if your visa has expired, and this procedure is called automatic revalidation.  However, these regulations could change at any time!  Even though these regulations currently exist and most students have no difficulty reentering the US, the officer at the Port of Entry has absolute authority to permit or deny your entry.   You can cite the regulatory authority as 42.112(d) of 22 CFR if the officer questions why you are trying to enter with an expired visa.

Automatic revalidation is not possible if you are a citizen of a country that is considered a state sponsor of terrorism by the United State government.

It is NOT advised to travel to Canada to apply for a U.S. visa. Applications from non-Canadians are not welcomed at the American Embassies and Consulates in Canada, and if you apply for a U.S. visa in Canada you lose the automatic revalidation privilege. So, if you apply for a U.S. visa in Canada and the visa is not issued for any reason, even if it is just delayed, you cannot return to the United States.

Please keep these issues in mind as you make your travel plans.