As a legal non-immigrant in the U.S., you are allowed to travel. No special permissions are needed to travel within the United States. With respect to international travel, if you plan ahead, leaving and coming back to the United States will be easier.
There are several things you need to do and issues you need to think about before making plans to leave the U.S. Leaving before these things are done could delay or deny your re-entry to the U.S. And denial of entry could affect your ability to travel or immigrate to the United States in the future.
Check this list as you make your travel arrangements:
If you answered yes to these questions, you can most likely travel without having to see your international student advisor. However, if you answered no to any of these, you should make an appointment to discuss your travel plans with your international advisor.
For most individuals, their departures are automatically recorded as they leave the U.S. However, if your I-94 card is not taken from you as you leave the U.S. and you are not traveling to Canada or Mexico for less than 30 days, you may need to prove that you did follow established procedures. Your statement alone, without supporting evidence, is unacceptable. DHS will consider a variety of information as proof of proper departure, including but not limited to:
If you did not leave the U.S. when required, or did not follow any required exit procedures when you left, or if you cannot prove this when you next seek entry into the U.S., DHS may conclude you remained in the U.S. beyond your authorized stay. If so, your visa may be cancelled, your entry into the U.S. may be barred and you may be returned immediately to your foreign point of origin. Or you may be asked for a written explanation of why you didn’t follow procedures. If you send original materials, please retain a copy since DHS cannot return original materials after processing. To help correct your records quickly, please include a signed, dated explanation in English. Do not mail your I-94 or supporting documents to any U.S. Consulate, Embassy, or DHS office other than the one listed below. Mail your explanation and supporting documents:
ACS-INS SBU
P.O. Box 7125
London, KY 40742-7125 USA
When returning to the U.S., you should be prepared to present:
Your picture and fingerprint will be electronically taken at the port of entry.