[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 22, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 22CFR41.112]

[Page 213-214]
 
                       TITLE 22--FOREIGN RELATIONS
 
                     CHAPTER I--DEPARTMENT OF STATE
 
PART 41--VISAS: DOCUMENTATION OF NONIMMIGRANTS UNDER THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT, AS AMENDED--Table of Contents
 
                Subpart K--Issuance of Nonimmigrant Visa
 
Sec. 41.112  Validity of visa.

    (a) Significance of period of validity of visa. The period of 
validity of a nonimmigrant visa is the period during which the alien may 
use it in making application for admission. The period of visa validity 
has no relation to the period of time the immigration authorities at a 
port of entry may authorize the alien to stay in the United States.
    (b) Validity of visa and number of applications for admission. (1) 
Except as provided in paragraphs (c) and (d) of this section, a 
nonimmigrant visa shall have the validity prescribed in schedules 
provided to consular officers by the Department, reflecting insofar as 
practicable the reciprocal treatment accorded U.S. nationals, U.S. 
permanent residents, or aliens granted refugee status in the U.S. by the 
government of the country of which the alien is a national, permanent 
resident, refugee or stateless resident.
    (2) Notwithstanding paragraph (b)(1) of this section, United States 
nonimmigrant visas shall have a maximum validity period of 10 years.
    (3) An unexpired visa is valid for application for admission even if 
the passport in which the visa is stamped has expired, provided the 
alien is also in possession of a valid passport issued by the 
authorities of the country of which the alien is a national.
    (c) Limitation on validity. If warranted in an individual case, a 
consular officer may issue a nonimmigrant visa for:
    (1) A period of validity that is less than that prescribed on a 
basis of reciprocity,
    (2) A number of applications for admission within the period of the 
validity of the visa that is less than that prescribed on a basis of 
reciprocity,
    (3) Application for admission at a specified port or at specified 
ports of entry, or
    (4) Use on and after a given date subsequent to the date of 
issuance.
    (d) Automatic extension of validity at ports of entry. (1) Provided 
that the requirements set out in paragraph (d)(2) of this section are 
fully met, the following provisions apply to nonimmigrant aliens seeking 
readmission at ports of entry:
    (i) The validity of an expired nonimmigrant visa issued under INA 
101(a)(15) may be considered to be automatically extended to the date of 
application for readmission; and
    (ii) In cases where the original nonimmigrant classification of an 
alien

[[Page 214]]

has been changed by INS to another nonimmigrant classification, the 
validity of an expired or unexpired nonimmigrant visa may be considered 
to be automatically extended to the date of application for readmission, 
and the visa may be converted as necessary to that changed 
classification.
    (2) The provisions in paragraph (d)(1) of this section are 
applicable only in the case of a nonimmigrant alien who:
    (i) Is in possession of a Form I-94, Arrival-Departure Record, 
endorsed by INS to show an unexpired period of initial admission or 
extension of stay, or, in the case of a qualified F or J student or 
exchange visitor or the accompanying spouse or child of such an alien, 
is in possession of a current Form I-20, Certificate of Eligibility for 
Nonimmigrant Student Status, or Form IAP-66, Certificate of Eligibility 
for Exchange Visitor Status, issued by the school the student has been 
authorized to attend by INS, or by the sponsor of the exchange program 
in which the alien has been authorized to participate by INS, and 
endorsed by the issuing school official or program sponsor to indicate 
the period of initial admission or extension of stay authorized by INS;
    (ii) Is applying for readmission after an absence not exceeding 30 
days solely in contiguous territory, or, in the case of a student or 
exchange visitor or accompanying spouse or child meeting the 
stipulations of paragraph (d)(2)(i) of this section, after an absence 
not exceeding 30 days in contiguous territory or adjacent islands other 
than Cuba;
    (iii) Has maintained and intends to resume nonimmigrant status;
    (iv) Is applying for readmission within the authorized period of 
initial admission or extension of stay;
    (v) Is in possession of a valid passport;
    (vi) Does not require authorization for admission under INA 
212(d)(3); and
    (vii) Has not applied for a new visa while abroad.
    (3) The provisions in paragraphs (d)(1) and (d)(2) of this section 
shall not apply to the nationals of countries identified as supporting 
terrorism in the Department's annual report to Congress entitled 
Patterns of Global Terrorism.
    (e) [Reserved]
    (f) Validity of visas, issued on Olympic and Paralympic Identify/
Accreditation Cards. For the purposes of the XIX Olympic Winter Games, a 
visa issued on the Olympic Identity/Accreditation Card shall be valid 
for multiple entries into the United States from January 8, 2002 until 
March 24, 2002. For the purposes of the VIII Paralympic Winter Games, a 
visa issued on the Paralympic Identity/Accreditation Card shall be valid 
for multiple entries into the United States from February 7, 2002 until 
April 16, 2002.

[52 FR 42597, Nov. 5, 1987; 53 FR 9112, 9172, Mar. 21, 1988, as amended 
at 55 FR 36028, Oct. 31, 1990; 62 FR 24332, May 5, 1997; 66 FR 38543, 
July 25, 2001; 67 FR 10323, Mar. 7, 2002]