Does united states allow international students (F-1 )to go home on their homeland countries during vacation?

Question

i need to get this thing sure.. anyone who have any idea please help. i need to know if they allow, how often in a year and for how long max? thank you!

Answer 1

Yes the United States does not prohibit internationals students from leaving the country in any capacity. There are no legal limits in place which determine how many times a person can return home nor is there a maximum period of time you can permitted outside of the country.

However, there are a few important things which you must be aware of and these are as follows:

1) Everytime you depart the United States you must get permission from your school and the third page of your I-20 must be signed. This states that you are returning at a later date to continue your studies and is then classed as an 'excused absence'. Failure to get this signed will result in you being denied re-entry into the United States.

2) If you are out-of-status or fail to return to school within 5 months then you will need to re-apply for a new F1 visa at the U.S. Embassy in your country of residence before you can return to the United States - This is regardless of if your absence is excused or not.

3) Do your F1 visa have the letter 'M' under the heading 'Entries'. This 'M' stands for multiple entries and if it does say M then you are fine to depart and enter as many times as you want (bare in mind points 1 & 2). If it does not say 'M' and insteads as the letter 'S' or a number, then you are limited to either a 'Single' or a certain number of entries and once you have used these entries and you depart then you must apply for a new visa at the U.S. Embassy in your country of residence.

4) When does your visa expire? If your visa expires during your absense of the United States then you will have to re-apply for a new F-1 visa before you can return. An expired visa is not a valid document to request entry into the United States and an attempt to do so will result in a refusal of entry.

Just be aware of those things and the information in the link below.