If you have an immigrant visa, meaning that you have aspirations of moving to the U.S. on a permanent status, your visa is valid for five years. However a valid immigrant visa still requires that you must be sponsored by a relative, spouse or employer. This sponsorship can be withdrawn at any time by your sponsor and immigration services typically review sponsors every two years. Making sure that your sponsor information is up to date and that they are available for verification is vital to maintaining your status.
If you have a J-1 Visa you have come to the U.S. in a non immigrant status under some form of adult exchange program. This means that you have no intention to stay in the U.S. and you have come to fulfill a specific need or program. For example, you are a researcher, educator or doctoral student. You may also gain a J-1 Visa to engage in training programs for employment. After two years, you must leave and return to your country of origin for two years before you can return to the U.S.
There are several additional non immigrant visas that you may be able to obtain and the time varies beyond two years. The most common are M Visas for children who are attending U.S. schools grades 1-12 and F Visas for college students. In both cases carefully maintain your status or the status of your child in order to provide verification for visa renewal. This is especially important if your academic program extends beyond two years.
Each non-immigrant visa requires that a companion I-94 form exist. The I-94 form contains information on when the visitor enters the U.S. and when they are expected to leave. As such, if your I-94 form expires before your visa does you still must get information reviewed and potentially renewed. This is done by contacting the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS).
If your visa status does not fall under any other above situations you must file an I-539 form in order to extend your stay in the U.S. Your passport in your country of origin must still be valid. Your visa must not be expired. You must have been admitted under non immigrant status and you must not have violated any conditions of your visa or broken any U.S. laws while there.
