Travel Signature Drop-Off

To obtain a Travel Signature, drop off your I-20 or DS-2019 at the ISSO Front Desk and it will be ready to pick up after 12 noon on the following business day.

For F-1 Visa Holders

Travel Signatures appear on the 3rd page of the I-20.

The Form I-20 must be signed for travel within 6 months of the date of re-entry to the U.S.

For J-1 Visa Holders

Travel Signatures appear on the 1st page of the DS-2019. 

The Form DS-2019  must be signed for travel within 6 months of the date of re-entry to the U.S.

Obtain a Travel Signature

A Travel Signature on a Certificate of Eligibility I-20 or DS-2019 verifies that the student or scholar has maintained a valid status and is eligible to re-enter the U.S.

Those on F-1, J-1 or F/J dependent visas must make sure that their I-20 or DS-2019 documents have been signed for travel within the last 6 months before traveling outside the U.S.

Your Initial Attendance Certificate of Eligibility I-20 or DS-2019 is not signed for travel. Your I-20 can only be signed for travel after you arrive on campus and after you are enrolled full-time.

If you do not have any more lines left on your I-20 or DS-2019 for a Travel Signature, you need to do the following before ISSO can issue you a new visa document:

  • Provide updated financial documents (bank statements, letters of sponsorship, scholarship letters, etc.) to the ISSO. 
  • Plan ahead and contact the ISSO well in advance of when you plan on traveling. After you contact us, ISSO can advise of you the amount of finances you need to show. 
Once you have provided all of your updated financial documents, you will be issued a new visa document with a new Travel Signature.  This process may take up to 2 weeks (although it usually takes less time), so please plan accordingly.

Although travel signatures are technically valid up to a year, ISSO recommends that Brandeis students and scholars travel with signatures no older than 6 months. We have found that the older the travel signature, the more likely to encounter questions at the Port of Entry.

What to do with your Form I-94 When Departing the U.S.

  • If you have a Paper Form I-94, turn it in when you travel outside the U.S.  Until then, keep it!
  • If you have an Electronic Form I-94, you do not need to turn in the print out from www.cbp.gov/I94. Instead, your Electronic Form I-94 will simply not be accessible from the website as soon as you depart the U.S.