Free explainer · Rule checked Oct 9, 2026

I-94 vs visa stamp: which date matters?

Q: Can I stay in the US after my visa stamp expires?

The visa stamp's expiration date does not set your stay. 22 CFR 41.112(a) says visa validity has no relation to the period of authorized stay. Your authorized stay is the Admit Until date on your most recent I-94; the stamp matters when you travel and seek to re-enter.

Q: My I-94 runs a few days past my petition. Can I work until the I-94 date?

No. Under 8 CFR 214.1(l)(1) workers may be admitted for up to 10 days after the petition ends but may not work outside the petition validity period unless separately authorized.

Q: What if my visa stamp expires while I'm on a short trip to Canada or Mexico?

Automatic visa revalidation (22 CFR 41.112(d)) can allow readmission on an expired visa after a trip of 30 days or less only to Canada or Mexico (F and J students and exchange visitors and their families: also certain adjacent islands, not Cuba) if several conditions are met, including an unexpired I-94 and not applying for a new visa abroad. Whether it applies is a question for an attorney.

Q: My I-94 says D/S. What is my date?

For now, D/S still applies. A DHS rule that would have replaced D/S with fixed end dates from September 15, 2026 was postponed by a federal court on September 14, 2026 (Presidents' Alliance v. DHS, D. Mass.). With D/S, the stay lasts while status is maintained under the I-20 or DS-2019, so there is no single date to compute. Ask your school's DSO or an immigration attorney.

Your I-94 "Admit Until" date sets how long you may stay. Your visa stamp's expiration date doesn't (22 CFR 41.112(a)); it matters when you travel and come back. Enter both dates to see what each one controls for you.

You'll see two lanes: what your I-94 controls and what your visa stamp controls, with the rule for each. Nothing you type leaves this page.

The rule in three lines

Stay: the "Admit Until" date on your most recent I-94 (8 CFR 214.1(a)(3)(ii); 22 CFR 41.112(a)). The visa stamp's date is never used to work out your stay.
Travel: the visa stamp is what you present to ask for admission at a port of entry. An expired stamp in an expired passport can still be used with a new valid passport (22 CFR 41.112(b)(3)).
Work (H-1B, L-1, E, TN, O-1): if your I-94 runs past your petition's end date, the extra days are not work-authorized by the petition (8 CFR 214.1(l)(1); for O-1, 8 CFR 214.2(o)(10)). We never add those 10 days ourselves; we read what your I-94 shows.

Example: stamp expired, I-94 still running

Visa stamp expired: Mar 31, 2026
I-94 "Admit Until": Sep 30, 2027
Authorized stay ends: Sep 30, 2027

The expired stamp doesn't shorten the stay. It matters if you leave the US and want to return.

Sources for this rule

Rule table checked Oct 9, 2026.

Questions people ask

Can I stay in the US after my visa stamp expires?

The visa stamp's expiration date is not what sets your stay. State Department regulations say the period of visa validity "has no relation" to how long you may be authorized to stay (22 CFR 41.112(a)). Your authorized stay is the "Admit Until" date on your most recent I-94. The stamp matters when you travel and seek to come back in.

Which I-94 counts if I have more than one?

The most recent one. An I-94 attached to a later USCIS approval replaces the earlier one, but a later trip abroad and re-entry creates a new CBP I-94, which can be shorter than your approval notice. Check the current record on the CBP I-94 website.

My I-94 runs a few days past my petition. Can I work until the I-94 date?

No. Under 8 CFR 214.1(l)(1), H-1B, L-1, E and TN workers may be admitted for up to 10 days after the petition ends, but may not work outside the petition validity period unless separately authorized. Those extra days, if your I-94 shows them, are for staying, not working.

What if my visa stamp expires while I'm on a short trip to Canada or Mexico?

A narrow exception called automatic visa revalidation (22 CFR 41.112(d)) can allow readmission on an expired visa after a trip of 30 days or less only to Canada or Mexico (for F and J students and exchange visitors and their families, also certain adjacent islands, not Cuba), if several conditions are met: among them an unexpired I-94, not applying for a new visa while abroad, and a valid passport. It excludes some nationalities, and entry restrictions may still apply. Whether it fits your trip is a question for your attorney; this page doesn't decide it.

My I-94 says D/S. What is my date?

For now, "D/S" still applies. DHS published a rule that would have replaced D/S with fixed end dates for F and J admissions from September 15, 2026, but on September 14, 2026 a federal court postponed it and blocked DHS from implementing it while the case continues (Presidents' Alliance v. DHS, D. Mass.). With D/S, your stay lasts while you maintain status under your I-20 or DS-2019, so there is no single date for this page to compute. The case may change; ask your school's DSO or an immigration attorney.

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Priority is a planned iPhone app. It would read your I-797, I-94, EAD, visa and passport on your phone, then show every date on one timeline with the rule behind each date, remind you ahead of time, and show your Visa Bulletin position each month. It does not exist yet. We're checking whether enough people want it before building it.

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