Traveling on your J-1 visa

Your J-1 visa lets you travel outside the US, but you need to be careful.\n\n**Before you leave the US:**\n- Get your DS-2019 signed on the back by your sponsor (this is called a "travel validation") within the last 12 months\n- Make sure your visa stamp in your passport is still valid — if it expired, you cannot re-enter without renewing at a US consulate abroad\n- Take your DS-2019, passport, and a copy of your host family contract\n\n**Safe destinations:** Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean allow "automatic revalidation" — you can re-enter with an expired visa stamp as long as your DS-2019 is valid.\n\n**Risky destinations:** Anywhere else — if your visa is expired, you must renew at a consulate before returning.