How to Read a US Visa Stamp on Your Passport

Learning how to read a US visa stamp on your passport comes down to six fields on the foil plus an annotation line, and knowing which of them controls travel versus which controls your stay. The stamp is a security sticker a US Embassy or Consulate places inside your passport confirming that a consular officer approved you to travel to the United States for a specific purpose. It gets you to the port of entry. A Customs and Border Protection officer at the airport or land border makes the final call on whether you’re admitted and for how long.¹

Check every field the moment you get your passport back. Errors caught before you fly are fixable at the issuing consulate. Errors discovered at the airport are not.

The Fields at the Top of the Foil

The upper portion carries your personal information: surname, given name, date of birth, sex, nationality, and passport number. Every one of these must match your passport exactly. A transposed letter or a wrong birth date can hold you up at the port of entry, so if anything is off, contact the issuing consulate before making travel plans.

Near the top you’ll also see the issuing post, which identifies the US Embassy or Consulate that issued the visa. You won’t need it for routine travel, but it matters if you ever need a correction or if CBP has questions about your application history.

Type/Class: Your Visa Category

The “Type/Class” field shows the specific category you were approved under. Common examples include B1/B2 for business or tourism, F-1 for academic students, H-1B for temporary workers in specialty occupations, and J-1 for exchange visitors.² Confirm this matches the category you actually applied for. Traveling on the wrong class creates serious complications at the border.

Issue Date and Expiration Date

These two dates define the window during which you can use the visa to travel to a US port of entry. You can arrive on the last day before expiration; the date controls when you may travel, not how long you may stay once admitted. That distinction is the single most misunderstood part of the stamp, and it’s addressed in full below.

Entries: How Many Times You Can Come and Go

The “Entries” field tells you how many times you can use this visa during its validity period:

S: Single entry. Once you enter and depart, the visa is used up, even if the expiration date hasn’t passed.
A number (2, 3, and so on): That many entries allowed during the validity period.
M: Multiple entries. You can travel back and forth as many times as you want until the visa expires.

If you hold a single-entry visa, plan carefully. A weekend trip out of the country will require a new visa to return unless you qualify for automatic revalidation for short trips to Canada or Mexico.³

The Control Number

The control number, sometimes called the visa number, is the string of digits printed in red ink, typically in the lower-right area of the foil. It’s usually eight digits, sometimes a single letter prefix followed by seven digits. This number uniquely identifies your visa and shows up on immigration forms, future visa applications, and adjustment-of-status paperwork. Write it down separately from your passport. If the passport is lost or stolen, the consulate handling your replacement will use that number to pull your records faster.⁴

The Annotation Field at the Bottom

The annotation line at the bottom of the foil carries category-specific details, and CBP officers often look there first when processing your arrival.

For F-1 students, the annotation typically includes your SEVIS ID number and the name of the school you’re authorized to attend. For H-1B and other petition-based work visas, it usually lists the petitioning employer’s name, the approved petition number (often labeled “PET. NO.”), and the petition expiration date.⁵ Other abbreviations you may see include “P.A.” for principal applicant and “PET. NAME” for the petitioner’s name.

If you’re a dependent traveling with a principal visa holder, the annotation may reference the principal applicant’s name or petition information. Confirm every employer name, school name, and ID number is spelled and printed correctly. Those details connect your visa to the underlying petition or program record.

The Expiration Date Is Not Your Departure Deadline

This is where most travelers get into trouble. The expiration date on the foil controls only when you can travel to a port of entry. Once you’re admitted, the document that governs how long you can remain is the Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record, which CBP generates electronically or stamps in your passport when you enter.⁶

Your I-94 shows an “Admit Until Date.” That’s your departure deadline. You must leave by that date or file to extend or change your status before it passes. Most I-94 records are now electronic, so check yours at the CBP I-94 website after every entry and confirm the date is correct.⁷

Some visa holders, particularly F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors, won’t see a specific date on their I-94. Instead, they’ll see “D/S,” which stands for Duration of Status. You can remain as long as you’re complying with the conditions of your visa program, such as maintaining enrollment. Once you violate those conditions, your authorized stay ends immediately, regardless of what the visa foil says.

Why This Matters: Overstay Consequences

Staying past your I-94 date has consequences that extend well beyond your current trip. Under federal law, if you accumulate more than 180 days of unlawful presence and then depart, you’re barred from reentering for three years. Accumulate a year or more and depart, and the bar jumps to ten years.⁸ These bars apply even if you had a perfectly valid visa stamp in your passport the entire time. The visa controls travel. The I-94 controls lawful presence.

The Approval Notice Is Not a Travel Document

The visa foil is separate from any approval notice you may have received earlier in the process. If your employer filed an H-1B petition on your behalf, USCIS may have issued a Form I-797 approval notice. That notice confirms your petition was approved, but it isn’t a travel document, and you cannot use it to board a flight to the United States.⁹ The physical visa stamp in your passport is what airlines and border officers look for.

Using a Valid Visa in an Expired Passport

Passports expire, but that doesn’t automatically kill the visa stamp inside. A valid US visa in an expired passport can still be used for travel. Carry the expired passport containing the visa alongside your new valid passport, and present both at the port of entry. Do not peel, cut, or remove the visa from the old passport. Doing so will invalidate it.¹ CBP officers handle two-passport presentations routinely.

If Something on the Foil Is Wrong or Damaged

Errors

If you spot a mistake, whether a misspelled name, a wrong visa class, or an incorrect date, contact the issuing US Consulate before you travel. Showing up at a port of entry with incorrect information on your visa invites delays or denial of admission. The consulate will provide instructions for returning your passport for correction.

Physical Damage

Any damage to the visa foil, including water stains, tears, or peeling, renders it unusable. The State Department’s position is straightforward: if your visa has been damaged in any way, you need to reapply for a new one at a US Embassy or Consulate abroad.¹⁰ There’s no repair process and no exception for minor damage.

Lost or Stolen

A lost or stolen visa cannot be replaced from within the United States. You must apply in person at a US Embassy or Consulate abroad, pay the application fee again, and go through the process. When you reapply, bring your new replacement passport, a police report documenting the loss or theft with local law enforcement, and a written account of the circumstances. Having your old visa control number written down separately helps the consulate locate your records faster.⁴

1
Department of State. Visitor Visa
2
Department of State. Directory of Visa Categories
3
U.S. Department of State. Automatic Revalidation
4
Department of State. Lost and Stolen Passports, Visas, and Arrival/Departure Records (Form I-94)
5
Foreign Affairs Manual. NIV Issuances
6
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record Information for Completing USCIS Forms
7
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Arrival/Departure Forms I-94 and I-94W
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1182 – Inadmissible Aliens
9
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Form I-797 Types and Functions
10
Travel.State.Gov. About Visas – The Basics