American visas

[redsturgeon]

My son has a visa for travel to the USA for education, valid for the next five years. He will need a new passport next year. DAK if the visa is automatically transferable or will he need to go to the US embassy again to get it transferred to his new passport.

John

[seagles]

Quick google search shows that changing passport requires a new ESTA. but cannot find anything about VISAs. I can say that when I had a US visa in my passport it remained valid when I renewed passport, just had to take the old one with me. That was until they changed "rules" and required "new" visa. I decided not to "renew" that type of VISA.

[seagles]

Update, just found this which supports my own circumstances.

[redsturgeon]

Update, just found this which supports my own circumstances.

Thanks, I was hoping someone would have had personal experience of this. That is good news.

John

[Lootman]

Update, just found this which supports my own circumstances.

Thanks, I was hoping someone would have had personal experience of this. That is good news.

I do have personal experience of this but it was 30 years ago so I hesitate to advise. I renewed my UK passport at the British consulate in New York City in 1990 whilst I was working there on a H-1 visa. I know for a fact that I did not have to reapply for a visa, which was valid for 3 years.

There was a stamp in my old passport which I carried around with me along with the new one, so that I could always show the visa stamp in my (old) passport. But what I cannot recall was if there was a separate document that proved my visa and which I could have shown if needed as an alternative.

Sorry my recollection is so hazy but, in any event, the rules may have changed since then. But I feel fairly sure that if a visa was not valid after your passport expiry date, then the visa would only be issued for that duration. Applying for some kinds of visa can be hard work and take a fair time - my H-1 took 3 months to get. I had a J-1 for a few years as a student in the mid-1970s but that was easy to get, at the time anyway.