Replacing a Lost or Stolen Passport That Contains Your F-1 Visa

Report the loss to the police

File a police report on the same day you notice your passport is missing.

Many countries require a police report before they issue a replacement passport, and some US embassies ask to see one when you apply for a new visa later. Keep a copy with your other documents.

Apply for a replacement passport

Contact your home country's embassy or consulate in the US for a new passport. Processing times differ by country and by how busy the office is, so start the application as soon as the police report is ready. A photocopy or a photo of your old passport's bio page speeds up the process if you saved one before the loss.

Your F-1 visa cannot transfer to the new passport

A US visa is a physical sticker tied to one specific passport, not a record you can move to a new one.

The State Department does not reissue or reprint a lost visa into a replacement passport. Once your original passport is gone, the visa inside it is gone too, according to the State Department's guidance on lost and stolen passports and visas .

You do not need a new visa to stay in the US

Your permission to remain in the country comes from your F-1 status and your electronic I-94 arrival record, not from the visa sticker. You can check that record anytime at CBP's I-94 website .

If you have no international travel planned, continue your studies with your new passport and an empty visa page. Hold on to the old passport too if it resurfaces later, since a border officer may want to see both together on a future trip.

Apply for a new visa before you travel again

You only need a fresh F-1 visa once you plan to leave the US and come back. Apply at a US embassy or consulate in your home country, or in a third country that accepts applications from non-residents.

Bring your new passport, a copy of the police report, your I-20 with a current travel signature from your DSO, and proof of enrollment. Schedule the interview as soon as you know your travel dates, since appointment slots fill up at busy posts.

Documents to gather before your visa appointment

Update your school and keep better copies

Tell your DSO about the lost passport so your SEVIS record reflects your new passport number and expiration date. This does not usually require a new I-20, only an update to your file. Going forward, keep a scanned copy of your passport bio page, visa page, and I-20 stored separately from where you carry the originals, such as cloud storage or with a parent at home.

If the loss happens outside the US

If your passport and visa go missing while you are already traveling outside the US, report it to the local police where you are, then contact your home country's nearest embassy for an emergency or replacement passport. You then apply for a new F-1 visa at a US embassy or consulate before you fly back, so build extra days into your return plan whenever you travel internationally.

If you need to return urgently

If you are stranded outside the US with no passport and classes start soon, tell your DSO right away so they know your situation. Some embassies issue emergency or limited validity passports faster than a standard renewal, so ask directly about that option when you report the loss. Your DSO cannot speed up a foreign embassy's process, but they can document your circumstances if your school needs proof for an attendance policy.

Mistakes that slow down a replacement

• Waiting days after the loss to file the police report

• Applying for the new visa without a current I-20 travel signature

• Booking a flight before the passport and visa are both in hand

• Not telling the DSO, so the SEVIS record still lists the old passport

Reduce the risk before your next trip

Keep your passport in a zipped inner pocket or a money belt instead of an outer bag pocket during transit. Photograph the bio page and visa page on your phone and store the images in a cloud folder you can reach without the phone itself. Register with your home country's travel notification service if one exists, since some countries issue a faster emergency passport for citizens already registered abroad.

Ask your international student office for help

Your school's international student office has handled this before and can often point you to the fastest replacement path for your specific home country. Some offices keep letters explaining your enrollment that speed up both the passport and the visa application. Ask before you start the process on your own, since a wrong first step sometimes adds delay rather than saving it.