A foreign citizen who wants to enter the United States must first acquire a U.S. visa. This visa will be placed in the traveler’s passport. Passports, Visas, and Arrival-Departure Records are authorized travel documents that must be possessed by a foreign citizen to show their legal status in the US and to show their country of citizenship. Visas are issued under different categories for immigrants and non-immigrants.
If you lose your visa you must file a complaint with the nearby police station, in the place where the visa was lost or stolen. You are required to keep photocopies of the lost visa and the police report for reference. Once you file a police report, you must contact the US embassy or the US consulate which issued the visa. As you do not have options to renew a visa, you must then apply for a new visa. If you are a foreign national who is temporarily in the US and you lose your visa, you will be allowed to stay for the duration of your stay which is authorized, until the day that is mentioned on your Arrival-Departure Record (Form I-94). But you will need a valid passport to leave the U.S. and to go to another country.
To report the loss of your visa, you can send a fax to the Consular Section or Consul General at the Embassy. You must mention your full name, place of birth, address, and date of birth while sending the fax. You are also required to state whether your visa was lost or stolen. The visa category must also be mentioned. You can also fax copies of your lost/stolen visa to the Embassy or consular section.
If you find your lost/stolen visa, at any point of time after reporting to the US Embassy, that visa will be invalid. You will not be able to travel with that visa to the US in the future but you can apply for a new visa with which you can travel to the US. You cannot replace a lost or stolen visa in the US, you must apply in person at the US embassy to apply for a new visa. Once you report the loss of your visa to the Consulate, the visa will be canceled electronically. You will not be able to use that visa again even if you get it back later.
While applying for the replacement of a visa, a copy of the police record along with a letter stating the loss of your visa must be submitted. There is no option to replace the visa automatically. You must apply for a new visa based on your category, to travel to the US in the future. While reapplying for the lost visa, make sure that your passport will not expire within six months from the date of your visa application. Once you are found to be qualified for a visa, you will be provided with a visa and it will be pasted in your passport. Though you are reapplying for a visa, the normal visa application procedure must be followed.
