LOS ANGELES, April 8: A new US State Department regulation has stopped automatic revalidation of visas at Mexico and Canada borders from this week.

The new regulation would mostly affect the holders of L visa, E visa and H1 visa.

Before this new regulation, third-country nationals who used to change their status within United States after coming on a simple visit visa (B1/B2s) had a facility to go to Mexico and Canada and have their new status stamped so that they can travel abroad.

Most of the Pakistanis, Indians, Filipinos and Chinese used to avoid going back to their countries and prefer to get their new visas stamped due to variety of reasons, including long waiting period at US embassies in their countries as compared with one-day process in Mexico and Canada.

With this regulation, now if the US embassies in Mexico and Canada refuse to stamp new visa status and ask the person to get his visa stamped from the embassy in his own country he cannot re-enter United States on his I-94 forms and have to go to his home country directly from Mexico and Canada.