What is contiguous territory" and "adjacent islands" for automatic Visa Revalidation?

"Contiguous territory" means a country whose border touches, is contiguous to, the U.S. border. They are only two countries - Canada and Mexico.

The Code of Federal Regulations at 8 CFR 286.1(a) defines "adjacent islands" to include Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Barbuda, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Marie-Galante, Martinique, Miquelon, Montserrat, Saba, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Christopher, Saint Eustatius, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Maarten, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, and other British, French and Netherlands territory or possessions bordering on the Caribbean Sea.

Can all the US Visa holders travel to "Contiguous territory" or "adjacent islands" for automatic Visa revalidation?

The answer NO.

• Only holders of F, J, H, O and E status in the U.S. to can enter "contiguous territory" (Canada and Mexico) and return to the U.S. without a currently valid visa stamp in the passport.

• holders of F and J status in the U.S. are eligible to enter "adjacent islands" (islands in the Caribbean except Cuba) and return to the U.S. without a currently valid visa stamp in the passport. 

Note - that travel to adjacent islands applies only to those currently in F or J status. It does not apply to those currently in H or O or any other status.

See my other posts on Automatic Visa re-validation