“Visa revoked without prejudice” is not the usual official terminology. The phrase often refers to a visa stamped “Cancelled Without Prejudice” or “CWOP.” That is different from a formal visa revocation.
The Department of State defines “Cancelled Without Prejudice” as a cancellation commonly used when a visa contains a mistake or is a duplicate. It does not invalidate other visas in the passport and does not mean the person is barred from receiving another visa. The particular visa marked CWOP, however, should no longer be used for travel.
A formal revocation is more serious. Under INA §221(i), the Department of State may revoke an issued visa. A revocation invalidates the visa for future travel and may be based on information suggesting that the visa holder is or may be ineligible, no longer qualifies for the classification, or no longer satisfies the conditions under which the visa was issued.
This article provides general legal information. The actual meaning depends on the exact passport stamp, revocation email or letter, consular case notes, CBP notation, statutory citation, visa category, and events that occurred after issuance.
If the visa was marked Cancelled Without Prejudice, the cancellation often reflects an administrative reason such as a printing mistake, replacement visa, duplicate visa, or change that makes the old visa unnecessary. It generally does not itself establish visa ineligibility.
If the visa was formally revoked, it is no longer valid for travel. The visa holder ordinarily must apply again and establish current eligibility. The revocation may or may not identify the underlying concern, and reapplication can lead to issuance, refusal, administrative processing, or a separate inadmissibility finding.
An official cancellation notation that ordinarily does not express a negative judgment about future visa eligibility.
A Department of State action withdrawing the validity of an issued visa under statutory and regulatory authority.
A different notation sometimes used in enforcement or adverse contexts. The exact stamp and surrounding record must be reviewed.
CBP may physically cancel a visa during inspection, withdrawal of admission, expedited removal, or another border action.
Certain overstays can void a visa by operation of INA §222(g), which is analytically different from a discretionary revocation.
The Department may revoke based on possible ineligibility before a final visa-ineligibility determination is made.
Do not rely on a verbal summary. Obtain a clear copy of the visa foil, every stamp, the notice, passport pages, emails, and border records.
The visa may contain an incorrect name, date, classification, annotation, validity period, or other issuance error.
The passport may contain two visas of the same type when only one should remain valid.
An old visa may be cancelled when the post prints a corrected or replacement visa.
A prior nonimmigrant visa may be cancelled to avoid confusion after lawful permanent residence or another status document is issued.
The post may cancel an obsolete visa without making a finding that the holder committed fraud or became inadmissible.
The Department’s glossary states that CWOP does not mean the passport holder will not receive another visa.
“Without prejudice” generally means the cancellation itself does not decide a future visa application against the applicant. It does not mean the cancelled visa remains usable.
| Situation | Why the old visa may be cancelled | What to preserve |
|---|---|---|
| Corrected visa printed | The original foil contains an issuance or biographic error. | Both visas, passport copy, consular communication, and correction request. |
| Duplicate visas | The holder should not retain two concurrently valid visas of the same classification in the same passport type. | Both visa foils and any explanation from the post. |
| New visa supersedes old visa | The post issues a new foil with changed validity, entries, annotation, or classification. | Old and new visas, application, and interview record. |
| Immigrant or LPR documentation issued | A prior nonimmigrant visa may be cancelled to prevent confusion about travel status. | Immigrant visa, boarding foil, green card, and cancellation notation. |
| Bond or special issuance matter | The visa is cancelled as part of ending a bond or related issuance arrangement. | Bond documents, consular receipt, and cancellation records. |
| Passport replacement or reissuance | The post may cancel an old or defective visa when issuing a replacement. | Old passport, new passport, police report when relevant, and post instructions. |
The holder should not use the revoked visa to board transportation or apply for admission.
A visa can be revoked before the expiration date shown on the foil.
Revocation may be based on information suggesting the holder may no longer qualify or may be inadmissible.
Department guidance recognizes revocation based on concerns of possible ineligibility without a final eligibility determination.
The person generally must submit a new application, pay the fee, and attend a new adjudication.
The next officer may review the revocation, prior applications, travel, arrests, petitions, and derogatory information.
The officer who issued the visa may revoke it under the governing authority and procedures.
Authorized Department officials may also revoke issued visas.
The statute provides for communication of the revocation to the responsible immigration authorities.
The statutory language provides that revocation invalidates the visa or entry documentation.
The passport foil may later be stamped or otherwise physically cancelled when available.
The holder may receive little explanation when disclosure would implicate confidential visa, law-enforcement, or security information.
The Department may prudentially revoke when an arrest or other information could create visa ineligibility.
A DUI arrest may trigger medical or public-safety review even before a final criminal conviction.
New information may suggest false statements, false documents, concealed facts, or an improperly issued visa.
Employment, worksite, program, employer, purpose, or other material facts may differ from those supporting issuance.
The underlying employment, family, or other petition may no longer support the visa.
Interagency vetting, organization, travel, identity, sanctions, or security information may lead to revocation.
The holder may no longer qualify for the classification or satisfy a continuing condition.
New law, proclamation, sanction, reciprocity change, or program termination may affect visa validity.
A border refusal, withdrawal, removal, status violation, or immigration record may be transmitted to the Department.
Revocation does not prove which trigger applies. The actual reason must be reconstructed from the notice, arrest or court record, petition history, CBP record, government correspondence, and later visa adjudication.
The Department may withdraw travel permission while it evaluates information that could result in ineligibility.
Department liaison guidance has described prudential revocation after arrests for conduct that may produce visa ineligibility.
The revocation itself may occur without a completed determination that the person is inadmissible.
Department guidance states that visa eligibility issues are ordinarily addressed at the interview upon reapplication.
The new case may require a panel-physician examination, court records, petition review, or administrative processing.
The applicant may receive a new visa, a §221(g) refusal, a §214(b) refusal, or a statutory inadmissibility finding.
A visa permits the holder to travel to a port of entry and request admission; it does not itself control the authorized period of stay.
The admission record ordinarily shows the status and authorized period after entry.
The person must continue complying with the existing admission and all status requirements.
The arrest, employment, school, petition, or other event prompting revocation may independently affect status or benefits.
After leaving the United States, the person generally cannot return using the revoked visa.
Extension, change of status, adjustment, employment authorization, and other benefits are governed by their own requirements.
Do not confuse “lawfully present today” with “able to return after travel.” A person may have an unexpired I-94 but no valid visa for a future entry.
CBP may permit withdrawal and cancel the visa, often documenting the event on Form I-275.
CBP may cancel the visa and issue Form I-860, creating a separate removal bar and possible need for Form I-212.
The traveler may be refused entry and have the visa cancelled without a formal expedited-removal order.
The stamp may state revoked, cancelled, CWOP, or another notation that must be read with the CBP paperwork.
Questions and answers recorded during inspection can affect future visa applications and inadmissibility analysis.
Request the I-275, I-860, sworn statement, officer notes, search records, and related documents before reapplying.
| Notice information | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Visa classification and issuance post | Identifies the exact visa affected by the action. |
| Passport or visa number | Distinguishes the revoked visa from other visas in the passport. |
| Effective date | Helps determine whether later travel or attempted travel occurred after revocation. |
| Legal authority | May cite INA §221(i), regulation, proclamation, sanctions authority, or other basis. |
| General reason | May refer to possible ineligibility, petition action, arrest, medical review, or changed circumstances. |
| Instruction not to travel | Confirms the visa should not be used even if the physical foil has not been stamped. |
| Passport presentation request | The post may ask the holder to present the passport for physical cancellation. |
| Reapplication instruction | May explain that eligibility will be evaluated through a new visa application. |
The airline may be unable to verify the visa as valid for travel.
The Department may use contact information from the DS-160 or visa record.
Electronic government records may reflect the action before the physical passport is marked.
The applicant may first learn of the revocation when completing a new DS-160 or attending another interview.
The issue may surface in a petition, status, compliance, or travel review.
When credible information suggests revocation, do not rely solely on the unmarked visa foil or printed expiration date.
The Department’s definition expressly states that the notation does not mean the holder will not receive another visa.
The applicant may reapply and receive a new adjudication, although the underlying issue must be resolved.
A new nonimmigrant visa application generally requires a new form and nonrefundable application fee.
Answer questions about prior visa cancellation or revocation accurately and explain the facts consistently.
The new case may require court records, medical examination, petition evidence, status history, or proof correcting a government misunderstanding.
A revoked visa generally is not revived merely because charges were dismissed, a petition was reapproved, or the original concern was resolved.
State whether the visa was cancelled without prejudice, revoked by the Department, cancelled by CBP, or automatically voided after overstay.
Provide the approximate date, classification, issuing post, and circumstances when requested.
A neutral administrative cancellation should not be overstated as an inadmissibility determination.
Calling a revocation a harmless printing correction can create a new credibility problem.
Use accurate court, medical, immigration, employment, or petition records rather than speculation.
Compare earlier DS-160s, petitions, CBP statements, and interviews before submitting the new explanation.
Include every visa, stamp, annotation, entry, exit, cancellation mark, and passport used during the relevant period.
Preserve the original email, letter, envelope, headers, attachments, and response.
Obtain the DS-160, confirmation, appointment record, supporting documents, and interview chronology.
Request border-inspection records if the visa was cancelled during attempted entry.
Obtain certified dispositions, arrest records when relevant, treatment records, toxicology, and panel-physician evidence.
Review USCIS filings, approvals, revocations, worksite changes, SEVIS, I-94, employment, and school history.
The officer concludes that the applicant presently qualifies and no unwaived ineligibility applies.
The case may require documents, medical review, petition verification, or administrative processing.
A nonimmigrant applicant may fail to establish classification eligibility or required temporary intent.
The new adjudication may result in fraud, crime, unlawful presence, health, security, or another inadmissibility ground.
When a waiver exists and the applicant is otherwise eligible, the post may consider or recommend the appropriate process.
Employment or family petition facts may be sent for additional agency review.
An electronic revocation can be effective even when the passport foil appears unchanged.
A neutral cancellation should not be treated as proof of fraud or another bar.
A formal revocation requires investigation of the underlying issue before reapplication.
Unexplained differences can create credibility or misrepresentation concerns.
Obtain complete, final, certified records when criminal conduct may be involved.
Do not guess why the visa was revoked or characterize conduct legally without the records.
Do not assume revocation automatically shortens or extends the I-94 period.
A cancelled visa may accompany a separate five-year or longer removal bar.
The original cancellation notation and visa foil may be essential evidence.
Capture the visa foil, cancellation marks, stamps, passport data page, and surrounding pages.
Determine whether the action says CWOP, cancelled, revoked, or something else.
Determine whether the Department of State, a U.S. embassy or consulate, CBP, or another authority acted.
Review arrests, travel, admission, petitions, school, work, status, applications, and government correspondence.
Use consular correspondence, CBP FOIA, USCIS records, court records, and other available sources.
Review the I-94 and any pending USCIS matter separately from visa validity.
Disclose the action and correct prior errors without creating a new false statement.
Submit the evidence required for the arrest, medical concern, petition, status history, border incident, or other trigger.
The exact words and physical marks on the visa are documented.
All consular, Department, CBP, airline, employer, school, and USCIS communications are saved.
The affected visa will not be presented for travel.
The I-94, petition, SEVIS, employment authorization, and pending benefits are evaluated independently.
The factual record supports the explanation rather than speculation.
DS-160s, petitions, interviews, and border statements are reconciled.
The cancellation or revocation is disclosed using precise terminology.
Removal, unlawful presence, crime, fraud, health, and security issues are reviewed.
No irreversible plans rely on the possibility of a new visa.
Review visa-revocation authority, prudential revocation, notices, DUI and criminal issues, petition changes, status inside the United States, reapplication, record collection, and available legal strategies.
Read the U.S. Visa Revocation Guide →A visa marked CWOP should not be used for travel, even though the cancellation may be neutral and may not harm future eligibility. A formal revocation is different and requires investigation of the underlying concern before travel or reapplication.
The usual official term is “Cancelled Without Prejudice” or CWOP. Formal visa revocation is a different action.
It commonly means a visa was administratively cancelled because of a mistake, duplicate, replacement, or similar reason. It does not itself bar another visa.
No. The visa marked Cancelled Without Prejudice should not be used for travel.
No. The notation alone does not establish fraud, misrepresentation, or another ground of inadmissibility.
The Department of State glossary states that a CWOP cancellation does not affect the validity of other visas in the passport, although each visa must still be independently valid.
It means the visa is no longer valid for future travel, even if the printed expiration date has not passed.
Yes. The Department may prudentially revoke based on information suggesting possible ineligibility, including certain arrests, before a final determination.
Visa validity and status are different. Review the I-94 and underlying conduct separately, because the event prompting revocation may still affect status or benefits.
Yes, in many cases. The applicant must file a new application, disclose the revocation accurately, and establish current eligibility.
Do not assume reinstatement. In most practical situations, the person must obtain a new visa through a new application and adjudication.
Obtain the complete CBP record to determine whether there was withdrawal of admission, expedited removal, a sworn statement, or another legal consequence.
Preserve the passport and notice, identify the exact notation and acting agency, and obtain the records showing why the action occurred.
Different cancellation notations, issuing authorities, travel consequences, and reapplication.
CBP inspection, withdrawal, expedited removal, statements, and future visa consequences.
How to rebuild the record after revocation, cancellation, or refusal.
FOIA and record collection when the basis of the government action is unclear.
A complete review should examine the visa foil, cancellation stamp, revocation notice, acting agency, prior applications, border records, arrest or medical history, petition and status records, current I-94, potential inadmissibility, reapplication disclosures, and the evidence needed to obtain a new visa or correct the record.
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