careful: there's a difference to point out here - Visas are for entering/exiting the country and are the stamps on the passport. Then you can stay as long as yo

careful: there's a difference to point out here - Visas are for entering/exiting the country and are the stamps on the passport. Then you can stay as long as you have your residence permit. Example: #when you enter the country you get DS2019: 1yr #residence permit Visa: 1yr # from when you enter the country until you leave the country: if your contract get renewed (DS2019++) else illegal the visa in your passport is worth nothing when inside the US. the fact that the two are confused might be very misleading.