Office of International Students

Here are some basic visa-related terms and documents you should be familiar with:

• SEVIS Stands for Student and Exchange Visitor Information System – the web-based data exchange program for storing and tracking information on all new and continuing F-1 international students and J-1 exchange visitors in the United States.

• SEVIS I-20 Form Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant (F-1) Student Status – For Academic and Language Students. This is the document that Oberlin College issues via the SEVIS database to verify to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and the US Department of State (DOS) that a student has been lawfully admitted and is expected to enroll at the school. This form is the official evidence of your F-1 status (see below) and is one of the most important documents you'll need while you are studying in the United States. You should have the original form with you every time you travel in or outside the US. The I-20 Form must be signed by you and the Designated School Official (see below).

• F-1 Visa (also called F-1 Status ) The visa type for which you will be applying as an international student is a nonimmigrant visa called F-1 (for academic studies in the US.) Once you have your I-20 Form from Oberlin College, you'll need to apply for an F-1 entry visa stamp in your passport (see below) at the US embassy or consulate in your home country.

• Designated School Official (DSO ) The school representative on campus who advises you on immigration matters, maintains your F-1 status record, and acts on behalf of the USCIS in certain cases when you need permission to travel, work, etc. Katerina Grim and Ellen Sayles are the Oberlin College Designated School Officials.

• Entry Visa Stamp A special stamp affixed to a page in your passport by a US consular officer abroad. This visa stamp shows your F-1 status as an international student and allows you to travel to the United States and to apply to enter the country. You must have a valid visa stamp in your passport every time you attempt to enter the United States. The entry visa is a travel document, while your I-20 Form is the document that proves your F-1 status while you are in the US.

• Port of Entry (POE ) The airport, land border crossing, or port in the US where you first arrive and apply to enter the country.

• I-94 Arrival-Departure Record A short form (a little white card) that you'll be asked to complete upon arrival in the US. This card usually gets stapled to your passport and proves when and where you last entered the United States. The I-94 card is the official record of your permitted length of stay in the US. It indicates your name and birth date, visa type, the date of entry into the US, as well as your admission number. It is very important to keep this card in your passport at all times.

• Admission Number (aka “A Number” ) The number the USCIS uses to identify you and your F-1 student status while you are in the US. This number is printed on your I-94 card and is also noted on your I-20 Form when the immigration officer stamps it and endorses it at the port of entry.

F-1 Visa Application Regulations and Procedures

• If you are a US citizen residing and/or studying abroad, you do not need an entry visa to enter the United States.

• If you are a citizen of a foreign country, you will need an F-1 visa to enter the United States. You must apply for the visa at the US embassy or consulate in your home country. Read carefully all the visa instructions below.

• If you are already in the US on an F-1 visa (i.e., if you currently have an I-20 Form from another US school) or another type of nonimmigrant visa, you may not need to change your visa status if your visa type allows you to study full-time in the United States. If you do not know whether your current visa type allows you to engage in full-time college-level study, please contact the Office of International Students as soon as possible – we'll be happy to advise you . If you are in the US on an F-1 visa from another US school, you do not have to apply for a new visa stamp unless it is about to expire and you have plans to travel abroad before you come to Oberlin. You can stay in the US with an expired F-1 visa stamp in your passport as long as you have a valid and unexpired I-20 Form from Oberlin. However, if your current F-1 visa stamp has expired, the next time you travel overseas, you will have to apply for a new visa at a US embassy or consulate abroad if you wish to re-enter the US. Please contact the Office of International Students if you have specific questions about your visa status that are not answered in this booklet.

• If you are a citizen of a country exempt from the requirement to have a visa to enter the United States (for example, Canada), you do not need to apply for a visa stamp at a US embassy or consulate. However, you still have to have an I-20 Form from Oberlin and once you have it, you must pay the SEVIS fee (see below.) You must have proof that you have paid the SEVIS fee when you enter the United States – please read and follow the instructions below . To enter the US, you must have your Oberlin I-20 Form and you must be able to establish both identity and citizenship. Documents that may establish citizenship are: passport, birth certificate, and citizenship certificate. Under current procedures, all travelers to the US are required to present a passport. Your Oberlin I-20 Form and the I-94 Arrival-Departure Record card will be processed at the port of entry to the US. Because the immigration officer at the border is doing the job of the consular officer, s/he may choose to interview you. Be prepared to show proof of financial support . Once the F-1 status is granted, the immigration officer will stamp your passport, your I-20 Form, and your I-94 card.

IMPORTANT: US embassies and consulates can issue your F-1 visa only within 120 days prior to the start date of your academic program as indicated on your I-20 Form. If you apply for a visa more than 120 days before the start date indicated on your I-20 form, the US embassy or consulate will hold your application until it is able to issue the visa. Consular officials will use the extra time to conduct any of the necessary special clearances or other processes that may be required.

IMPORTANT: According to Department of Homeland Security regulations, new F-1 students may be allowed to enter the United States only within 30 days prior to the start date indicated on the I-20 Form. Please consider this date carefully when making travel plans to the US. The start date listed on the I-20 Forms for students enrolling for the Fall 2008 semester will be August 22, 2008. This means that the earliest you can come in the US with your Oberlin I-20 Form is July 22, 2008. This rule does not apply to students who are already in the US on an F-1 visa from another US school.

Students are encouraged to apply for their visas early to provide ample time for visa processing. We advise you to apply for the visa as soon as you receive the Oberlin I-20 Form and pay the SEVIS fee. Changes introduced shortly after September 11, 2001 involve extensive and ongoing review of visa issuing practices as they relate to US national security.

In most countries, first-time F-1 visa applicants are required to appear for an in-person interview. However, each embassy or consulate sets its own interview policies and procedures regarding student visas. You should consult the US embassy in your country for more specific visa application instructions. Keep in mind that June, July, and August are the busiest months in most consular sections, and interview appointments are difficult to get during these months. Although priority is given to students applying for F-1 visas, you still need to plan ahead to avoid having to make multiple visits to the embassy. To the extent possible, you should provide the documents listed below, as well as any other documents that help establish your ties to the local community.

The SEVIS Fee Requirement

All individuals receiving an initial SEVIS I-20 Form are required to pay a SEVIS fee before they apply for the F-1 visa. The fee amount for F-1 students is 100 US dollars. The fee must be paid before the date of the visa interview and the fee payment must be verified before the F-1 visa can be issued . You are advised to allow at least 3 business days between the fee payment and your visa interview at a US consulate or embassy. If you are already in the US on an F-1 visa from another US school, you do not have to pay the SEVIS fee. If you have questions about this regulation, please contact the Office of International Students. No fee is to be paid for F-2 dependents, i.e. spouses and dependent children of F-1 students.

If you are a citizen of a country exempt from the requirement to have a visa to enter the United States (for example, Canada), you must provide proof of the SEVIS fee payment at the port of entry to the US.

IMPORTANT: You cannot pay the SEVIS fee at a US consulate or port of entry. The fee must be paid with Form I-901, which must be completed in English with the exact personal information as recorded on your Oberlin I-20 Form . We have included a copy of Form I-901 in this mailing. It is also available online and can be downloaded at www.ice.gov/sevis/i901/index.htm. Payments can be made in one of the following ways:

• Write a check or money order drawn on a bank located in the United States and payable in US dollars. DO NOT MAIL CASH!

• Make the check/money order payable to “I-901 Student/Exchange Visitor Processing Fee.”

• Write the name of the student and the SEVIS Identification Number on the check. The SEVIS Identification Number is the 10-digit number found above the bar code on the first page of your Oberlin I-20 Form.

I-901 Student/Exchange Visitor Processing Fee I-901 Student/Exchange Visitor Processing Fee

• Once the information and payment are processed, the student's electronic SEVIS record will be updated with the fee payment information.

• You must use a credit card to pay the SEVIS fee online. Any Visa, MasterCard, or American Express credit card issued in the US or abroad can be used.

• This is the recommended payment option because as soon as you submit the payment, you will be able to print a receipt for immediate verification of the fee payment. The verification will also be automatically recorded in your electronic SEVIS record. You can print your proof of payment to use for travel to the US and/or to show at the US embassy when you go for your visa interview.

• This option is available in any country where Western Union offers its Quick Pay service.

• The properly completed Western Union receipt serves as immediate proof of payment for a visa interview at a US consulate and for admission at a US port of entry.

1. Go online to www.ice.gov/sevis/i901/wu_instr.htm and print out a copy of the instructions along with a copy of the sample Blue Form.

2. Bring your cash payment in local currency—where applicable— to a local participating Western Union Agent location. To find the nearest Western Union Agent location, go to www.payment-solutions.com/agent.asp and select a country or call the telephone number of the Western Union Commercial Services Network Agent in your country as listed in your phone book.

3. Request and fill out the Blue Form. This form may show words such as “Payment Services” or “Quick Pay” printed in the applicable local language. However, please note that all Quick Pay forms will be blue. You must fill out all appropriate information.

Required Documentation For a First-Time F-1 Visa Application

Because each student's personal and academic situation is different, two students applying for the same visa may be asked different questions and may be required to submit different documents. For that reason, the guidelines that follow are general and can be abridged or expanded by consular officers overseas, depending on each student's situation.

• An I-20 Form issued by Oberlin College. Be sure to sign the first page of your I-20 Form and provide all pages of the form for the visa interview.

• An Application Form DS-156, together with a Form DS-158. Form DS-156 must be completed online, then printed out and submitted with the other documents required for the visa application. Form DS-156 is available online at http://evisaforms.state.gov.

• A passport valid for at least six months after your proposed date of entry into the United States.

• One (1) photograph measuring 2 inches by 2 inches. The required photograph must be an unmounted, full-face front-view color photograph taken within the last six months. Unless worn daily for religious reasons, all hats or headgear should be removed for the photo. In all cases, no item or attire should cover or otherwise obscure any part of the face. It must be submitted stapled or glued to the Application Form DS-156. See www.travel.state.gov/visa/temp/info/info_1287.html for detailed photo requirements.

• A receipt showing payment of the visa application fee. For up-to-date information on current fees, contact the U.S. embassy/consulate in your home country. IMPORTANT: The visa application fee is different and separate from the SEVIS fee.

• A receipt showing payment of the SEVIS fee (see SEVIS Fee Requirement section above). This information should be available in your electronic SEVIS record but you are also advised to have a receipt with you at the time of the visa interview.

• Scores from standardized tests required by Oberlin College, such as TOEFL and SAT.

• Financial evidence showing that you and/or the people sponsoring you have sufficient funds to cover your tuition and living expenses during the period of your intended study in the US. For example, if you or your sponsor are salaried employees, you can provide income tax documents and original bank statements. If you or your sponsor own a business, you can show business registration, licenses, tax documents and original bank statements.

What do consular officers look for?

• Evidence of Residence Abroad – The consular officer may not issue a student visa unless satisfied that the applicant: (1) has a residence abroad, (2) has no intention of abandoning that residence, and (3) intends to depart from the United States upon completion of the course of study.

• Evidence of English Proficiency – If your Form I-20 indicates that proficiency in English is required for pursuing the selected course of study and that no arrangements have been made to overcome any English-language deficiency, the consular officer must determine whether you have the necessary proficiency. To this end, the officer must conduct the visa interview in English.

• Determining Financial Status of F-1 Students – the phrase "sufficient funds to cover expenses" means that you must establish the unlikelihood of either becoming a public charge or of resorting to unauthorized US employment for financial support. You must provide documentary evidence that sufficient funds are, or will be, available to defray all expenses during the entire period of anticipated study. This does not mean that you must have cash immediately available to cover the entire period of intended study, which may last several years. The consular officer must, however, require credible documentary evidence that you have enough readily available funds to meet all expenses for the first year of study.

• Educational Qualifications for F-1 Students – consular officers are not expected to assume the role of admissions counselors to determine whether you are qualified to pursue the desired course of study, but are expected to be alert to three specific factors: (1) that you have successfully completed a course of study equivalent to that normally required of an American student seeking enrollment at the same level; (2) that you haven't submitted forged or altered transcripts of previous or related study or training which Oberlin College has accepted as valid, and (3) that Oberlin College hasn't accepted your alleged previous course of study or training as the equivalent of its normal requirements when, in fact, this is not the case.

F-1 Visa Application Process

Basic Terminology

F-1 Visa Application Regulations and Procedures

The SEVIS Fee Requirement

Required Documentation For a First-Time F-1 Visa Application

What do consular officers look for?