Q: What are my
general responsibilities as an international student in the United States?
- Keep your PASSPORT valid at all times.
- Maintain FULL-TIME ENROLLMENT EACH SEMESTER during the academic year.
- File any necessary EXTENSIONS OF STAY before your present stay expires.
- Do not accept any off-campus EMPLOYMENT without proper employment authorization.
- Do not TRAVEL outside the United States, even briefly, without the proper documents.
- Make photocopies of ALL your documents and safeguard the originals.
Passport:
A passport is an international
travel document issued to you by your government showing
your identity, country of origin, nationality and passport
validity (passport must be valid six months into the
future at all times). This travel document allows you
to travel outside your country. While in the US, you
can renew your passport through your embassy or nearest
consulate. The Office of International Services (OIS)
has a directory listing of all embassies in the US with
the necessary contact information (http://www.embassy.org/).
It is your responsibility to keep your passport valid
at all times. You should provide OIS with a photocopy
of your passport in case of loss or theft. Embassies
are usually able to replace a passport more promptly
if you are able to provide a photocopy of the original.
Q: What do I
do if my passport expires or I lose it while I am within the United States?
A: You will need to contact your
embassy or consulate in the United States for instructions to renew or replace
a lost passport (http://www.embassy.org/).
Q: I have a
newly reissued passport. While I am in the United States, is it possible to
change my un-expired visa stamp from my old passport to my newly reissued
passport?
A: No. However, you may get a new
visa stamp in your newly issued passport from the US Consulate/Embassy in your
home country when you next visit home.
Q: I have a newly reissued passport. My old expired passport has a valid visa
stamp, but my newly reissued passport does not. Can I re-enter the United
States showing both passports?
A: Yes, you should carry both your
old expired passport and your new reissued passport, along with a valid I-20
(F-1) or DS-2019 (J-1).
Visa:
A nonimmigrant visa is a permit affixed or stamped to a page in your passport
to request entry into the US. At the port of entry the immigration officer
grants admission if your documents are in order and you are found admissible. You enter the US under the terms and
conditions specified by the particular type of nonimmigrant visa that you hold.
The visa does not determine how long you can remain in the US You will need to
obtain a new visa only if you are traveling abroad after the current visa in
the passport has expired. If you change nonimmigrant status during your stay in
the US, you must apply for a new visa abroad in order to re-enter the US in
this new nonimmigrant status. Only a US consulate or embassy abroad can grant
or renew a visa.
Note: Your visa (that is, the actual visa stamp in the passport) may expire
while you are in the US with no adverse effect on your status or employment
eligibility.
Q: If the visa
stamp in my passport expires while I am in the US must I leave the country to
renew it?
A: The visa stamp in your passport
is only an "entry permit".
Your actual visa stamp in the passport may expire while you are in the
US with no adverse effect on your status or employment eligibility. You will
need to renew your visa only if you are traveling abroad after the current visa
in the passport has expired. If you change nonimmigrant status during your stay
in the US, you must apply for a new visa abroad in order to re-enter the US in
the new status. Only a US consulate or embassy abroad can grant or renew a
visa.
Q: What do I
need to apply for a new visa stamp?
A: You will need
to take the following documents with
you at the time of visa application at a US consulate or embassy: Your I-20
(F-1) or DS-2019 (J-1) endorsed on the back by an OIS adviser; proof of
funding (demonstrating that you have the funding to cover your tuition and
fees, living expenses, books, insurance, and dependents if any); a letter from
your advisor stating that you are in good academic standing and making adequate
progress toward your degree, an official transcript, visa application forms
(DS-0156 and DS-0157 available at the following site: http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/forms/forms_1342.html), fee, and pictures. You will need to
check the US Embassy/Consulate website(s) for specific procedures, filing
requirements and times of operation at http://usembassy.state.gov.
Q: How often
should the back of my I-20 (F-1) or
DS-2019 (J-1) be endorsed?
A.: Your I-20 (F-1) or DS-2019 (J-1) should be signed by one of the OIS
advisers in order for you to be permitted to re-enter the US after you travel
outside the US. The signature is valid for re-entry for up to one year from the
date it was signed or until the completion date indicated in section #5 on the
Form I-20 for F-1 students or section #3 on the Form DS-2019 for J-1 students,
whichever is first. If you travel several times within that year, it is not
necessary to have it signed every time you travel unless you need to go to a US
Embassy/Consulate (outside the US) to have the visa stamp in your passport
renewed, in which case it is recommended that you have it signed shortly before
you plan to travel. Keep in mind that if you remain out of the US for more than
5 months, you will need to request from OIS a new I-20 or DS-2019 for
re-entry, since the travel endorsement is not valid for an absence from the US
of more than 5 months. For students who have graduated and are on post-completion
practical training (F-1) or (J-1) academic training, the signature is valid for
six months only.
Q: I wish to have my dependents (spouse and children under the age of 21) join
me at NC State University. Since I am already here, how do I obtain visa(s) for
my dependents?
A: You must complete an I-20
(F-1/F-2) or DS-2019 (J-1/J-2) request form. Upon issuance of the new
certificate of eligibility, I-20 or DS-2019, you must send the form to your
dependent(s) to use for applying for a visa at the US consulate or embassy in
the home country. Your dependent(s)
should also have the following documents at the time of visa application and
upon entry to the United States: valid Form I-20 (F-1)
or DS-2019 (J-1), proof of funding demonstrating that you have the funding to
cover the F-1 or J-1 principal’s tuition and fees, living expenses, books,
insurance, dependents, marriage certificate, a letter from your advisor stating
that you are in good standing and making adequate progress toward your degree;
and an official transcript.
Q: If my dependents want to travel
separately, do they need to obtain a new I-20 (F-1/F-2) or DS-2019
(J-1/J-2)?
A. F-2 and J-2 spouses and minor
children who are not accompanied by the F-1 or J-1 principal must have the
following documents: valid passport, valid US visa, valid I-20 (F-1) or DS-2019
(J-1) that has been endorsed for re-entry by an OIS adviser for use by family
members to travel separately, proof of funding demonstrating that you have the
funding to cover the F-1 or J-1 principal’s tuition and fees, living expenses,
books, insurance, dependents, marriage certificate, a letter from your advisor
stating that you are in good standing and making adequate progress towards your
degree; and an official transcript.
Q: My wife/husband is my dependent in terms of our visa. May he/she work?
A: Dependents of F-1 students (in F-2 status) may not
work.
A: Dependents of J-1 students (in J-2 status) may apply
for employment authorization from the Immigration and Naturalization
Service. Instructions for obtaining a
work permit for J-2 dependents are available at the OIS.
Form I-94
(Arrival/Departure Record):
At the port of entry into the US, the immigration officer issues a Form I-94 to
every nonimmigrant. Often the Form I-94 is handed out on the plane shortly before
landing. The Form I-94 indicates your non-immigrant classification and any
endorsements made by the immigration officer. The Form I-94 indicates the place
and date of entry of your admission to the United States and the initial period
of authorized stay.
Noted on the Form I-94 for students and their dependents is D/S, for Duration
of Status. For F-1or J-1 students, D/S means the period during which you are
pursuing a full course of study at the educational institution, which issued
the visa certificate. You may remain in the United States as long as you
maintain lawful F-1 or J-1 student status until the end date on Form I-20 (F-1)
or DS-2019 (J-1) or completion of program whichever occurs first.
