Immigration Information
** For specific information ALWAYS contact the International Student Center **
Your passport and your I-20 (or IAP-66) are important documents. Keep them in a safe place in your room. You do not need to carry them with you in Manhattan . Don't run the risk of losing them.
It is important to follow the rules for F-1 (student) and J-1 (sponsored student) visitors to the U.S. Here are the most basic things you need to know.
- Your passport .
Your passport must always be valid for the next six months. If you look at your passport
and see that it is going to expire soon, come to our office or go to the International Student Office to get the address
of your embassy in Washington DC . You will need to send your passport there to get it renewed.
- Your visa.
You need the visa only to enter the U.S. Once you are here, it is all right if your visa expires.
However, if you leave the U.S. , you will need to get a new visa before you can come back. Most visas are multiple entry,
so you can leave and come back as long as your visa is valid. However, some visas say "single entry."
If you leave the U.S. , you will not be able to reenter the U.S. with such a visa. You cannot apply for a visa in
the U.S. You must apply at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad.
- Your 1-20.
Keep your I-20 with your passport. You will need to show it whenever you enter the U.S.
Your I-20 describes what you are supposed to be doing in the U.S. It tells which school you are attending and
what you are studying. If you change schools or majors or degree programs (from B.S. to M.S., for example),
you should go to the International Student Office to get a new I-20. If your I-20 expires, you should also
go there to get a new one.
- Your I-94,
also called your arrival/departure record, is the little white card stapled onto the visa
in your passport. When you leave the U.S., it will be removed, and when you come back, a new one will be stapled
in your passport. It probably says it is valid for D/S , which means "duration of stay." It means
that you are allowed to stay in the U.S. while you are doing what your I-20 says you should be doing. If there is an
expiration date on your I-94 and that date is coming soon, go to the International Student Office to get your program
extended.
- Before you travel.
Before you take a trip outside the U.S., go to the International Student Office
so they can check the validity of your passport and visa for reentry. They will also sign your I-20 to show that
you are in status--that means you are doing what your I-20 says you should be doing. If you need a new I-20,
you must give the International Student Office 3-5 working days to prepare a new one. They will not be
able to prepare an I-20 for you if you go there at the last minute before traveling. If you are traveling to another
country and not your home country, remember that you may need to apply to that country's embassy for a visa to enter
that country. It is important to plan ahead!
- Working.
F-1 and J-1 students are permitted to work up to 20 hours a week on campus. If you find a job,
go to the International Student Office for a permit to work. In general, international students are not permitted
to work off campus. F-2 visa holders (the dependents of F-1 students) are not allowed to work.
- Fulltime student.
F-1 students must study fulltime. They meet that requirement when they study in the
English Language Program. When they enter the University, undergraduates must stay enrolled in 12 credit hours, and
graduate students must be in 9 hours.