After you receive your student visa, you will probably travel to the U.S. either by air or by land.
If you are traveling by air, be sure to carry your immigration documents with you onto the plane because you will be required to present your passport and these documents to the Immigration Officer at your U.S. port of entry. DO NOT PACK THEM IN YOUR CHECKED BAG! If you are traveling by land, you will have to stop at the border Port of Entry and request an I-94 card.
When you arrive at your port of entry in the United States, you will be inspected by an immigration officer for admission into the U.S. At this time you will present the following documents:
- Passport
- I-20 or DS-2019
- Financial information if asked
Your passport will be stamped by the officer with the entry date and the visa status under which you are being admitted. The inspector may also stamp your I-20 or DS-2019 and return it to you.
If you are coming as an F-1 student, your passport should be stamped and noted with the designation: F-1 D/S. If you are coming as a J-1 student, your passport should be stamped and noted with the designation: J-1 D/S. Look at what the officer writes to make sure this is entered correctly. If your passport is not stamped correctly, ask the officer to correct the stamp. Doing so will cause further difficulty.
During the summer of 2013, U.S. customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced the elimination the paper I-94 card issued to international students entering the U.S. in non-immigrant visa statuses. There is now an electronic copy of the I-94 available to travelers. CBP will allow the printing of the electronic version of the I-94 through a webpage at: http://www.cbp.gov/i94. Please print a copy of this document. You will be asked to upload a copy when you arrive at Appalachian. For more details, please read: http://www.cbp.gov/document/fact-sheets/i-94-fact-sheet
After you are admitted to the U.S., put these documents in a safe place because you will need to present them to our office when you arrive for international student orientation. Losing these documents will cost you significantly in time and money to replace.
Please Note: You are required by USCIS to attend the institution whose Immigration documents you use to enter the U.S.
Category:
Newly Admitted International Students