Next Steps After Receiving Immigration Document

You will receive your immigration document electronically. Upon receiving your immigration document:

• Review the I-20 for accuracy and read the instructions on page 3, especially the section entitled "Instructions to Students.
• Complete the Student Attestation at the bottom of page 1 on Form I-20. The students name should be signed and the date entered. Parental or guardian signatures are not required for college/university students.
• The printed I-20 will be required at the visa appointment and for all entries to the U.S. 

Note: you must arrive in the U.S. on or before the program start date on your I-20. You may enter the U.S. up to 30 days before the program start date listed on your immigration document. After making your initial entry to the U.S., do not leave the U.S. again until you have received a new immigration document from OVIS with a travel signature.

After receiving the Form I-20 and before scheduling your visa appointment at the U.S. Consulate, you must pay the SEVIS fee. The SEVIS fee is in addition to the standard U.S. visa application fee and any country-specific visa reciprocity fees you will be required to pay by the U.S. Consulate. Detailed information about the SEVIS fee, as well as the website for online fee payment, can be found on the following website: https://fmjfee.com/

Find the nearest U.S. Consulate or Embassy in your country with jurisdiction for your home region, and to schedule a U.S. visa appointment, please refer to this website: https://www.usembassy.gov/.

For more information about the visa application process, visa fee payments, and reasons for possible delays in the issuing of U.S. visas, please review the website for the U.S. Department of State: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/study.html.

At the time of your U.S. visa interview, you should present the following required documents to the U.S Consulate in your home country:

• The signed Form I-20;
• $350 SEVIS fee payment receipt;
• Visa processing fee receipt;
• Proof of financial support and/or funding – This should be the same documentation you submitted in support of your Form I-20 request;
• Evidence of non-immigrant intent (family and/or financial ties to your home country);
• The visa application Form DS-160, available online: https://ceac.state.gov/genniv/;
• Two (2) passport style photographs; and
• Passport – valid for at least six (6) months longer than you expect to be in the U.S.

Please be advised that under a new U.S. Department of State policy all F, J and H-1B visa applicants are subject to social media screening, and must set all social medial accounts to public for the visa interview. All applications will automatically be placed in "administrative processing" while the social media screening is pending. 

In addition to the social media screening, you may be subject to additional administrative processing security checks that could delay the visa application process. If your visa application is pending more than 2 weeks after your visa appointment, please reach out to your OVIS advisor and provide any documentation issued to you by the consular official. 

Important note for citizens of CANADA:

Canadian citizens applying for entry to the U.S. as F-1 students are not required to obtain a visa stamp from a U.S. Consulate to enter the United States; instead, they are inspected and admitted in F-1 student status at the port of entry (land, air, or sea). For that inspection, students are required to present:

• Proof of Canadian citizenship (passport)
• The signed enclosed Form I-20
• Proof of admission to Dartmouth
• Proof of financial support and/or funding – the same documentation you submitted to obtain the I-20
• Canadians will also be required to provide the SEVIS fee payment receipt and if entering by land, will be charged an I-94 processing fee at the border port of entry

Read about maintenance of F-1 status. OVIS will review the requirements of F-1 status at the time of orientation and throughout your college career as required. However, it is a lot of information, and it helps to read about F-1 status maintainance before arriving in the U.S. You will be responsible for this information the entire time you are in the U.S. in F-1 status.

In brief, to maintain F-1 status you must:

• Enter the U.S. by the program start date on the Form I-20
• Enroll as a full-time student (except for authorized vacation periods) and take a "full course" load
• Report addresses within ten (10) days of any change in address while living in the U.S.
• Work only as authorized

The F-1 visa is a student visa, not a work visa.

• Work on campus for Dartmouth College is a benefit of status.
• During enrolled terms, on-campus work is limited to 20 hours per week.4
• During leave or vacation terms or official interim periods between terms, students may work on campus "full time."
• Work off campus may be recommended by OVIS and authorized by U.S. Citizenship Immigration Services ("USCIS") through specific application procedures and for very limited circumstances related to the student's field of study (i.e. the student's major).
• "Volunteer" positions or other types of employment should be carefully reviewed by your OVIS advisor in advance of any work. In general, whether or not someone is paid does NOT determine the need for work authorization. Thus, students should NEVER assume "unpaid work" is allowed – indeed it usually is NOT allowed.
• Unauthorized work requires termination of the Form I-20 and visa status. Receiving another visa in future is not likely after an I-20 termination for "Unauthorized Employment."

Social Security Numbers

Social Security numbers are required for work: Unless you already have one, you will be required to obtain a U.S. Social Security number if you plan to work on campus while you are at Dartmouth. On-campus work is allowed for up to 20 hours per week during an enrolled term. On-campus work may be "full time" during interim and vacation terms. Students may begin work only after SEVIS Check-in, but the SSN is not required to begin work. The SSN application must be done in person in the U.S. at a Social Security Office. The nearest SSA Office is 60 miles from campus. OVIS usually arranges a limited number of bus trips to the Social Security Administration (SSA) in Concord, NH, for students who have a job and are otherwise eligible to apply for a Social Security number.

• Students who are not employed are not eligible to apply for an SSN.
• Students who are employed
  • may apply for the SSN and
  • must be paid while the SSN application is processing.
• Students should not apply any earlier than ten (10) days after arrival in the U.S.
• When you receive your Social Security number, you must show the card to the Dartmouth College Payroll Office. See the OVIS pre-arrival website for more information.
• Information about the SSN application process found on OVIS website, here: https://ovis-intl.dartmouth.edu/taxes-legal/social-security-number.