International Students Preparing for Your I-20

International Students Preparing for Your I-20 You are in!  Give yourself a pat on the back for officially becoming an Illini. While the hardest part is behind you, you still have a couple more steps ahead.  Think of the I-20 process as the bridge that helps you reach your final destination. After accepting your admission offer, you are off to prepare for the I-20 process. You can take a look at last year’s detailed I-20 FAQ blog for a breadth of information about the topic. This year, I will provide a general walk-through of the process, talk about what documents are required, and offer some helpful tips from our current students to help alleviate any I-20 preparation stress. Let’s start with the I-20 application steps. Step 1: Accept your admission offer. You can do this from your myIllini account portal. Step 2: Submit an I-20 application. This also can be done through your myIllini account portal. Step 3: Make sure to upload the required documents to the I-20 application. You will need a valid copy of your passport in addition to an adequate financial statement. Step 4: Pay attention to deadlines. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions will start to issue I-20s for our incoming fall transfer and freshman applicants starting March 1. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions will not issue any I-20s after August 1. Remember that we are here to help! Contact our office if you have any issues. So what happens after you submit your I-20 application? Step 1: The Office of Undergraduate Admissions will make sure we have all the correct documents and will verify the provided information. We will contact you directly if we have a question. Step 2: The Office of Undergraduate Admissions needs 2 to 3 weeks to issue your I-20. Step 3:  After your I-20 is issued, we will send you an email so you can set up an account with eShipGlobal to have your I-20 mailed to you. Please do not set up an account before your I-20 is issued. This may cause a delay in the process. You may wonder: What is eShipGlobal? eShipGlobal is an express mailing service we use to mail out I-20s at the recipients expense. You will be required to set up an account with this service. Make sure to have the following information handy: Your UIN (found on your admitted checklist)Mailing address (this is where you want your I-20 shipped to) Valid email addressValid telephone number Credit card informationDepartment Contact: Select Office of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (if you select the wrong contact, this may delay mailing the I-20 to you) Step 4:  After you receive your I-20 form, you will need to prepare for your F-1 visa interview at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate in your country of residence. I also encourage you to read the U.S. Department of State Student Visa Overview and a blog entry I wrote last year on F-1 visas. Ill leave you with some helpful tips and websites. The earlier you prepare for your I-20 application, the better. Delays can happen for several reasons.Make sure your financial documents are recent. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions does not accept any financial documents that are older than a year.If you are currently attending an accredited academic U.S. institution and are on an F-1 visa, you will need to contact us.You can always contact the U.S. embassy or consulate in your home country if you have any questions. Make sure to register for the Undergraduate International Student Orientation. We look forward to seeing you on campus soon! Suha Assistant Director, Undergraduate Admissions I have a master’s degree in American and Middle Eastern Studies. I’m lucky to be working with our international students as they navigate their way through the admissions process and during their exciting journey to the Illinois campus!