Passport: Your passport is your basic travel document issued by your home government. It attests to your identity as a citizen and includes a photograph and biographical information. It has blank visa pages that will be stamped by consular or immigration officials of the countries you visit. While you are in the U.S., your passport must be valid for at least 6 months into the future. IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to keep track of the expiration date of your passport, and to submit it to your government's embassy in Washington, D.C. when it needs to be renewed.
Visa: In order to enter the U.S. to study, you must apply for a travel visa. The visa is a travel document issued by the U.S. Department of State from a consular office outside the United States (generally in your home country). Your visa is stamped on a page in your passport and includes your name and visa classification (F-1), place and date of issue, visa expiration date and the number of entries into the U.S. permitted on that visa (single or multiple) and the school you are authorized to attend.
The visa DOES NOT grant permission to enter or remain in the U.S. It DOES allow the holder of the visa to apply to enter the U.S. at a port of entry, such as an airport. At your port of entry an immigration officer will review your documents, and providing they are satisfactory, issue an I-94 and attach it to your passport. It is the I-94 (see "I-94" below), your VISA STATUS (Immigration Status) that allows you to enter and remain in the U.S. Once DHS admits you to the U.S., the visa no longer matters unless you decide to travel abroad with the intention of re-entering the U.S. As long as you remain in the U.S., no one, including the law, cares if the visa expires. NOTE: Canadian citizens are not required to have a visa. They must show their I-20 at the US port of entry when entering from Canada.
If you plan to travel abroad and reenter the U.S., the International Student Advisor must check your travel documents before you leave. If your visa is still valid, you need only to present your passport, I-20 and proof of financial resources at your port of re-entry. If your visa expired during your stay in the U.S. or is otherwise invalid, you will need to apply for a new visa at an American embassy or consulate abroad in order to re-enter the U.S.
Form I-94 VISA STATUS (Immigration Status): This is a small "Arrival/Departure" card issued by an immigrations officer at your port of entry into the U.S. This officer will inspect your passport (with the F-1 visa issued in your country), your I-20 and your evidence of financial support. After the officer determines that you are academically and financially prepared to pursue full-time study in the U.S. and that you intend to return to your home country after you complete your studies, you will be granted an I-94 with an F-1 "student" VISA STATUS (Immigration Status) and allowed to enter the country. It is this I-94 card in your passport along with your I-20 that allows you to remain in the U.S.
The I-94 will be attached to your passport by the immigration officer at your port of entry. It contains your name, DHS admission number, birth date, citizenship, date and port of entry into the U.S., immigration status and the length of time you may remain in the U.S. (your "authorized" stay). This card is a temporary document. When you leave the U.S., it will be taken from you at your port of departure. A new I-94 must be issued to you by an immigration officer when you re-enter the U.S.
Do not confuse your VISA with your VISA STATUS (Immigration Status). An F-1 visa is issued by a U.S. embassy official in your home country and will allow you to arrive at a U.S. port of entry and APPLY TO ENTER this country as a full-time student. The F-1 VISA STATUS (Immigration Status) is issued by an immigrations official at a port of entry into the U.S. and WILL ALLOW YOU TO ENTER and stay in the country as a full-time student. When DHS grants permission for you to enter the U.S., an ADMISSION NUMBER will be written on your I-20. YOU MUST CARRY YOUR I-20 WITH YOU WHILE IN THE U.S. AS IT IS PROOF OF YOUR LEGAL DHS (F-1) VISA STATUS (Immigration Status).
Form I-20: The Citizenship and Immigration Service's Form I-20 (Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant "F-1" Student Status) is issued to a prospective student by a college/university, after the school has evaluated the student's application documents and admitted him/her. The I-20 is one of the documents used to apply for the F-1 visa, form I-94, permission to leave and re-enter the U.S. as an F-1 student, transfer from one school to another, or a change in classification. Change of immigration status, such as from B-2 Tourist/Visitor to F-1 Student, is granted by DHS (not a university) and has become increasingly difficult to obtain without leaving and re-entering the U.S.
The I-20 includes such information as your name, citizenship, date and country of birth, major field of study, required arrival date on campus, and the expected date of graduation. It also includes information about your English language proficiency, an annual estimate of tuition and living expenses, and verification that you have submitted the required academic and financial support credentials to the school. The I-20 is signed by a designated school official (International Student Advisor at SU,) certifying that you are enrolled, or intend to enroll, in a full-time course of study. Information on the I-20 is retained in DHS computerized data base system.
Your signature on the I-20 form indicates that you have read the immigrations rules that apply to F-1 students and agree to comply with them. Your signature also authorizes the school to release certain information about you to DHS if it is requested.
NOTE: The Confidential Declaration of Finances must be updated if your source of funding changes (for example, if you receive a graduate assistantship or a scholarship).
