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The purpose of this handbook is to make the beginning of your stay in Iowa as easy and stress-free as possible. It includes general information about the USA and Iowa, how to get started, and how to live as a student in Iowa. We advise you to read all the information in the handbook before you leave for the USA, and keep it for reference during your stay.
Passport, Visa, I-94 Card, and I-20 or DS-2019 (suggested sequence, as the first 3 are documents all students need, and the last two are determined by Visa).
Form I-20, Passport, Visa, and I-94CardUpon arrival to your college, you will need to present the documents listed above to your International Student Advisor.
The advisor will make copies for your college file, and your immigration information will be updated/activated in SEVIS (Student Exchange and Visitor Information System). SEVIS requires that you immediately inform your advisor of any change to your local address.
F-1 Students - You must register each semester as a full-time student and maintain full-time status for your F-1 Visa (full-time student Visa).
WARNINGS -DO NOT enter the United States with a B-1 / B-2 visa! If you have been accepted by a school and you have an unexpired B visa, do not use it to enter the United States to begin you studies here! You must obtain a Form I-20 and apply for an F-1 student visa before entering the United States.
Visa Required- Unless you are a Canadian, you cannot enter the United States without a visa! Students from all other countries must have visas. Please note -that Canadian students should still have a passport.
Form I-94 must be completed at the time of entry to the United States by foreign citizens that are being admitted into the United States in a non-immigrant visa status.
You must attend the school that issues your I-20!-Once you enter the United States -you must attend the school that issues the I-20. If you are transferring from another U.S. school, you will lose your legal status if you travel on your old school’s I-20and do not return to that school. Talk to us before you travel and be sure to enter the U.S. with a Eastern Iowa Community Colleges (Clinton, Muscatine, Scott) I-20.
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