Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for New International Students

Penn does not automatically issue I-20s or DS-2019s to its admitted students. You must apply for the document.

If your application for admission is successful, you will be instructed by your school's admission office on how to apply for an I-20 or a DS-2019. We encourage you to apply for the I-20/DS-2019 as soon as you receive these instructions.

For more detailed information about the process of your I-20 or DS-2019, please visit Student Visa Application Process.

If you are not able to login to the online application system, this is most likely because the admission office has not yet informed ISSS that you are admitted to Penn. Please contact the admission office directly and urge them to inform ISSS of your admission immediately. Alternatively, you can fill out the PDF application. The link provided by the admission office gives you access to both the online application and PDF.

If you do not have the 9-digit admission identification number issued by the admission office, please contact them directly.

Yes, you do. ISSS at Penn does not participate in the admission process.

In addition, ISSS requires that your financial certificate be valid within 6 months at the time your I-20/DS-2019 is prepared.

Your funds must be liquid. This means that they are cash that can be immediately accessed. Long-term savings accounts that may not be accessed for two years do not qualify. Checking accounts or savings accounts without withdrawal prohibitions do qualify. An assessment of the value of your assets (home, car, property, jewelry) does not qualify. A report on your stock portfolio does not qualify.

• The document must contain your full name and admission number
• The letter or statement should be written in English
• Showing your funds converted into US dollars is preferable. If this is not possible, please make sure that the quantity and type of currency is clearly written.

Personal Funds:

• Bank account in your name
• Student loan taken out in your name (e.g. Wharton MBA loans)
• Student job granted as part of your financial aid package

School Funding:

• Fellowship or Grant money awarded to you by Penn (e.g. Wharton MBA Grants)

Other Funding:

• Scholarship or grant from a non-Penn source (example: your home government, your current employer)
• A family member who is supporting your studies at Penn (example: uncle, father, sister). If a family member other than your mother or father is supporting all or a portion of your study, please include a letter from that family member stating their relationship to you and their intention to support your studies for the amount of $XXX.

If you want to use your award letter as part of your financial proof to obtain the I-20/Ds-2019, you have to wait.

Please explain to the financial aid office that you first need the award letter to obtain the I-20/DS-2019 from ISSS. The processing time for the I- 20/DS-2019 can take up to 3-business weeks during the peak season. Once you receive the I-20/DS-2019, you have to schedule a visa interview with the US embassy/consulate. It is difficult for you to plan your trip without having the I-20/DS-2019 and the visa. Kindly ask financial aid office to make a decision at their earliest convenience so you can attend Penn.

The processing time may take up to 3-business weeks during the peak season. We start processing your request once we receive your complete application: data you entered through the online system and submitted coversheet along with the financial document(s).

I-20/DS-2019 documents are processed in the order received. Regretfully, we cannot expedite your request due to the high volume of applications. We advise you do not set up your visa interview until you receive the document.

Please be aware that the processing time may take longer if you filled out the PDF application or mailed us your application via regular airmail.

Once your data is entered into the ISSS database, you will receive an email with instructions on how to monitor your status online. If you used the online application, this is your second automated email. If you used the PDF, this is your first automated email from ISSS.

Use your Personal ID Code at the URL provided to you in the email to check your status.

We advise you to please rely only on the information available in the Online Status Checker. Please do not have your friends, relatives or departments call or email us to check the status of your application.

Please email ISSS at oipadm@oip.upenn.edu with the following information so we can investigate your case immediately:

• Your full name and 9-digit admission identification number
• Indicate whether you are admitted by Penn as a undergraduate, graduate or non-degree student
• Indicate the school you have been admitted to (e.g. Law School, Wharton)
• Indicate whether you are coming as an F-1 (if requested an I-20) or a J-1 student (if requested a DS-2019).

• Fax required documents only to the designated fax number.
• Please fax only ISSS required documents together to the designated fax number. Please do not fax us things such as your housing application and enrollment deposit to ISSS. We are not responsible for forwarding them to other offices.
• Fax documents many times to ISSS will not speed up the process of your application. It will slow down the process because of confusion and extra work involved.
• Write your full name and admission number on every single page. If the document does not have your full name and admission number, it takes longer to match them with your application. Sometimes it is impossible to find the match.
• Get a confirmation from the fax machine to confirm your fax went through successfully.

Note: if the admission office has instructed you to fax documents to their office, please follow their instructions carefully. Do not fax documents again to ISSS.

Dependent(s) is defined by US Immigration as "spouse and/or children under 21 years old only." If your spouse and/or children are US citizens or permanent residents of the US, they are not eligible for an I-20 or a DS-2019.

Each eligible dependent will receive an I-20/DS-2019 form that is separate from your own I-20 or DS-2019. This will allow each dependent to travel either with you or separately from you.

Please email oipadm@oip.upenn.edu with the following information:

• Your full name and admission number
• Your dependent's name (e.g. family/last name, first/given name, middle name) written exactly as it appears in the passport
• Your dependent's relationship with you (e.g. spouse or child), gender, date of birth and city of birth
• Your dependent's country of birth, country of citizenship and country of permanent residence
• Specify the ISSS staff member who signed your I-20/DS-2019 document initially (see item #10 on the I-20 or item #7 on the DS-2019).

• Important Information for New International Students
• International Students at the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) web site

You may choose to bring large sums of money with you in the form of cash, money order, or traveler's checks when entering the US You may bring as much money as you wish into the US, however, any amounts of money exceeding the allowed $10,000 (US dollars) maximum must be declared in advance.

When you arrive in the US, you are required to declare all monies that you are bringing into the country. You will receive Form 6059B Customs Declaration, which must be filled in completely and truthfully. If you do not declare your money, the penalties for noncompliance can be severe. Your money might be taken away, you will be required to provide a written explanation of your failure to comply, your case will be evaluated, and you might have to pay a considerable fine.

For more information, visit Money and Other Monetary Instruments at the US Customs and Border Protection Agency web site.

We are very sorry to hear that your visa application was rejected and encourage you to reapply as soon as possible.

Before you go back to the US embassy/consulate, please review the following information from US State Department and ISSS web sites to help you prepare your next visa interview:

• Important Information for New International Students
• Student Visa Application Process
• Visa Denials