International Student FAQ

1. If you are a new student, your first step is to complete the ISSS Check-In Request in the ISSS Portal.
2. The second step is to secure a job. You must have a job in order to apply for an SSN.
3. The third step is to have your hirinig department provide you with a Social Security Letter for On-Campus Work. The letter must be completed and signed by your hiring department and printed on departmental letterhead.
4. Then you can submit an SSN Letter Request to ISSS via the ISSS Portal and upload the letter from your Hiring Department to the request. ISSS will process the request and provide you with another letter.
   NEW STUDENTS PLEASE NOTE: Requests received from new students will not be processed until after the 10th day of classes. If you submitted your SSN Letter Request prior to the 10th day of classes, your processing clock will not begin until the 10th day.
5. You will take both letters to the Social Security Administration (SSA) office in Bloomington, IL to apply for your SSN. Please visit here for full details on how to get to the SSA office and what documents to bring with you.

Several factors can impact the processing time of your SSN Letter Request.

• You are a new student and have not completed the New Student ISSS Check-In Request , please complete this request in the ISSS Portal.
• It has not yet reached the 10th day (census day) of classes. If you submitted your request prior to the 10th day of classes, your processing clock will not begin until the 10th day.
• You are still within the 10-day processing time from the date your request was submitted or the 10th day of classes (whichever is later).
• Your employment has not yet been processed by HR and entered in iPeople. Please contact your HR Consultant for assistance.
• Your ISSS Advisor has emailed your regarding missing documentation and you have not yet provided it. Please check the Messages section of your ISSS Portal to find any emails from your ISSS Advisor. Once the missing documentation is received your 10-day processing clock will reset.

If you are employed on campus, the University's Human Resources office will continue to send you reminders about your deadline to provide them with your Social Security Card.

ISSS recommends you keep your HR Consultant informed of each step you have taken towards obtaining your SSN to help avoid termination of your appointment. You should also provide your HR Consultant with a copy of your Social Security receipt once you have applied.

If your were enrolled in the Spring semester and will continue your program the following Fall semester, then Summer is considered a vacation period and you can work up to 28 hours per week.

If summer is your first or last semester , you are limited to 20 hours per week.

Yes. The work hour limits for each of these employment types are calculated separately. If you are already working on campus and want to apply for CPT, your academic advisor must confirm that you can manage both your academic and employment obligations as part of the CPT approval process. You must be making normal academic progress towards degree completion and remain in good standing to continue to remain eligible for CPT.

ISSS encourages students to consider whether a job will interfere with their academic progress before accepting any employment. You entered the U.S. on a student visa, so your first priority is as a student.

It's important to understand the difference between a volunteer and an employee. Some think the only difference is that an employee gets paid and a volunteer does not, but that is not true. Unpaid work can still be considered employment.

Whether the Department of Labor (DOL) considers you an employee or a volunteer is based upon several factors and focuses on the relationship between the employer and potential employee.

According to the DOL Fact Sheet:

Individuals may volunteer time to religious, charitable, civic, humanitarian, or similar non-profit organizations as a public service and not be covered by the FLSA. Individuals generally may not, however, volunteer in commercial activities run by a non-profit organization such as a gift shop. A volunteer generally will not be considered an employee for FLSA purposes if the individual volunteers freely for public service, religious or humanitarian objectives, and without contemplation or receipt of compensation. Typically, such volunteers serve on a part-time basis and do not displace regular employed workers or perform work that would otherwise be performed by regular employees.

F-1 and J-1 students are permitted to perform volunteer work that meets the DOL criteria without any prior authorization. Some examples include volunteering to hand out blankets at a homeless shelter, visit the elderly in a nursing home, or fold bandages for the Red Cross.

If you are unsure whether an opportunity qualifies as volunteer work, ISSS recommends you reference the Department of Labor website and consult with an immigration attorney and a labor attorney. The link here will guide you to a list of attorneys in the state of Illinois that specialize in labor and employment law. You can find links here to help you find an experienced immigration attorney. If the "volunteer" work you performed is later deemed by U.S. labor laws to constitute employment, then you would have worked without employment authorization. Unauthorized employment can impact your legal status and future visa applications and your employer could be at risk for substantial fines.

If the volunteer opportunity is through ISU, then you should consult Human Resources prior to performing any volunteer work.

An unpaid internship is not the same as volunteering. Depending on the nature of the internship, you may be considered an employee and would therefore require employment authorization prior to beginning the internship.

According to the DOL Fact Sheet found here, the following seven factors consitute a "primary beneficiary" test used to determine whether you are considered an intern or an employee:

• The extent to which the intern and the employer clearly understand that there is no expectation of compensation. Any promise of compensation, express or implied, suggests that the intern is an employee—and vice versa.
• The extent to which the internship provides training that would be similar to that which would be given in an educational environment, including the clinical and other hands-on training provided by educational institutions.
• The extent to which the internship is tied to the intern’s formal education program by integrated coursework or the receipt of academic credit.
• The extent to which the internship accommodates the intern’s academic commitments by corresponding to the academic calendar.
• The extent to which the internship’s duration is limited to the period in which the internship provides the intern with beneficial learning.
• The extent to which the intern’s work complements, rather than displaces, the work of paid employees while providing significant educational benefits to the intern.
• The extent to which the intern and the employer understand that the internship is conducted without entitlement to a paid job at the conclusion of the internship.

ISSS highly recommends that all F-1 students request CPT authorization for all internships (paid or unpaid) that meet the CPT eligibility requirements. If you choose not to obtain CPT authorization, we highly recommend that you obtain confirmation in writing from your internship supervisor that the position meets the DOL requirements for unpaid internships and that you will not receive any compensation in any form during your internship. If the work you performed is later deemed by U.S. labor laws to constitute employment, then you would have worked without employment authorization. Unauthorized employment can impact your legal status and future visa applications and your employer could be at risk for substantial fines.

No. F-1 and J-1 students are not permitted to work off campus without prior authorization. In most cases, off-campus work authorization cannot be approved until after you have completed one full academic year (Fall + Spring) and the work must be directly related to your degree program. Never work off campus before first speaking with your ISSS Advisor.

Visit our Curricular Practical Training page for more details about off-campus work eligibility.

You should request a signature by completing the online Travel Signature Request in the ISSS Portal. Your request will be processed within 10 business days. F-1 students will receive an automatic notification from the ISSS Portal when the I-20 has been uploaded to your request. Always print, sign, and date your I-20 document as soon as you retrieve it. J-1 students will be provided deliving/pick-up options in the request itself.

Your visa can expire and you can remain in the U.S. However, if you travel outside of the U.S., you will need a new visa before you can re-enter.

ISSS cannot assist you in obtaining a new visa. You cannot apply for a U.S. visa from within the U.S. You must apply at a U.S. consulate/embassy abroad. ISSS highly reccommends you apply from your home country. If you choose to apply for your visa in a different country, ISSS reccommends you contact the consulate to confirm they accept Third Country National (TCN) visa applications. Visit our Visa Information page for further details.

You should bring all the items mentioned in the visa application link below for your status.

• F-1 Visa Application Information
• J-1 Visa Application Information

You should also bring any other items listed on the website of the specific consulate where you will apply.

At minimum, you will be asked to show your:

• Passport
• Original I-20 or DS-2019
• Official acceptance letter
• Receipt for payment of the SEVIS I-901 fee
• Proof of financial support

We also recommend that you:

• Confirm you have a valid travel signature.
• Request official transcripts and/or an enrollment verfication letter from the Registrar’s Office.
• Print your SEVIS fee receipt. If you have been outside the US for 5 months or more or if your SEVIS number has changed, you may be required to pay the SEVIS fee again.
• Bring proof of finances. Students should be able to verify the amount shown as the total on their I-20/DS-2019 with financial documents such as a bank statement, Graduate Assistantship offer letter, or scholarship award letter.

When traveling abroad, be sure to carry your immigration documents with you rather than putting them away in your checked luggage. You must be able to show your papers quickly at various points during your trip.

It is recommended that you carry the following documents with you when traveling abroad:

• I-20/DS-2019 with a valid travel signature.
• Passport valid for 6 months past your date of re-entry.
• Valid U.S. F-1/J-1 visa (citizens of Canada and Bermuda do not need a visa to enter the U.S.). If your visa stamp has expired, you will need to apply for a new visa in order to re-enter the U.S. Visit our Visa Information page for further details.
• I-94 Printoutmarked D/S
• Contact information for ISSS in the event that the border officer needs to reach an International Advisor.
  • Main phone: (309) 438-1931 (during regular business hours)
  • ISU Police: (309) 438-8631 (emergencies outside of regular business hours). This number should only be used in an emergency situation at the border, in which the border officer needs to immediately contact a school official (DSO/ARO).
• Other documents related to your status:unofficial transcript, recent tuition receipts, proof of finances (bank statement, scholarship award letter, etc.), Redbird card, ISU employment or invitation letter, documents related to any pending USCIS applications,SEVIS I-901 fee receipt.
• Valid visa for other countries: If you are not returning to your home country, you may need a visa to travel to or even through (transit visa) other countries. Check the foreign embassy/consulate website for every country on your itinerary.
  • Visit the Department of StateLearn About Your Destinationsite to find important travel alerts/warnings and links to foreign embassy websites where you can check visa requirements.

You should keep your passport valid at all times. Make sure you know the expiration date and begin the renewal process at least 6 months before it expires.

Most passports can be renewed from within the U.S. Contact the embassy/consulate for your home country in the U.S. for information on the passport renewal process.

If you need less than a full course load in your final semester in order to graduate, your ISSS Advisor may be able to approve you for a Reduced Course Load (RCL). See our Course Load Requirements page for full details.

You will need to submit a Reduced Course Load Request in the ISSS Portal and contact the Student Insurance Office about how this will impact your health insurance coverage.

For questions about how a reduced course load may impact your Graduate Assistantship, please contact the Graduate School.

F-1 students wishing to drop a course after the 10th day of classes, must submit a request through the Registrar. ISSS must approve the request before it will be processed. Your request will NOT be approved if dropping the course will take you below full-time enrollment, unless you have already been approved for a Reduced Course Load (RCL).

If you are going to drop a course and replace it with another course, you should first add the other course to your schedule.

If you were enrolled in the Spring semester and will be enrolled in the following Fall semester, then Summer semester is considered a vacation period. You do not need to be enrolled in order to maintain your F-1 status.

If Summer semester is your first or last semester, then it becomes a required semester and is no longer considered a vacation period. You must be enrolled full-time. If you will be enrolled less than full-time, then you will need to be approved for a Reduced Course Load (RCL). You are also limited to 20 hours per week for on-campus work.

See our Course Load Requirements page for full details.

F-1 students are only allowed to extend if they have a compelling academic or medical reason.

You must submit a Program Extension Request before the expiration date of your current I-20 . ISSS recommends you submit your Extension Request at least 2 weeks prior to your current I-20 end date, but no earlier than the semester within which your I-20 will expire. For example, if your end date is currently May 10th, you should apply no earlier than January of the same year and no later than April 25th.

If you do not extend your I-20 document before the expiration date you will be out-of-status and will need to file for reinstatement through USCIS (processing times could take 12+ months) or travel outside of the U.S. and re-enter in order to regain your F-1 status.

You can find the Program Extension Request in your ISSS Portal Control Center. ISSS will review your request and determine whether you are eligible for an extension. If approved, you will receive an updated I-20 document with a new program end date.

NOTE: Students working on campus must bring their extended I-20 document to Human Resources.

See our Extending Your Stay page for full details.

To request the transfer of your SEVIS record, you must first be officially admitted to another U.S. institution and then submit an F-1 SEVIS Transfer Out Request in the ISSS Portal.

You should also contact the international office at the new school and ask them whether they have a Transfer In form that needs to be completed by ISSS. Your admission letter and Transfer In form will need to be uploaded to your Transfer Out Request .

See our SEVIS Transfer Out page for full details.

You can find more information about the holds on your account by going to your MyIllinoisState account.

If you have a hold from ISSS, please go to your ISSS Portal to access your Messages for information on why the hold was placed and instructions on what you need to do in order for the hold to be removed. Once you complete the outstanding requirement(s), you should notify ISSS by raising International Student Help Ticket to request that the hold be removed or if you have further questions.

If you have a hold from International Admissions, or any other unit on campus, please contact that unit.

If you need to update your international address, you can raise a International Student Help Ticket to request the update.

You are required by immigration regulations to notify ISSS within 10 days of any address change. If you move, you should notify ISSS by updating your Local Address type in your MyIllinoisState account. You can find more information on the Reporting Changes ISSS webpage.

Students on OPT/STEM should update their address information directly in the ISSS Portal.

If your I-20 has been lost, stolen, or damaged, you can retrieve a new copy from your ISSS Portal. All of your I-20 documents are stored in the Documents section of your Control Center.

• Current students:

  Login to the ISSS Portal using your Central Login credentials. Do not create a new account or new login. If you create a new ISSS Portal account, any requests you submit will not be processed because your ISSS Advisor will not be notified they were submitted.

• Students on OPT/STEM:

  Login to the ISSS Portal using your Portal account. You will not login using Central Login. Your username is the personal email address you provided when applying for OPT and you should have received an email to create your own password. If the email to create your password expired or If you have forgotten your password, you can hit the “Forgot your password?” link on the login screen. Do not create a new account or new login. If you create a new ISSS Portal account, any requests you submit will not be processed because your ISSS Advisor will not be notified they were submitted.

If you need help logging into your ISSS Portal, you can either report this through your ISSS Portal or email internationalstudents@IllinoisState.edu.

Your ISSS request will not be processed until it is actually submitted.

When submitting a request, if the submission is not successful, you will receive an error stating that your submission is incomplete, followed by a list of the required elements that are still needed. Work on the listed elements in order to submit your request. You can also check to see that every section of the request has a check box under the completed column. If a check box is missing, then that element needs to be completed in order to submit.

If your request contains a Recommendation element, you will not be able to submit your request until your recommender has completed their recommendation. When the recommendation has been submitted, the checkbox next to their name will be checked. You can then log back into your ISSS Portaland “submit” your request.

If you start working on a request but do not click on the “Submit” button, your request has not been submitted and will not be processed . You will know you have successfully submitted your request because a green bar will appear at the top of the page that states "Your request has been submitted" or you will receive an automatic confirmation email stating your request was submitted.

ISSS will not respond to questions about the status of a request. You can always check the status of any request by logging into your ISSS Portal and reviewing the request. Make sure to also check for any emails from your ISSS Advisor regarding the request.

Log into your ISSS Portal and navigate to your home page. The home page shows a list of records on the left and a profile on the right. Follow these steps:

1. Click on the “edit profile” button located below the profile.
2. Click on the “information” button located at the top of the profile.
3. Edit any information needed and click on the “update” button when finished to save your updates.

If your academic advisor needs the recommendation resent, please email yourISSS Advisor. Once your ISSS advisor resends the recommendation, your academic advisor will be contacted via email with another link to the recommendation.