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Immigration Documents

Important Documents

• Passport
  A passport is a document issued by the government of your country of citizenship. It allows you to leave and enter your own country as well as other countries. Your passport must be valid at all times when you are in the United States for at least six months into the future. If your passport is going to expire while you are a student in the United States you can take it or send it to your country's embassy for renewal. The International Students Center has a list of consulates and embassies in the United States in case you need to contact your country's diplomatic officials.
• Visa
  When you entered the United States you probably had a visa in your passport issued by a consulate or embassy of the United States. The visa is stamped in your passport and it states your immigration status, the number of times you can enter the United States on that particular visa, and the visa expiration date, which is the last date you can use the visa to enter the country. The visa expiration date does not control how long you can stay in the U.S. It is not illegal to be in the U.S. with an expired visa.
  
  If your visa expires while you are in the U.S., or if the visa was valid for only one entry, you will have to get a new visa only if you leave the U.S. and want to return. You cannot get a new visa in the U.S. If you must leave the U.S., you will have to get a new visa at a U.S. consulate in your home country.
• Arrival and Departure Record (INS Form I-94)
  On the airplane before you landed in the U.S. at your first port of entry, you should have received a small white card. This is a very important document known as an "I-94." The immigration officer to whom you presented your documents made a notation on your I-94 and stapled it in your passport. The I-94 usually bears your date of entry, your immigration status, and the authorized length of stay. For most individuals with a student (F-l) visa, the I-94 will bear the notation "D/S," which stands for "Duration of Status." This means that as long as you are in status as a full-time student, you are allowed to remain in the U.S.
  
  The I-94 is a very important document. If it is stapled in your passport, do not remove it. If it is not fixed to your passport you should bring both documents to the International Students Center. The international student advisor will determine if the form should be fixed to your passport.
• Certificate of Eligibility (I-20)
  The I-20 is the form used to apply for an F-1 student visa. The new SEVIS I-20, which is issued by an educational institution after it has determined that a student applicant meets all of the admission criteria and government requirements, has a barcode on the first page, followed by a page of instructions and a third page with space for endorsements. When you enter the U.S. with an I-20 form, the immigration officer stamps page one of the I-20 form. Then the officer returns the entire I-20 to the student.
• The I-20 is also a very important form and you should keep it in a safe place. It's a good idea to make a photocopy of the I-20 and keep it in another place with your important papers. Item #5 on your I-20 shows the date by which you are to enter the U.S. and also the date by which you are expected to complete your program of study. If at any time you have a question about these dates, talk to the international student advisor.

Content creator: Ken Bus - ken.bus@gcmail.maricopa.edu
Last revised: Saturday, February 24, 2001.
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