 Good morning, everyone. My name is Nicholas Franco. I'm a compliance advisor here at the ISO. Very excited to have you all this morning. Hi, everyone. My name is Noel Wilica, and I am the assistant director for student services at ISO. Hi, everyone. So glad to be here. My name is Mark Mejia, senior international student advisor here at the ISO. Awesome. So yes, as I mentioned, we're very, very thrilled to be welcoming you all for the upcoming term. And I imagine that you're all very eager to arrive and begin your studies. And so just know that we are looking forward to guiding you through the I-20 process and helping you out through the student visa process as well. And so moving forward and getting started. This is going to be the agenda for the morning. We're going to run through the slides a little bit and talk about the I-20 application process specifically, and then we'll talk a little bit about the processing times. And then we'll go into some of our frequently asked questions. And then towards the end of the presentation, that is when we will go into the live Q&A and we'll be able to answer some of your questions. And yes, so yeah, let's get started with the I-20 process. So to begin the process to get your I-20 from our office, you're going to want to make sure that you first confirmed your acceptance to the university. And then once it's been confirmed, that's when you can go into the I-20 process. So the I-20 process can roughly be put into four different stages. So you're going to start with preparing your supporting documents, logging into Compass and submitting an application, and then receiving your I-20, and then you'll, after you receive the I-20, you'll go and apply for the visa. In terms of those, sorry everyone. Sorry for that. And so in terms of the supporting documents, there are generally going to be about four that you'll want to prepare. So that's going to be the admission letter from your academic department, your passport, your evidence of funding for the first academic year. And then also if you're doing funding from like a family sponsor or an individual sponsor, for example, you want to make sure that you also submit the sponsor certification form. And then after you again confirmed your intent to enroll and then you've gathered your supporting documents, you log into Compass to submit the complete I-20 application. And then once your application is actually complete, we'll review it and we'll follow up with you in the event that additional information or documentation is needed. And then if your documentation and application is sufficient, we'll go ahead and issue the I-20 to you and then that is when you can go ahead and begin the visa student process to get your, to get the F1 visa from the embassy. So moving on to the next slide. We're going to segue into the I-20 and visa processing timeline. Again, once we receive your complete application, we'll follow up if additional information is needed, but so that will usually, the actual review will take, it will be done within two weeks. So upon you submitting the application, we'll follow up with you within two weeks, either to collect additional information or to go ahead and issue the I-20 for you. Once your application is approved and you receive the I-20, you'll also get a detailed information with next steps kind of helping you as you go to the visa and prepare for your arrival as well. On your I-20, you'll get something called a CVS ID number, and this is something that you'll need when you're applying for the student visa. So just keep that in mind as well. We always recommend applying for the I-20 at your earliest convenience, and this is just because visa processing times can vary depending on the embassy and depending on the individual circumstance. So just keep that in mind as you all are planning for your arrival. In terms of the actual visa processing, again, it does vary by location. It can generally take anywhere from one to six weeks or even potentially more after the actual visa interview to process the request. And so it's really kind of dependent on the individual circumstances and the specific requirements of the embassy. So just keep all of these things in mind as you are planning for your arrival. The visa website does offer a wait time calculator. So you're able to look up your local embassy to gauge what their current visa processing times are and you'll be able to plan accordingly for that. And some of you also may be asking, what if you already have an expired F1 visa? So you all can continue to use the unexpired F1 visa if you've studied at an institution in the US previously. So just keep that in mind. Again, if you've studied at an institution previously on an F1 visa, you can still use it if it's unexpired. But just keep in mind you would still need to apply for the I-20 with our office in this scenario. And yeah, so once again, after you receive your I-20, you'll be able to apply for the visa and then once you receive your visa, that's when you can start preparing for your arrival to the US. And lastly, the QR code is a link to the I-20 page that has a lot of more detailed information in terms of like the supporting documentations and some of the other things related to the visa as well. So I'll go ahead and pass it back over to Don for our next section. Thanks, Nicholas. So now I'm just going to go over a few of the common questions that we receive from newly admitted students. So the first question we are often asked is what a student should do if they are still waiting for funding. So in order for us to issue an I-20 to a student, the student does have to have sufficient funding to cover their program expenses. It is okay to apply for your I-20 with the sources that you currently have available. Your funding sources can change later after you have received your I-20. You would still just want to make sure to take the funding sources that you applied for the I-20 with to your visa interview. Another question that our office is often asked is whether we can assist with helping a student schedule an earlier visa appointment. So unfortunately schools aren't able to expedite or influence the visa application process. But I will say the good news is that so far we aren't seeing really the backlogs and delays that we were seeing in last year and in 2021 at US embassies and consulates. And then additionally there usually is a process in which you can request an expedited appointment with a US embassy or consulate if it's close to your program start date. You would want to consult directly with your local US embassy or consulate about the expedite of visa appointment process just because it can vary depending on location. And then another question we are often asked is from students who are currently studying US about the process of transferring their CVS record to Columbia. And so we do have on our website a applying for your transfer I-20 page that has important information about the CVS transfer process. We included on this slide a QR code in case there are any transfer students attending this webinar today. So if you scan that QR code, it will take you to that applying for your transfer I-20 page and you can review the information there. Just an important thing to note as a transfer student, if you do not have to depart the US between programs, and also you do not have to travel to renew your visa if you transfer your CVS record. And then one last question that we are often asked is about issues logging into Compass, which is where you would find our online I-20 application. So there are two ways to access Compass after you've confirmed your enrollment with your school's admissions office. The first way is with your Columbia uni. And if you haven't received that yet, then you can also access Compass using your Columbia PID, which is the ID number starting with the letter C. The unis and kids are assigned by schools admissions office. So if you haven't received this information yet, you would need to wait for your school to provide it, or you could follow up if it's been a decent amount of time since you've confirmed your enrollment. But once you have your uni or PID, you should be able to access Compass with either. So if you want to open it up to the live Q&A, just please know, unfortunately, we can't answer case specific questions, but certainly any general questions. Feel free to, I guess, raise your hand and I know there's also questions maybe in the chat, and we will try to, you know, we will be happy to answer what we can. Hi, this is Tarika and I applied for the Masters in Architecture and Urban Design Program, which starts in May, on May 30th. And wondering if the visa, you know, will get processed by then or will it take time, because it's not one and a half months left. I'm so sorry, I think I didn't catch the last part of your question, if you don't mind repeating it. Since the course starts pretty early, because it's on May 30th and you know I need to get my visa at least done by May, mid of May. So I'm wondering if I apply now or maybe by next week, will I receive my visa by then or if I have to request you to like tell the embassy to give it earlier or like how is it. Because what if I don't receive it. Yeah. Sorry. So are you are. So we issue the I-20. So have you applied for your I-20 yet? No, not yet. Okay, so I will say we do try our best to expedite I-20 applications for summer, since we know that your program starting soon. So, most likely our processing time would be less than the two weeks. That was, you know, mentioned earlier because you do have a summer program and we do try to expedite those. Now after you get the I-20, then you would need to contact your local embassy or consulate about their expedite visa appointment process. Unfortunately, it really varies depending on the embassy or consulate. So I don't know what, you know, the requirements would be for your where you would be applying, but you could certainly check with your embassy or consulate to find out what the process would be to request an expedited appointment. Thank you. You're welcome. Conrad? Hi. I was wondering, does the process differ at all for Canadian citizens? I've had a couple friends who are Canadians that study in the U.S. and they've done it at the port of entry or is it, can we apply it in embassy instead? Great question. So Canadian citizens are exempt from applying for the visa stamp in their passport. So you would still need to apply for an I-20 with our office. Again, as a Canadian citizen, you can use that I-20 and your Canadian passport to enter the U.S. and F1 status. So you actually would not need to apply for a visa stamp at a U.S. embassy or consulate. You just need the I-20. Okay, wonderful. Thank you. You're welcome. Hi, I have a question. Sure. Sorry, I can't see everyone's hand. So feel free, anyone else on ISSO, if you can see all the hands, feel free also to call on people. Fortunately, I can only see a sliver of the windows, but sure, go ahead. Thank you. My question, I've also been admitted to the MSAUD program, the Urban Design Program. I wanted to ask, was the adequate funding amount that I need to show for the I-20 fund? My tuition fee is close to $100,000 currently. Sorry, yes. Oh, sorry. So I don't have, if you go to our website, I don't have all our numbers memorized, unfortunately, but if you go to our website, the Applying for I-20 page, and then you click on the Estimated Expenses link, then you'll see it's, there's a breakdown by schools. You'll click on the Architecture link. You want to refer to the Total Expenses column for that would be the amount you would need to show in your, for your, when you apply for your I-20. Right, the total, the total entire amount including all expenses. So yeah, to issue the I-20, we need to see sufficient funding that covers tuition fees and living expenses. Okay, all right. Thank you. You're welcome. And I also posted the Estimated Expenses link in the chat for everybody, just in case anyone needs to reference. Perfect, thank you. And if it's helpful, I see some questions in the chat as well. Would you want me to read those out for you? Oh, that would be great. Thank you so much. Fantastic. So I see one from Elise. Will I need to transfer my CVS if I have an unexpired visa from my undergraduate, i.e., not a transfer student? So if I'm understanding this question correctly, you've completed your undergraduate studies or no longer studying the US, but you have an unexpired F1 visa. Is that correct? That's correct. I'm on my OPT right now. Oh, okay. So you actually, as a student on OPT, you can still transfer. Just keep in mind, your OPT will end on your transfer date and you can no longer work. So just be mindful of that when you arrange your transfer. Okay, I understand. Thank you. The next one it looks like was from Jessica wondering about the visa for a Canadian. I think that was addressed. So I'll move on to the following question, but Jessica, let us know if there's still follow up on that. This is from Benedict. Thank you for the presentation. I want to ask if it's, if I must pay the deposit fee before I can apply for the I-20. So for the processing fee, you can begin the application. You don't have to pay the fee before you can actually start it, but in order to have it submitted and it counts as a complete application, you would need to pay the processing fee. I do see, actually I'm reading further, it does say the deposit fee. And so in theory, yes, you would because that would be the way of confirming your admission. And after you've confirmed your admission, that's when you'll be able to apply for the I-20 in Canvas. Yeah, Nicholas, I can chime in here as well. So after you confirm by submitting your deposit, that allows you to activate your student account. So you will need to be confirmed in order to actually access Compass. It will take a couple of days, so it's not immediate as well. It looks like the next question from Fozan. Thank you for the session and presentation. I would like to ask a couple of questions. I need to confirm acceptance before DS 2019. Does the deposit need to be paid to? And the second part of the question is how long would the DS 2019 be processed and shipped to my home country in Indonesia? So I'm just confirming that you will have to submit your deposit in order to process the enrollment and that will activate your student account and that will generate your uni. So once you do that, you'll be able to access Compass. You will not be able to access Compass if this hasn't been processed. I think there's a second part to that question. I can answer that. So the DS 2019 shipping times can vary. So unfortunately, I can't give an exact estimate, but if you were a coming first summer program, again, we would try our best to expedite the application once we receive it, especially because right now the DS 2019 still needs to be mailed. But I would say generally I believe the shipping times between five to seven days after we issue it, the DS 2019. And we do also email the CVS ID number for the DS 2019 in advance so that you would be able to schedule your visa appointment before you got the physical document. You just would want to make sure you have the document by, you know, by the time you go to your appointment, but you would get that in advance so you can schedule the appointment right away once it's issued. So the next question, Suezia, I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly. Hi, can I continue working under OPT even after transferring my I-20? I can jump in and thank you, MC Mark. So for questions about OPT, it sounds like you're currently under a visa status with another school and you're on OPT with that school. So this is a great conversation to have with the student advisors at your current school. They're going to assist you in transferring your CVS record to Columbia University. And something to know about OPT is that when that transfer occurs, that cuts off your OPT employment authorization. So a great question and a really good conversation to have with your current student advisor and you can also, after going through this process, you can talk to our team at isoacluby.edu to talk more about using potentially OPT in the future. Thanks, Noel. Here we have the next question from Moon Maya and it looks like a popular one. There's two thumbs up on it. Hello, I have received my I-20 and already submitted my visa application online. However, there is an issue with the US Embassy website and it seems difficult getting an appointment. I have a summer program as well. Is there any way you can assist in this matter? So unfortunately, we aren't able to expedite visa appointments or influence that process. I would recommend, if there's, if you can find the contact page on your embassy or consulate's website, and reaching out to them and then confirming what their requirements are for expedited appointments. Some embassies might say you can request an expedited appointment once you're within 15 days. Some may say you can request the appointment once you're within 30. Some may say it really can range, but I would recommend reaching out to them to see when you could request an expedited appointment and just letting them know that your program is starting in May and, you know, hopefully they'll be able to assist you. You can also email us at that new Intel student at Columbia.edu address if you're really running into problems, and we can certainly try to navigate, you know, maybe assist with where on your website, your consulate or embassy's website, you can find the information, but unfortunately, we would not directly be able to influence or request an expedited appointment on your behalf. Thank you, Don. Here we have the next one from Eskinder. Can we apply for an I-20 if we only have partial funding for now? I can take this one. So in terms of partial funding, we wouldn't be able to issue the I-20 with partial funding because we do need evidence of funding for the entire first academic year, so the first two semesters to be specific. And so if you do submit with partial funding, most likely it'll be placed in follow-up, and so we'll follow up with you to ask for that additional information and documentation. And then once you're able to provide it, we'll be able to continue processing the I-20 application from there. Great, thank you. Here we have the next one from Jishnu. Can there be multiple sponsors? Yes, multiple sponsors. That's completely fine. The next question here, is there a way in which we can have access to the recording of this meeting as I missed the start? Yes, the meeting is currently being recorded and we'll be able to publish this on the website in the coming days, so we'll definitely reach out and let you know via email when that's available. Thank you. It looks like the next two questions are referencing the link, Nico, that you had sent to the chat. Thank you for that. Maybe some navigation issues about finding their specific programs. Oh, I see, I see. I think I can answer that, Nicholas. So if your program isn't specifically on there, just use the top portion, the architecture planning and preservation, because the other programs it looks like they are for the three semester programs. Thank you. Thank you. The next question it looks like is from Sanjana. Hi, thank you for the presentation. I had a question about the visa. I did a summer course last year, six weeks at UC Berkeley, and because of that I have an F1 visa for five years, which ends in April 2027. My previous program is over, but I still have the F1 visa. So do I have to transfer my I-20 or do I have to start a new process? Great question. So in this situation, you can still use that F1 visa stamp because it's unexpired, but you would need to apply for a new I-20 with a new CVS ID number. So you wouldn't be able to transfer your CVS records since your program's already ended, but you can still use that F1 visa stamp as long as it's unexpired with a new I-20 from Columbia. Thanks, Dawn. Here we have a question from Conrad. If we're on an I-20 slash F1, are we only permitted to work during the summer? Yeah, great question. So in your program of study, and just to prep this, it also sounds a little bit like you're interested in working off campus outside of Columbia University. So in your program of study, you are required to complete one academic year successfully first. So that means two semesters of full-time enrollment. So if you're starting in the fall, it'd be a fall in the spring, and that's just one example for fall admits. And then you would be eligible to work off campus following the summer. Within your academic program, you likely have the option to work through something called curricular practical training, which we call CPT. And that means that the internship that you do over the summer is related to your coursework. So that means it's connected to an actual internship course. There are rules around this course as to when you can take it and how often you can take it and also how many credits are connected with this course. This can vary by the program that you're in. So even within the entire school of architecture, the curriculum for each one of the different programs might vary slightly. So you're going to hear students talk about it. It's a great question to ask, but you want to speak with someone at the university to find out specifically for you what your options are. So we would recommend speaking with your academic department first to learn about the course. What is it offered? How often can you take it and how many credits do you need to take for that course? And then you can speak with ISSO about getting the actual employment authorization and getting the CPT so that you're able to do the internship. Thank you Noel. Here we have the next question. Hello, thank you for the informative presentation. I was wondering if you could help me with a question regarding funding approval. Specifically, I'm curious to know if the approved amount needs to be saved in an American account and in dollars. Additionally, I was wondering if there are any requirements to freeze the account for a period of time once the funding has been deposited. So I'll try. I think that's three questions. Let me make sure I answer all three. So the first one. No, it does not need to be in the US bank account. In fact, I would say the majority of students funding documents are not in US banks. It does not need to be in US dollars. It can be left in whatever the original currency. We will do a conversion when we process your application. And the funds do not need to be frozen. Thank you Don. Here we have the next question. Would you recommend applying if we only have partial funding? We do generally recommend, especially if students have concerns about whether the funding is acceptable to just apply so that we can review it. And then the ISO advisor who's processing your application will email you directly with specific instructions about what else is needed to issue the I-20. So if you submitted application with partial funding, it would be reviewed and then the advisor would contact you letting you know what else you would need to show before we'd be able to issue the I-20. Great. The next question. I have a follow up question regarding transferring the CVS number leading to termination of my OPT. I plan to work until the end of July. Is there a date by which I need to do this transfer by? So I'm not sure which program you're in. I'll just say generally the transferring process needs to be completed before you begin studying at Columbia. So if you were in a summer program starting in May, you would need to transfer before you start studying at the end of May 30th, I believe, is when your program begins, the summer programs begin. So that would need to, your CVS record needs to be transferred for that. If you're starting in fall, then it's okay to transfer after you complete stop working in July. That would be okay. But again, it really depends on when your program starts. So that might be a question just to email to us at the new Intel Student Address, if you aren't sure, and just so we can confirm directly when you would need to transfer by. Thanks, Don. And it looks like there may have been an audio issue. Could you please repeat if we need to freeze the account for a time period or not? No, you do not need to freeze funds. Great. And I think in terms of the chat, we have reached the end of the questions. We do have a little bit more time. So if anyone wants to chat anything else or raise their hand, please feel free to do so now. I think we're all set. Don, Nico, Noelle, I don't see anything else. Could you actually, I know that a couple of students have asked when could they start working? Don, I think maybe you touched upon that. So if they wanted to apply for student employment, can you talk a little bit about how that works in the first semester if that's possible? Or is it, Noelle, did you say that they have to wait until the second semester? Yeah, of course. So students are required to complete two semesters first of academic study. So a student will have to be enrolled full time for two semesters. So the example I used earlier was for fall admits. So the example for fall admits would be they would complete in the fall and then complete in the spring, and then they'd be eligible to work off campus in the summer. There are two different types of off campus employment authorization, but I would say the most common while you're studying and the one that's typically preferred by students is to use CPT. And so that's when you would want to speak with your department about that internship course, what's connected to the course, how many credits is it, what's the process of applying for it with the department. And then also you can look at the ISO website about CPT will do the final authorization of it, but it must first be approved by the academic department and the course registration must go through first. Students of course are also welcome to reach out to us individually and we'd be happy to review anyone see this record and review their program of study, because as I said earlier CPT is course based so it's very slightly depending on the program that students in and also students might not be interested in CPT that may be interested in maybe using the other type of employment authorization which is called OPT, and maybe they want to use that a little bit earlier in their program of study. So we'd be happy to talk to students through that. Generally speaking we'd recommend you know focusing on the I-20 application process getting your student visa entering the US. We know that your study is your primary purpose of being here and your main goal. So once you've arrived and once you're settled into your classes. That's a great time to either schedule a Zoom appointment or an in person appointment or just send us an email with your questions. And then we'd be happy to really look into your record and what your options are. Thank you for repeating that well. It looks like there was a there's an additional question and actually before we move on I can add just really briefly to what Noel said just in case anyone was interested in working on campus. You are actually eligible to engage in that after you enter the US and either F1 or J1 status. So you thankfully won't have to wait to work on campus if you're interested in doing that. Just keep in mind there are some limitations in regards to the number of hours you can work. So during any required academic semester. You're just going to cap out max out at 20 hours per week. And here we have the next question I received PID number two days ago. However, when I tried to request a limited services PIN using my PID number. The system says there is no record matching my PID number should wait for more time. Should I wait for more time for the system to register my PID number. It would depend on when you submitted your enrollment deposit. So usually it's a couple of days after that. And then you would have to activate your uni in order to gain access to compass with your PID. And if you want to just email us at arch underscore admissions, I can check on that for you. I'm going to add the email right here. Thank you. The next question sorry I missed your response. Would you recommend applying if we only have partial funding. It's okay to apply with partial funding I it's you know I really it's so I must depend on your individual circumstances if you want to apply or if you want to wait until you have everything but if you apply with partial funding. We will contact you and let you know what else is needed and then your application would sit in a stage that's called follow up, and you would get reminder emails from our system periodically just to submit the additional documentation when you have it. Thank you the next question what would happen if the visa isn't processed by the time the summer program starts. Check in with us. We'll work with you and reassess when when that happens but just please start your paperwork as soon as possible and keep in touch with us. And we reached the end of the questions in the chat again. Thank you. And we have the email here if there are some questions that you're not thinking of now, and perhaps want to ask later. I'm just going to type it in here it's it's on the screen but if you just want to link to it I'm just going to type it in the chat. And if it's helpful to Sarah I can just mention, just in case you're wondering why there's two email addresses. So, basically because we have such a huge population here at the ISO at the Columbia actually the ISO is split into various teams. So we have one team that works with students prior to arrival, and then we have another team that works with students after they arrive. And being said, you know the reason four of us are here is just because we want to try to best ensure that, you know your experience with the ISO isn't fragmented it doesn't feel siloed in any sort of way. So that's why there's there's four of us just in case you were wondering why we have such a relatively large number for this presentation and why there's two email addresses there. We don't have any questions. We can take a break. Oh, I do see another one. MS computational design practice program has online session for the first portion of the summer semester. I wonder if I can enter the US after online session is over regarding visa. So you can enter 30 days before the start of the on campus portion of your summer term. That's an unusual programs I'll just add one one more note to that it's the the first the first component in the summer for for only the computational design practices program is not there's no physical presence required. So you do not need to be in the US may 30th for computational design practices. Maybe you start early July. Correct, I think July 5 is the first in person class day. Yeah, so that would be the start date on the I 20 for any students admitted to that program. The chat is completely empty I guess some real set. That's what happens when you have four people that you just answer answer possible questions. I can see here I can see on behalf of, you know, our team on Isis so you know we look forward to welcoming you all very exciting congratulations on getting this far and just thank you all for being here as well I'm sure it may be a different time depending on where you are as well. Thank you for the great questions really always helpful for us to hear what students have questions about. Thanks everyone. Thank you so much. Thank you.