Incoming Student Checklist

Under current immigration rules, Canadian and (most) Bermudian citizens are not required to apply for a visa. However, you still must prepare all other documents and pay the I-901 SEVIS fee for F-1 and J-1 students. The Department of State offers more information online: Canadian citizens, Bermudian citizens.

While navigating the US Visa Application Process, it is critical that your documentation is accurate and consistent. Please have your immigration document available when completing the DS-160 Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application; it includes UR’s school code, address, and school official’s name, as well as program dates and the official major code for your field of study. If additional academic details are needed, please contact your admitting department.

Below are suggested answers you are welcome to use when you fill out your DS-160. Please be aware that you are ultimately responsible for the accuracy of information you provide in this form.

• US Point of Contact: You may list the Designated School Official and School Address listed on your immigration document, as well as ISO’s general contact details (+1-585-275-2866, iso@rochester.edu).
• Intended Place of Stay: If you know where you will stay, use that address. If you have not yet secured your housing, you may choose to list the University of Rochester’s address (500 Joseph C. Wilson Blvd., Rochester, New York, 14627).
• Person/entity paying for your trip: You may list your primary/largest source of funding as indicated on your immigration document.

US State Department policy requires that embassies and consulates give priority for student visa appointments. While appointment times may appear limited, the expectation is that consulates will make more appointment times available as demand increases. If you will need an earlier visa appointment than what appears to be available, you should be able to submit a request for an expedited visa appointment. You must first schedule a regular visa appointment (even if it is after you anticipate needing to travel to the US), before you will be able to request an expedited date. Expedited appointments will only be granted at the Consulate’s discretion. Please follow the instructions provided on the website of the embassy or consulate at which you will apply for your student visa.

If you have multiple documents from different US universities, you need to decide which school you plan to attend before applying for your visa. Once the visa is issued, you must enter the country with the I-20 or DS-2019 from the school printed on the visa stamp and your permission to study will be granted only at that school.

Visa issuance is delayed for some students due to administrative processing. You can read more about visa application decisions or report a visa delay/denial.

Please be advised: Following the June 4 Presidential Proclamation and effective June 9, 2025, the Department of State suspended visa issuance to nationals of Afghanistan, Burma, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen for all nonimmigrant and immigrant visa categories with limited exceptions. Additionally, the Department of State partially suspended visa issuance to nationals of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela for nonimmigrant B-1/B-2 visitor visas and F, M, and J student and exchange visitor visas, and all immigrant visas with limited exceptions.

The Department of State has stated the following: “This Presidential Proclamation only applies to foreign nationals who are outside the United States on the effective date AND do not hold a valid visa on the effective date (June 9, 2025). Foreign nationals, even those outside the United States, who hold valid visas as of the effective date are not subject to the Proclamation. No visas issued before June 9, 2025, have been or will be revoked pursuant to the Proclamation. Visa applicants who are subject to this Presidential Proclamation may still submit visa applications and schedule interviews, but they may be ineligible for visa issuance or admission to the United States.”

Online presence will be vetted as part of the visa application process, and student visa applicants are now required to make all social media accounts public.

Additionally, immigration officials have broad discretion to check a traveler’s personal belongings when entering and exiting the US. Such checks occur most frequently when entering the US, and may include your luggage, other items that you are carrying with you, and importantly, the contents of your electronic devices. Be mindful that immigration officials may view and consider material on your electronic devices such as photographs, apps, text messages, and emails when making immigration related decisions. It is possible this content may also be reviewed in advance of your travel, even after visa issuance.