Before you can apply for a student visa stamp from the US embassy or enter the US with a student visa status, you must obtain a "Certificate of Eligibility" for the type of student visa you wish to use to enter the US.
The process of obtaining the Certificate of Eligibility for your student visa application involves three steps:
- Determine which visa type you will use to study at UCSF (see our F-1 and J-1 visa comparison). The visa type you select will determine which kind of Certificate of Eligibility you are issued. F-1 student visa holders will be issued an I-20 and J-1 student visa holders will be issued a DS-2019.
- Submit the ISSO Student Visa Application
- Receive your I-20 or DS-2019 via Docusign
Once you have received your I-20 or DS-2019, the process of applying for a visa stamp to enter the US may begin.
The ISSO Student Visa Application
For students in the UCSF Graduate Division, upon accepting your UCSF admission you should be provided a link to the ISSO Student Visa Application. Students in professional programs (Pharmacy, Dental, and Medicine) may receive the link to the visa application directly from their program. If you have completed the process of confirming your intent to enroll at UCSF and have not received a link to the ISSO Student Visa Application, please email [email protected] with your name, degree program name, and UCSF student ID.
Before you access the ISSO Student Visa Application, please prepare scans of the following documents:
- Passport
- Admission Letter
- Dependent Information
- Funding Documents
If you have been admitted to the UCSF School of Dentistry Preceptor program, please visit our page for Preceptors and Fellows to learn more about the visa application process.
Funding Your UCSF Academic Program
Receiving Your UCSF I-20 or DS-2019
Upon the successful completion of the ISSO Student Visa Application Process, your new I-20 or DS-2019 will be electronically sent to you via Docusign. Your document(s) will be sent to the email address you indicate in the student visa application so please use an email address you will have permanent access to (not a school email address that will stop working after you graduate).
For information on how to access your visa docuents in Docusign, please consult our webpage on the topic.
Please print your I-20 or DS-2019 as soon as you access them and then sign the bottom in the correct location. In order to apply for a visa stamp and enter the US, you must have a paper copy of your I-20 or DS-2019. It is not possible to present an electronic copy of either of these documents when applying for a visa stamp or requesting admission into the US.