1 International Studies Office International Students & Scholars Program Obtaining immigration documents and issuing visa documents Revisions and additions for greater efficiency, data integrity and compliance with Federal and Commonwealth requirements

2 ISSP & Admissions What populations we are concerned with What we do now What we plan to do How we plan to do it Benefits Questions

3 Foreign National Students (not U.S. citizens or nationals) Permanent Residents – represent most of the not international student but foreign national population Asylees, Refugees, Withholding of Removal, CAT and TPS Adjustment of Status Applicants (Form I-485 pending) and Other applicants to remain in the U.S. indefinitely (intending immigrants) International Students F-1 students – require a visa document from UVA Other nonimmigrant students whose status is not directly related to UVA (A, G, E, H, L, etc.) – many of these students will require or desire a visa document from UVA (some before beginning studies and others during their academic careers) J-1 students – usually require a visa document from UVA

4 Flow Chart 1 Current system for most graduate schools

5 Flow Chart 2 Current system for Darden

6 Flow Chart 3 Current system for LL.M.

7 Flow Chart 4 Proposed New Workflow

8 ISSP & Admissions For matriculating foreign nationals:For admissions offices: TWO NEW ONE-PAGE FORMS ISO Welcome Form Sent to every admitted foreign national applicant Includes new policy language for unlawfully present students Provides instructions for all foreign nationals residing in the U.S. to provide evidence of lawful presence Provides instructions to all foreign nationals requiring a visa document from UVA including a link to comprehensive visa document request instructions and updated more transparent request forms Located online at ISO Matriculating Foreign National Checklist Provided to the ISO with documents from every matriculating foreign national Creates a mechanism for admission offices to provide only immigration documents and not the entire file for many matriculating foreign nationals Prompts admission offices to ensure that the application is complete of any matriculating foreign national who will be an international student, which is necessary to establish eligibility for a visa document Requests information relating to English proficiency, enrollment date, graduation date and funding Located online at

9 Admission offices would stop: sending the ISO any files of applicants at the time of admission. sending the ISO any files of applicants who will not be coming to UVA. requesting any immigration-related documents or materials at the time of application Nota bene: If there is a business need to obtain financial documentation at the time of application, please contact the ISO before requesting any visa document request materials at the time of application.

10 Admission offices would start: including the ISO Welcome Form and request for immigration materials in the acceptance packet – if admission is done electronically, admitted and matriculating students are provided a link ( collecting immigration documents from all matriculating foreign nationals – the ISO Welcome Form requests this documentation. sending the ISO immigration materials received from all admitted and matriculating foreign national applicants, the foreign national check sheet, and, for all future international students only, the admission file.

11 Benefits (Part One) Obtain significantly greater transparency with students requesting visa documents Reduce the number of files that many admissions offices need to send the ISO by over 50% in many instances Provide a mechanism to allow students eligible for both statuses to choose between F-1 and J-1 status Inform students about immigration processes and the necessary materials at a time when their focus is on enrolling at UVA – not applying to a number of schools Remove the requirement for students to contact the ISO directly and allow students to provide the ISO with a set of complete documents up-front with far less need for follow- up, which will generate far greater efficiency.

12 Benefits (Part Two) Provide a viable mechanism to obtain documents of all future foreign national students as required by University policy, Commonwealth mandate and Federal Law Separate immigration issues from the process of admission and connect them to the process of enrollment as required by court mandate Allow admission offices to provide the ISO with dates of enrollment and funding information so that visa documents are issued more accurately and revised documents are required less often Ensure that admission files are complete before visa documents are issued and provide a process to document the admission office’s means of confirming English proficiency so that visa documents are only issued once all necessary conditions for issuance are documented

13 One More Thing! Wherever it appears in your documents or on your websites, please remove any text that advises students that final admission is contingent upon valid visa status. Please replace it with the following: “To enroll at the University a foreign national student must be lawfully present in the United States based on U.S. federal immigration law and any visa status held must not prohibit the desired University enrollment.”

14 Contact Information Please direct inquiries regarding the new process to: Benjamin Howe International Studies Office Tel: (434) An electronic copy of this presentation is online at: Notes _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________ _________________________________________________