You must have heard a lot about “I20” in your journey to applying in the US for higher education. But, what is an I20 and how important is it if you want to fulfill your dream to study at an American university? I20 is a document that is issued to an international student by a US government approved university to certify that you have been given admission in a full time study program at the institution. It also certifies that you have sufficient financial resources to pursue the education and stay in the USA.
Here is how it works. When you apply to a program, your application is scrutinized by the admissions committee at the university. After it is decided to grant you admission, the designated university official requests an F1 visa for you through a US government database called SEVIS (Student & Exchange Visitor Information Service). The Service processes the information and produces the I20 which is then signed by the university official and sent to you.
You must use the I20 to schedule a visa interview at the US Embassy or Consulate. After you get the visa and embark upon your journey, you must present the I20 at the port of entry in the US. Hence, this document is your identification and legal proof of academic and residential status in the US. This document is also required for reapplying the visa and for re-entering the United States. Before you leave the US, for instance for summer vacations, you should have a valid travel endorsement on your I20 by your university official.
Remember that the I20 has your name, biographic information, information on how you will fund your studies in addition to the university name, degree details and completion date. This date is the time when the university feels that your degree requirements will be completed. In case, due to any reason, you are unable to finish your degree by the date in the I20, you can request your university to extend this date. However, you should not bank on this facility and try to finish your degree within the stipulated time period.
After you finish your degree, you have a 60 days grace period in which you can leave the US, request change in visa status or apply for temporary work (Optional Practical Training – OPT). If your spouse or dependent children will be accompanying you to the US, each of them do need their own I20s on F2 dependent visas to stay in the US for the duration of your study period. In short, I20 is probably the most important document for you as a student in the US that must be taken care of and kept updated at all times.
