Information for International Admitted Students

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ACCEPTANCE OBTAINING YOUR STUDENT VISA TO PACE UNIVERSITY! After being accepted to Pace University and submitting Please take note of the submission deadlines documentation of financial support, you should receive provided in this brochure. The information on these an I-20 form from the Office of Admission. This form, pages will help ensure your smooth transition to along with other applicable visa paperwork (more the United States. information at travel.state.gov), qualifies you to apply for If you require a and have not received a Certificate a student visa. If you have a spouse and/or children who of Eligibility for a student visa Form I-20, please will be entering the United States with or after you, they return the 2016–2017 Financial Affidavit, official may apply for the F-2 dependent visa at the same time. bank documents, a copy of your passport, and Please take a few minutes to review your I-20 form. Make the Transfer Recommendation Form (if necessary) sure all information printed about you and your program to the Office of Graduate Admission on the campus of study is correct. Read the printed instructions on the to which you have been accepted. Please visit back of your form and sign it as required. Finally, note that www.pace.edu/gradaccepted and click on the you have been given a reporting date (Line5 of the Form “International Students” link to retrieve the forms. I-20). This is the date by which you should report to Pace Upon receipt of all necessary financial documentation, University. By law, you are allowed to enter the United the Office of Graduate Admission will issue a Certificate States with your I-20 up to 30 days prior to this date. of Eligibility for a student visa (Form I-20) and send it to If you discover an error on the form, please contact the the mailing address you provided on your application. Office of Graduate Admission immediately by phone, fax, or e-mail [email protected] to discuss the situation. Do not return your I-20 by mail unless you are INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ORIENTATION instructed to do so. In addition to your I-20, you will need to take your passport, your Pace University acceptance As a new international student at Pace, you represent letter, and financial documentation to the American a unique and valued addition to our student community. embassy or consulate from the country of your citizenship. In order to provide you with the tools and information Some exceptions apply. Check with your local American for a successful transition to the United States and consulate. Prior to applying for the visa, you must also pay Pace University, the International Students Services the SEVIS fee (also called the I-901 payment). You should conducts an International Student Orientation (ISO) have received information regarding the fee payment with for new students before the beginning of each fall your I-20. This information is also available online at and spring semester. You can register for ISO by www.pace.edu/prepareforentry under the paragraph visiting www.pace.edu/accepted and clicking on the “Step 2: Pay SEVIS I-901 Fee”. It is strongly recommended “Graduate Student” link, followed by the “International that you bring the receipt of the I-901 payment with Students” link to find the online registration link. you to the consulate. Complete the online DS-160 visa Additional information about ISO is available online at application (travel.state.gov). Print the application form www.pace.edu/prepareforentry confirmation page and bring it to the visa interview. What to bring to Orientation: (Canadian students are not required to obtain a visa, In addition to your enthusiasm, please bring your Form but need to obtain a Form I-20 and an I-94 arrival record I-20, your passport, and I-94 electronic arrival record. annotated as “D/S F-1 admission.”) The amount of time You are required to check in with International Student needed to obtain a student visa varies. All questions Services before or at Orientation. should be directed to the embassy or consulate. For more information about visa application, please visit www.travel.state.gov/content/visas/en.html. INTERNATIONAL STUDENT SERVICES (ISS) If you have been accepted to Pace University but have The ISS is available to assist you during your initial not yet received your I-20 and there is little time left transition to Pace University and in the years to come. before school starts, do not enter the United States with ISS staff seek to create an ongoing relationship with a regular B-1 or B-2 visitor’s visa, as there is no guarantee each international student throughout his or her time that tourist status can be changed to student status once at Pace University. We also assist visiting professors in the United States. However, if you are already in the and scholars coming to Pace from overseas to lecture, United States with a visitor’s visa, an adviser in the ISS teach, or engage in research. ISS strives to be the can provide a consultation in regard to your options. primary resource and advocate for the international Keep in mind the following: Do NOT enter the United population on campus by providing a variety of States on a visitor’s visa or under the Visa Waiver services including: Program! Use only the I-20 issued by Pace University. Your n Information for international students and scholars Form I-20 is very important—DO NOT lose it! prior to arrival at Pace n An international Orientation program at the beginning of each semester ENTERING THE UNITED STATES n Advising on immigration and employment matters, When you arrive at the airport in the United States, legal rights and responsibilities, health insurance, your luggage will be inspected, as will your passport adjustment issues, and personal concerns and your Form I-20. The following documents should be carried with you in person and never be left with n A variety of programs and activities throughout your checked baggage: the year n Passport n I-20 n Copies of your financial support documentation UNDERSTANDING YOUR IMMIGRATION STATUS n Admission letter n Most international students enter the United States Pace contact phone numbers n on an F-1 student visa. In order to obtain such a This pamphlet, which contains travel instructions visa, a student should have a Form I-20 issued by the Once you have entered the US, you will be able to University. If you have not received your appropriate access your I-94 admission record and information immigration form, please contact the Office of online through the following link: www.cbp.gov/travel/ Admission immediately. If you are transferring to international-visitors/i-94-instructions. You will be Pace from another US institution, request your SEVIS required to enter your passport and entry information in record to be transferred to Pace and obtain your order to obtain your I-94 electronic record. Once you are transfer I-20 from Pace within 15 days from the starting able to access your I-94 record on the CBP website, you date of the semester. F-1 immigration statuses have should review all information and ensure that it is correct. detailed regulations and responsibilities that regulate Your record should indicate the day you entered the US, a student’s full-time enrollment in classes, eligibility the class of entry (F-1 visa), and the duration of stay, for employment, transfer from one US institution to which should be annotated as “D/S” (duration of status/ another, and various other areas. Although it is the studies). If all information is correct, print the record and responsibility of students to maintain their immigration have it with you at the mandatory International Student status, the ISS provides advisement and explanation Orientation for copying for your file. of these regulations and responsibilities. In addition This record will continue to be available to you while to the information provided during the mandatory you remain in the US. Once you depart the United International Student Orientation, students may meet States, this online record will no longer be available individually with advisers or refer to the international for you to view. website: www.pace.edu/F1J1status. Please note, the record is very important for your legal status in the US. For more information about obtaining your electronic arrival record I-94, please visit the ISS website at www.pace.edu/I94arrivalrecord and read the chapter “Admission for Duration of Status”. ARRIVAL ON CAMPUS HEALTH INSURANCE All Pace University offices are open Monday through Like most colleges and universities in the United Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with some offices States, Pace University has a mandatory health staying open until 6:00 p.m. or 7:00 p.m. The Pace insurance policy for international students. The fee University Security Department is open 24 hours a day. will automatically be added to your student invoice and must be paid with tuition. If you have comparable If you need to arrive on campus after office hours or insurance coverage under another policy, you may be on a date other than the arrival date indicated in the able to waive the Pace University international student pre-arrival letter for your campus, contact the Office of health insurance. The insurance policy, instructions on Graduate Admission: applying for a waiver, and the waiver form are posted n NYC Campus: (212) 346-1531 at www.pace.edu/healthinsurance. n Westchester (Pleasantville) Campus: (914) 422-4283

OR TRANSFERRING FROM ANOTHER US SCHOOL International Student Services: If you have attended another school in the United n NYC Campus: (212) 346-1368 States as an F-1 student, request your SEVIS record to n Westchester (Pleasantville) Campus: (914) 773-3425 be transferred to Pace and obtain your transfer I-20 from Pace. This “immigration transfer” procedure After business hours, call the Security Department: is required even if you graduated from your former n NYC Campus: (212) 346-1800 school. You are required to carry over same SEVIS ID n Westchester (Pleasantville) Campus: (914) 773-3400 number for notifying the US government that you have changed schools. Please carefully read the transfer-in Inform the staff when you plan to arrive and ask them procedure at www.pace.edu/gradaccepted and click for arrival instructions. the “International Students” link. This process must be completed within 15 days of the start of the semester.

TRANSPORTATION FROM THE AIRPORT After you clear immigration, your luggage will be FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS inspected at Customs and you can then proceed to Prior to the start of each semester, you will receive ground (local) transportation. It is best to have at least a bill for your tuition and fees. Please visit $100 in US currency to pay for transportation and initial www.pace.edu/payment. expenses. There are banking kiosks at the airports, but it is best to have some cash on hand. When in the Please note tuition and fees can also be paid by airport or in transportation, do not leave your baggage check or money order drawn from a US bank and unattended at any time. Also, be sure to know the exact made payable in US dollars to Pace University. address of your destination, as it will save you time and Be aware that the bank may hold funds deposited money. Each airport will have signs guiding you to the to open a new account for an extended period before “Ground Transportation,” from where you will be able to making the funds available to you. Therefore, students take a taxi, car service, or a bus. are advised to bring at least $500 in traveler’s checks to cover miscellaneous settling in costs, in addition to For City students: a regular monthly allowance for expenses. Do not Taxi bring large sums of cash with you and do not send The easiest way to get anywhere from the airport is cash through the mail. by taxicab. The yellow cabs with a medallion on the hood are those that are licensed by the City of New York. The driver is required to charge the exact amount IF YOUR PLANS CHANGE that shows on the meter, and it is customary to add a 15% tip. There should be no extra charge for luggage We very much hope that you will enroll at Pace or additional people. There is a “flat rate” of 52$ (plus University, but if for some reason you do not or you tolls and 15% tip) for taxi rides from John F. Kennedy wish to defer your admission to a later semester, (JFK) Airport to . Note that the flat rate please inform the Office of Graduate Admission via applies only to Manhattan, so taxi rides to , e-mail at [email protected] in writing so Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island are metered and that we may provide you with a new Form I-20 for the may cost from $40 to $60. Taxi rides from LaGuardia appropriate semester. Airport to any of the five boroughs are metered and range from $10 to $50. If you will be living on campus, ask the taxi driver to take you to the exact location of QUESTIONS the residence hall to which you have been assigned. If you have questions, please feel free to contact the

ISS on your campus. We wish you a safe trip and look Bus forward to welcoming you soon. A more economical way from JFK or LaGuardia to Manhattan is to take the New York Airport Service Express Bus for about $13 from JFK or from LaGuardia. It leaves the airport every half an hour to the Port Authority Bus Terminal or to in Manhattan, from where you can then take a taxi or Campus train to your final destination. From Newark Airport, 163 William Street, 16th Floor take the Newark Airport Express Bus, which departs New York, NY 10038 every 15 minutes and costs approximately $15. This Tel: (212) 346-1368 bus will also take you to the Port Authority Bus [email protected] Terminal or to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan, from where you can then take a taxi or train to your Westchester Campus final destination. You can also take the AirTrain to Newark Penn Station and Path to the World Trade Kessel Student Center Center for $8.25. 861 Bedford Road Pleasantville, NY 10570 For Westchester students: Tel: (212) 346-1368 Students going to the Westchester (Pleasantville) [email protected] campus from JFK or LaGuardia airports can take the Connecticut Limousine Service directly to campus. The cost is about $65.* From Newark, students should take this limousine service to the campus for about $65.* No reservations are required, and you can request this service at the airport’s ground transportation area. They will tell you the schedule and limousine boarding location. A tip of 15% is suggested and expected by the limo driver.

* All prices are estimated and subject to change.