Overview
Thank you for choosing to study at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. This content will provide you with information regarding your arrival to the United States, including before and after you arrive on the SIUE campus.
SIUE's COVID-19 Guidance and Vaccination Requirement
If you are planning on living on-campus, please visit the University Housing website for more information on COVID - 19 requirement. We also encourage you to check SIUE’s COVID-19 webpage for the latest updates about current COVID-19 protocols at SIUE.
U.S. Department of State COVID-19 Travel Restrictions and Exceptions
October 25, 2021-Updated Requirements for Air Travelers to the U.S. due to COVID-19
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced a new Order for all air passengers traveling to the United States. Effective November 8, 2021, all non-immigrant, non-citizen air travelers to the United States will be required to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of vaccination status prior to boarding an airplane to the United States.
Log into your SIUE Office 365 account (not a personal account) using your e-ID and go to Submit Covid Exemption Form before you arrive at SIUE.
U.S. immigration regulations permit new F-1 /J-1 visa students to enter the country up to 30 days prior to but no later than the program start date printed on page one of the I-20/DS-2019 form. DO NOT attempt to enter the U.S. more than 30 days before the program starting date on your I-20.
Please consider ideal arrival dates and University Housing move-in dates carefully when making travel plans to the U.S. In addition, we encourage you to check the airlines policies on refunds. International students are allowed to move-in earlier in the week if submitting a request via email to housing@siue.edu.
Check your email for important communication
After you received an admission notification, you will begin to receive emails from our office with important information regarding pre-arrival information and tasks to complete prior to arriving. All emails are sent via Constant Contact to the email address you applied with. The sender is Southern Illinois University - Edwardsville. All pre-arrival emails and emails to all current SIUE students are sent through Constant Contact as well. If you don't see these emails in your inbox, please be sure to check your spam or junk folder. Students who have a gmail account should check to ensure you have not exceeded your inbox limit or you will no longer receive emails. See Google Workspace Admin Help.
Mandatory Orientation
All of our orientation activities will be in-person format so make to to arrive on campus at leat a day before the orientation. We will provide you with next steps instructions to check in with our office virtually through the check-in form after you arrive in U.S. All instructions/communications are sent to students SIUE email. For additional questions about orientation, please email isss@siue.edu.
Current SIUE students who are continuing to a different program do not need to attend orientation. However, students who have updated their visa or passport need to check-in with the office to make a copy of these documents. Students returning after a leave of absence or after studying from their home online because of the pandemic, need to email their immigration advisor at isss@siue.edu.
Late Arrivals
All newly admitted students should arrive on time to attend the required orientation. Arriving late may cause serious academic consequences, including inability to register for classes, limited class availability, incurring late registration fees and jeopardizing your visa status. If you are not able to arrive in time to start your program, please reach out to the Office of International Admissions at intladm@siue.edu for steps to defer to the next possible term and to receive a new I-20 or DS-2019.
If a graduate student is unable to arrive to SIUE until after the first day of classes due to extenuating circumstances, the student must contact the Director of the Office of International Admissions at intladm@siue.edu with a written request. Submitting a request does not guarantee approval. Students in this situation are advised not to travel to the U.S. until written approval from the director is received. Each case for late arrival is reviewed individually and approval or denial will be based on the individual merits of the request.
Late arriving students are required to maintain full-time enrollment throughout the semester. The Office of International Student and Scholar Services will not approve reduced course loads for students who are not able to find the needed classes or who are likely to receive poor grades due to the late arrival. The inability to meet this enrollment requirement will jeopardize a student’s F-1 or J-1 visa status.
