Frequently Asked Questions

Please review our Travel website for detailed information on what to carry with you when you travel. Be sure to have these documents in your carry-on luggage, and do not put them in your checked baggage.

Online: Submit a ‘Shipment Request’ e-form in My OIS, for the reason of Travel Signature. In-Person: You may come to OIS and either drop off your document and pick it up later, or you can come during Walk-In hours and obtain a signature with little to no wait. NOTE: This option is currently suspended due to COVID-19 related office closures.

You will need a valid travel signature on your I-20 or DS-2019 in order to re-enter the U.S. after international travel. Most travel signatures are valid for one year. (Exception: Travel signatures for people on OPT are valid for 6 months.)

Please log-in to My OIS. Under the Biographical Information menu, please complete the ‘Shipment Request’ e-form to receive your new document.

Please email OIS for advice on how to contact USCIS for a corrected document.

You will need to contact your country’s Embassy to determine the procedures for the renewal of your passport. Please begin this process at least six months before the expiration of your current passport.

No. The only way to renew a visa is by applying for an extension at a U.S. Embassy outside the U.S.

No, your visa is only necessary in order to enter the U.S. Once you are inside the U.S., the visa is no longer relevant. As long as your primary immigration document (see below) is still valid, and you are continuing to pursue your main objective in the U.S., you can remain in the U.S. with an expired visa. Primary immigration documents that must be valid for duration of time in US:

• Students – I-20 (F-1 students) or DS-2019 (J-1 students)
• Scholars – DS-2019
• Employees – I-797 approval notice

You will be required to renew your visa stamp if you leave and wish to re-enter the U.S.

We are sorry you are having difficulty logging in to My OIS.  Please confirm that you are using the following link and information to log in:  

• Website:   My OIS
• Username:  Your Official Pitt Username  (if your email address is  abc123@pitt.edu, your username is abc123; do not use the @pitt.edu)
• Password: Your Official Pitt Password 

If this is the website and information you have been using to try and log in, please email OIS and we will work with you to resolve this issue.  If you are on OPT, or you are an incoming student or scholar, be sure to scroll to the bottom of the My OIS landing page for your link to log in, called ‘Limited Services Login’.

First contact your host department and let them know that you have arrived to start your program on the start date noted on your DS-2019. The department will assist with the onboarding processes and joining the University of Pittsburgh. To check in with OIS, please complete the following: Complete the Pre-Arrival Checklist in My OIS. Register for and attend a J-1 Scholar Orientation. Once you have completed both steps, OIS will activate your SEVIS record to note that you have successfully arrived in the United States and completed the required processes in compliance with your J-1 status. Your SEVIS record must be activated within 30 days of your program start date, so it is very important that you start the process as soon as possible after your arrival.

Yes, you may defer your admission. Please first contact your academic department to arrange your deferral. Next, send an email to OISnew@Pitt.edu to confirm with OIS that you intend to defer. We will defer your I-20 if it has already been issued. If an I-20 has not been issued, we’ll simply make a note in our records that you will need an I-20 at a later date.

If it has been less than 5 months since your last date of enrollment at the previous institution, we should be able to use your current SEVIS record to create a Pitt I-20. Please be sure to complete the ‘Transfer In’ e-form on your Pre-Arrival Checklist in My OIS, so that we know you already have a SEVIS record. Also be sure to notify your current school that you wish you transfer your record to Pitt. The ‘Transfer In’ e-form has information they will need in order to transfer the record.

Please contact your host department at the University of Pittsburgh to let them know of your situation and ask if they can accommodate your delayed arrival. If the department is able to work with you on a new start date, please ask your department administrator to submit a ‘J-1 Late Arrival’ request in My OIS. This form will allow OIS to adjust your program dates in SEVIS and issue an updated DS-2019 based on the new offer letter provided by the department.

Your academic department must first notify OIS of your admission and intention to enroll. After we have been notified, we will email you with instructions on how to request your I-20 or DS-2019. You will not receive an email from us until we have been notified by your department of your admission, and sometimes this can take several days after you have made your enrollment deposit.

Please contact your Academic Department and, if permission for deferral is granted, please send an email to OISNew@pitt.edu to notify OIS of your decision. 

U.S. Regulations state that, “Practical training may be authorized to an F-1 student who has been lawfully enrolled on a full-time basis, in a Service-approved college, university, conservatory, or seminary for one full academic year. This provision also includes students who, during their course of study, were enrolled in a study abroad program, if the student spent at least one full academic term enrolled in a full course of study in the United States prior to studying abroad.”
Pitt’s Office of International Services (OIS) recommends taking a conservative approach to all this guidance, and OIS interprets it to mean that a student must have been enrolled one full year while in the United States on a nonimmigrant visa in order to be eligible for either OPT or CPT.  While it is possible that the government may provide additional clarification and officially approve online enrollment while outside the United States for these purposes, at this time, OIS does not believe this is permitted. The OIS guidance below reflects this approach.

• NEW STUDENTS: You will need to be enrolled in a course of study for two complete semesters within the United States prior to becoming eligible for CPT/OPT. That means if you select the Remote Learning Abroad option or defer attendance for Fall 2020, you would not be eligible for CPT/OPT until at least Fall 2021, after taking a full course load in both the Spring 2021 and Summer 2021 terms in the United States.
   
• CONTINUING STUDENTS: You will be eligible for CPT/OPT after completing at least two semesters of courses within the United States SEVP has verified that the Spring 2020 semester is acceptable under these rules, even if you returned home and completed the semester remotely.

• China: CIEE, CET, The Education Abroad Network and SCUPI*
• India: CIEE and CET
• South Korea: CIEE
• Vietnam: The Education Abroad Network

* Pitt first-year students for whom our Sichuan University-Pittsburgh Institute (SCUPI) curriculum matches (e.g., Engineering, Computing and Information Sciences, and Business Administration majors) will be able to attend class at Sichuan University. However, because SCUPI has an enrollment maximum, we have designed additional opportunities for those students who need curriculum outside of what is offered at SCUPI or in the event of excess demand.

If you want to transfer your F-1 SEVIS record, these are the School Codes for each of the University of Pittsburgh campuses.

• University of Pittsburgh Main Campus: PHI214F10188000
• University of Pittsburgh at Bradford: PHI214F10188001
• University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg: PHI214F10188002
• University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown: PHI214F10188003
• University of Pittsburgh at Titusville: PHI214F10188004

Students have 2 options:

1. Leave the United States, apply for an F-1 visa stamp at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate, and then re-entering the United States in F-1 status.
2. Remain in the United States and submit a “Change of Status” application with USCIS.

There are benefits and drawbacks with either option.

• Changing status at a U.S. Embassy/Consulate can be faster, and perhaps even more convenient if you have plans to travel outside of the U.S. within the next few months; however, international travel can be very expensive.
• Changing status from within the United States can take between 9 to 12 months, but you would save on travel expenses. However, you must maintain your previous status up to 30 days before USCIS approves your Change of Status application. This can be problematic.

Learn more about Change of Status options here.