Orientations

Within 5 days of arriving to the United States, you are REQUIRED to complete ALL e-forms in the “CHECK-IN REQUIREMENTS” section in the “Starting Summer Term” e-form group in the “Admission to Orientation” tab of My OIS.

• OIS must review these e-forms before we can “register” your immigration record with the federal government. This is a requirement for all F-1 and J-1 students.
• Summer 2023 incoming students do not need to visit OIS in-person to complete the “registration” process. By submitting the e-forms in the “CHECK-IN REQUIREMENTS” section, OIS will “register” your immigration record. You will receive a confirmation email from oisnew@pitt.edu after your immigration record has been “registered.”

NOTE: Students who have entered the U.S. with a Pitt I-20 in the past, took a leave of absence, and received a new Pitt I-20 to return to the U.S., will follow a different check-in process. These students must complete ALL of the e-forms in the “Upon Arrival to the United States” section of the “Return to Pitt from Leave” e-form group in My OIS.

Undergraduate students: As an incoming undergraduate student, you will begin your Orientation process during the weeks and months before you start classes. The University of Pittsburgh has created an Online Orientation that allows students to schedule classes and learn about various resources and services that Pitt has to offer.

Once students have arrived in the United States, they will attend Welcome Week, which is a week designed for new students to get acclimated to campus and prepare for the start of classes. Required sessions for international students will begin on August 18, 2023, so please plan your travel accordingly.  All F-1 and J-1 visa holders must attend required sessions with the Office of International Services, and the Office of New Student Programs.

Graduate students: You will receive information about your academic department’s orientation plans via your Pitt email address. Additionally, the Office of Graduate Studies organizes events and presentations that apply to all of Pitt’s 14 graduate schools.

OIS typically holds its required orientation events about 2 weeks before the start of class, so that students have additional time to complete their academic department’s orientations. OIS’ required events will begin on August 14, 2023, so please plan your travel accordingly.

ALL students: OIS will provide more specific information about OIS' required orientation events in July.

• Visit OIS’ New Student Information webpage for more information about how OIS works with students to create their immigration documents (Form I-20 / DS-2019).
• Visit OIS’ New Student Resources webpage for information about preparing for your arrival at Pitt.