Princeton University - The Graduate School

The Davis International Center (Davis IC) is your primary resource for matters related to immigration regulatory advising and processing, cultural adjustment, social enrichment and assistance with practical matters related to living in the United States. If you are an international student intending to study in the United States on a student visa, you are required to complete and return the Application for Visa Certificate (pdf) to the Davis IC by May 1. After your academic department confirms your program start date (early May), you will be issued a visa eligibility document to use to apply for a student visa at the U.S. Embassy/Consulate abroad and to enter the United States.

 

PLEASE NOTE: F-1 OR J-1 VISA – WHICH ONE IS RIGHT FOR YOU?  The F-1 visa is the most commonly used visa by international students at Princeton. All students are eligible for an F-1 visa as long as they have been admitted, have accepted their admission and can document funding for at least the first year of study. If you are an incoming international student for Fall 2013, you may be eligible for a J-1 visa if you will receive at least 51 percent of your total financial funding from a source other than personal, family or friends.

 

IMPORTANT:  If you wish to be considered for the J-1 visa, you MUST submit the completed DS-2019 Student Request Form along with your Application for Visa Certificate (AVC) to the Davis IC.  Students who do not submit the DS-2019 Student Request Form will automatically be issued the I-20 for the F-1 student visa.  NOTE: Before requesting a DS-2019 form for the J-1 visa, please read carefully about differences between F-1 and J-1 visa, such as the 2-year residency requirement, and mandatory health insurance and employment permission for J-2 dependents.

 

For more information about the F-1 or J-1 visa and other immigration topics, please refer to the Davis International Center's Immigration Information for New International Graduate Students.

 

Return the following documents to Princeton University, Davis International Center, Princeton NJ, 08544 by May 1:

NOTE:  To receive an I-20/DS2019, you MUST make arrangements for express mail via eShipGlobal at https://study.eshipglobal.com. Please make arrangements as soon as you accept your admission. You will need to create a username and password, provide your mailing address, email address, phone number and credit card information. Once you've completed this process, the Davis International Center will receive an e-mail and air bill to send your documents. Please be aware that your I-20/DS-2019 cannot be issued before you are admitted, therefore, there may be some delay between your creation of the eShipGlobal shipment and receipt of the I-20/DS-2019.

 

Any questions regarding visa documents, or any other immigration questions, can be directed to the Davis International Center at puvisa@princeton.edu.