Where Is My I-20?

You have applied to Kent State and might be wondering:

What do I do next?

When will I learn if I am accepted and who do I ask?

How long will it take to get my I-20?

The time it takes for a decision to be made regarding your application depends upon the time of year and the department. If you applied for a Masters or Ph.D. program, you need to contact your graduate department directly for the status of your application. The Office of Global Education does not make graduate admissions decisions. You should be able to check the status, however, using the log-in information you created when you completed the application.

You will receive email notification if you are accepted. Within 2-3 days, a copy of your admission letter will print in the International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) area. From there, we check for two things:

Have you sent us proof of financial support for one year? This can be in the form of a bank statement, graduate assistantship letter, financial guarantee from your government, etc. You must show that you have the resources to pay for a year of study in Kent. If you do receive an assistantship, please email us to let us know as we only receive notification of your acceptance to Kent State and we do not know who will receive funding from the school.

Are you transferring from another US high school, college, or university? If so, we do not create a new SEVIS record for you, but arrange for the transfer of your record to Kent State University. You will need to complete the Transfer-In Form in our Forms Library to arrange this transfer. After you are transferred to us, we can create a new Kent State I-20.

Once we have proof of financial support, we create the I-20 and send it to your address, along with a packet of information. Depending on where you live, it may take two to three weeks for your I-20 to arrive. Please be patient during this time! We have no control over the international mailing system. If you have not received your I-20 four weeks after you were notified that you were accepted, contact us.

Are you from China? Your I-20 will be sent to our Beijing China Center. The China Center will then contact you to arrange for delivery.

Are you from Saudi Arabia? Check with your local DHL Center to see if your packet has arrived. Your local DHL Center may try to contact you by phone when your I-20 arrives.

Are you from Iran? It may take significantly longer (one to three months) for your I-20 to arrive after  we have mailed it.

Do not make your visa appointment until you have your I-20. You will not be able to obtain a visa without your I-20. We cannot expedite or “rush†an I-20 to you if you have scheduled a visa appointment without an I-20.

If it is more than 120 days (four months) before your Program Start Date, do not request an I-20. ISSS only issues I-20s within 120 days of your Program Start Date.

If you have questions about the visa process, please see this information from the U.S. Department of State. If you still have questions, email isss@kent.edu.