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Welcome Letter 2009/2010

Dear Graduate International Student:

Congratulations on your acceptance to Tufts University! We, at the International Center, would like to welcome you and offer you our assistance while you attend Tufts. Our office advises international students, faculty and scholars, coordinates international activities on campus, and handles immigration issues.

Please carefully read the following procedure which explains how to obtain a student visa and I-20 or DS2019 form.

A. Send to the Office of Graduate Studies

1. Your deposit
    
2. A written confirmation of your intention to attend Tufts

B. Send to the International Center
(The information is also available online)

1. International Student Information Form (enclosed), completed and signed.
    
2. Copies of your (and your dependents, if applicable) passport identification page.
    
3. Financial Documentation
   • Original financial documentation proving your ability to finance your tuition, living expenses and health insurance (in U.S. dollars) for the duration of your program. The documentation must be issued within 3 months of the date we receive the documents from you. *Faxes, photocopies, and Email attachments are NOT acceptable. If you have a spouse and/or children accompanying you to the U.S. as your dependents, please be sure to provide original financial documentation proving the ability to support them for at least one calendar year.
      
   • A Sponsor Letter which documents financial support for you for one calendar year and which further guarantees sponsorship for the duration of your program, if you will be fully or partially funded by anyone other than yourself or Tufts University.
      
   • A copy of an award letter (a print out of an online letter is acceptable) offering you a teaching assistantship or research assistantship. If you have not received the letter and cant print out the online one, please indicate your scholarship type (tuition, TA or RA) and the amount on the International Student Information Form. Do NOT request the Office of Graduate Studies to forward a copy to us.
      
   • Please refer to the enclosed Estimate of Expenses and How to Determine Amount of Funding sheets for detailed amounts.
     Note: Students can work part-time (not to exceed 20 hours per week) on campus but students receiving Research or Teaching Assistantships are only permitted to work a maximum of 5 hours beyond their RA or TA. Although part-time on-campus work is allowed, these jobs are limited. Please keep in mind that the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services severely limits off-campus work for students, and does not allow it at all within the first academic year. You must check with the International Center before considering off-campus employment. We expect that the funding source(s) you are certifying to us will be available to you and that you will not need financial assistance upon arrival at Tufts. Total estimated start-up figures will range from $2,000 to $3,000.
      
4. Tufts University International Student Transfer Form (If applicable)
   
   If you are currently attending a school in the U.S., or recently graduated or you are on OPT, your current school will need to release your record in the SEVIS electronic tracking system to Tufts. First, you must fill out the top portion of the Tufts University International Student Transfer Form included in your acceptance packet. Second, forward the form to an international student advisor at your current/previous school so that your record transfer will occur.

C. Be sure you have sent ALL of the above-requested items to the appropriate offices.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION (VERY IMPORTANT!)

• To help speed up the process, it is very important for you to mail us complete paperwork including financial documentation. We will not be able to process visa documents without complete paperwork.
   
• After receiving ALL of the above-listed items from section B, the International Center will process your visa documents (I-20 Form or DS-2019 Form). We are unable to start processing visa documents earlier than late May under any circumstances.
   
• We process the visa documents in order of receiving the complete documents. Due to the large number of I-20 requests, you may need to wait for a month to two months.
   
• PLEASE MAKE YOUR VISA APPOINTMENT AFTER YOU RECEIVE YOUR I-20 because we cant guarantee you that you will obtain your visa document by a specific date. We will NOT prioritize anyone simply because you have a visa appointment. Please be aware that you may be charged a fee for canceling or changing the visa appointment date by the U.S. embassy and the I-Center will not be responsible for the fee.
   
• Due to large number of cases we will be working on during the summer, we will be under a very tight schedule. In order to focus our resources on processing and shipping out documents for you and everyone else, please refrain from calling and/or emailing us repeatedly in order to obtain I-20 by certain date or to receive our replies. We deeply appreciate your patience and understanding.

TOURIST VISA
Do NOT enter the U.S. in B-1, B-2, WB or WT Tourist Visa Status. It is not possible for you to change your tourist visa status to the required student status once you are in the U.S. You will not be permitted to register at Tufts University on tourist visa status.

HEALTH INSURANCE REQUIREMENT
In compliance with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Tufts University does not accept international insurance plans nor will it accept alternate US health insurance plans for international students.

It is therefore critical that you plan ahead so that the health fees can be covered. Costs for the health insurance plan is $1,600 for the year. There is an additional, separate cost for the Health Service Fee of $632. Both fees are mandatory. Both fees are required to be paid in advance of the start of classes in September. We are forewarning you of this so that you can plan and budget accordingly. If you have any questions, contact Ms. Mary Daley: mary.daley@tufts.edu or Ms. Susan Keating: susan.keating@tufts.edu at the Tufts Health Services. You can also reach them by phone: 617 627-3350 or fax: 617 627-3592. The International Center is unable to answer questions about health insurance and/or immunizations.

SUMMER ENGLISH LANGUAGE TRAINING
For those students entering Tufts in the fall who would like to improve their English skills, we recommend English language training, which is offered at Tufts during the summer. For further information, please contact the Tufts English Language Programs. They can also be reached by telephone at 617-627-3568, by fax at 617-627-3856 or via email at ESL@tufts.edu.  Please let us know if you will attend the Tufts English Program.

We will send more comprehensive information on the visa application process and the process for paying the SEVIS Fee along with your immigration document. You will also receive arrival orientation material at that time. Before you arrive at Tufts, you will receive several mailings. Therefore, it is very important that you notify the International Center, the Office of Graduate Studies and departmental contact (if you have any) of change of address, email or telephone number.

We look forward to meeting you! If you should have any questions, please contact the International Center at 617-627-3458, by fax at 617-627-6076, via email at internationalcenter@tufts.edu or on the web at http://www.ase.tufts.edu/icenter.

Sincerely yours,

Jane Etish-Andrews, Director

Jodi Hanelt, Assistant Director
Naoko Kotoge, International Student & Scholar Advisor
Monica S. Rodriguez, International Student & Scholar Advisor