INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS 

The International Student-Athlete Mentor Program was created in Summer 2019 by the Student-Athlete Academic Support Services (SAASS) staff in conjunction with the International Student Center (ISC). The purpose of the program is to help foster academic and personal excellence among incoming international student-athletes by:

• Increasing their knowledge about U.S. culture and lifestyle by creating relationships with international peers

• Connecting international student-athletes to athletic and campus resources that will help them succeed as SDSU student-athletes

• Helping build essential skills for academic, athletic, and personal success

In this program, every incoming international student-athlete will be paired with an upperclassman mentor. The mentors (who are current international student-athletes) will encourage their mentees to embrace their new learning environment, while recognizing the importance of overcoming the diverse challenges and demands of college life to successfully pursue their academic, athletic, and personal goals.

You will only be able to get your I-20 from SDSU and upload these documents once you are fully admitted into the university.

Once you are admitted you will recieve these instructions below from Rachel Rhoades with a Financial Statement form and Scholarship letter if applicable.   

No I-20 action can be completed until you are admitted, so just spend this time gathering all documents and researching the process! 

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I-20 and Visa Process:

1. The first step to getting a student I-20 is that the student must be accepted into SDSU and you must complete your Intent to Enroll on your My.SDSU student portal. 

   • This can be found under "Admission Status" on your my.SDSU account. Instruction link here - click Accept Offer of Admission

2. Next, you will see a financial document upload "To Do" in your Tasks Tile of My.SDSU. This is where you will upload the documents that are listed below. 

3. If there is something that you are missing, the ISC will contact you via email. 

4. Once they have their I-20 from SDSU this will include a SEVIS number- they will then use this SEVIS number in order to make their F-1 visa appointment in their home country. The speed of the visa being given to the student is on a country-by-country basis. The student cannot make the visa appointment until they get their I-20 SEVIS number.  

5. Here are the Visa appointment wait times (days), that you can search by city: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/visa-information-resources/wait-times.html

6. If you currently have an I-20 with another institution, you will need to contact the DSO at your institution and request that they transfer your SEVIS number to SDSU. Click here for Guidance on how to transfer your SEVIS record

DOCUMENTS TO GATHER 

• Click here for ISC guidance on Documents described below

• The student will need a photo of their passport

• The student will need to upload a Grant in Aid Funding Letter from Jessica Hasson which will be sent to you by Rachel Rhoades if you are on athletic scholarship. This states the student's financial cost covering all fees, tuition, health insurance, etc. and for what amount.

  • If you are not on scholarship or your scholarship does not cover the full cost of tuition  they will need to have a sponsor sign and show a bank statement with proof of funds to cover the remaining tuition balance.

  • $51,799 for First-years

  • $49,241 for Upper Division Transfers and Lower Division transfer students living Off campus

  • $45,725 for Graduate students

• Next the SA needs to complete a Financial statement form which will also be sent by Rachel

  • If you are a lower-division student- you can select Upper Division on the financial form since there is no lower division option 

  • Here is a link to the SDSU I-20 Website to make sure your student completes all the necessary documents. 

• If you have specific I-20 questions, reach out to the ISC via email: iscnewstudent@sdsu.edu or use the CHAT function of this website: https://www.sdsu.edu/international-student-center

• Here are additional helpful pages if your country requires more information- Forms Webpage, or submit a Letter Request Form, requesting the International Student Status Verification. You can add comments for any special instructions in the request form.