UCI International Center

Requesting a Visa Document

Section 1

Congratulations on behalf of the UCI International Center for your admission to the University of California, Irvine! If you plan to attend UCI and if you are not a U.S. Citizen or a U.S. Permanent Resident, or have a visa status that allows you to study in the U.S., you must request a visa document from the International Center before you begin your studies.

  • An I-20 will be processed for students applying for an F-1 visa
  • A DS-2019 form will be processed for students applying for a J-1 visa

To read more about the differences between the F-1 and J-1 visa, click here.

Undergraduate Students:

Follow these steps to request your visa document:

  1. Once you have received an offer for admision to UCI, you must SIR (Statement of Intent to Register) "Yes" to confirm your attendance to UCI.
  2. Log into MyAdmissionsApplication@UCI for complete requirements to request an I-20/DS-2019 visa document from the UCI International Center.
    • The processing time for your I-20/DS-2019 document is 15 business days from the date a complete request is submitted. Incomplete requests will cause a delay in processing.
    • If you are transferring your SEVIS record to UCI, the 15 business days processing time will start from the date your SEVIS record is released to UCI or the date your complete request is submitted, whichever is later.
    • If your request is incomplete, you will be contacted via email directly after an advior has thoroughly reviewed your request.
    • You can check the status of your request here.

Do you have additional questions? Check out the FAQS for New International Undergraduate Students. 

Graduate Students:

Follow these steps to request your visa document:

  1. Review the instructions of the New Graduate Student Request—Student 2023-2024 packet and fill out the required and applicable pages.
    • Pages 4 & 5 are required; pages 6 & 7 must only be submitted if applicable.
  2. Submit the following documents to your admitting UCI academic department (follow their instructions on how to submit them):
    • New Graduate Student Request-Student 2023-2024 form (required and applicable pages)
    • Copy of your passport biographical page (the passport must be valid for at least 6 months from the start of your program at UCI).
    • If applicable, copies of your dependents' passport biographical pages.
    • Copy of your current visa type if you are changing your status from another non-immigrant visa to F-1 inside the U.S. (see instructions on the New Graduate Student Request form for more information).
    • Financial documentation showing proof of funds to meet the required amount (see here for information on acceptable sources of funding).

Your academic department will review your packet and send it to the International Center for the processing of your I-20/DS-2019 visa document.

  • After the International Center receives your packet from your department, we will review and process your I-20/DS-2019 document. Processing time for your visa document is 15 business days from the date of a complete submission. Incomplete requests will cause a delay in processing.
  • If you are transferring your SEVIS Record to UC Irvine, 15 business days will begin from your SEVIS release date or date of complete submission, whichever is later. 
  • If your application is incomplete, you will be contacted directly via email after an advisor has thoroughly reviewed your request.
  • You can check the status of your request here.

Receiving Your Visa Document:

F-1 Students: You will receive your I-20 document electronically via DocuSign email.

J-1 Students: You will recieve your DS-2019 by express mail. You will need to set up mailing through eShipGlobal and provide the eShipGlobal order number through your MyAdmisions portal (undergraduate students) or the New Graduate Student Request-Student form (graduate students).

Transferring Your SEVIS Record:

If you are currently in Active F-1 or J-1 student status and plan to transfer your SEVIS record to UCI, you must indicate this while requesting for the visa document, and you must work with your current or most recent institution to transfer your SEVIS record to UCI. More information on transfering your Active F-1/J-1 SEVIS record can be found here.