Residency Information - International Applicants

The Residency Information application section allows you to request visa eligibility documents and provide information regarding your citizenship and visa status. In addition, you will be required to provide your birth city and birth country, and country of legal permanent residence. Applicants will also be given the opportunity to provide additional personal information, such as the highest level of education completed by any of your parents/guardians. This information is voluntary and will not affect your admission decision.

Requesting an i-20 or ds-2019

You will need to indicate if you need an initial, change of level, transfer, or change of status visa eligibility document.

Initial documents are appropriate for students arriving in the US from outside the country for purposes of attending Illinois.

Change of Level documents are appropriate for current Illinois students changing from an undergraduate program to a graduate program.

Transfer documents are for students currently attending or are on practical training at another institution in the US and will not have had longer than a 5 month break between enrollment/training. You will be prompted to provide your current SEVIS number and the name of the institution that issued your current I-20 or DS-2019.

Change of Status documents are appropriate for students currently in the US on a non-student visa wishing to change status to an F-1 student visa. You will be prompted to provide your current visa type and asked whether or not you will be leaving the country before your program begins and enter with an initial I-20, or if you plan to stay in the US and file your change of status within the US.

You will be asked if you need any dependent I-20s/DS-2019s.

  • If yes, you will be prompted to upload a copy of each dependent's passport. Please note this can be provided at a later time if it is not available at the time of application.
  • For each dependent, you will need to provide their full legal name, gender, relationship to you (spouse or child), birth city and country, as well as country of citizenship and country of legal permanent residence.

You will be asked to upload a copy of your passport and proof of funding documentation.

  • Passports and proof of funding documentation are required for all students requesting an I-20 or DS-2019. Please review our Evidence of Financial Resources page for more detailed instructions on proof of funding requirements.
  • If you do not have a passport or proof of funding documentation available, you may provide this at a later time. However, these documents will be required before we can issue an I-20 or DS-2019.

online program applicants

If you are applying to an online program and will not enter the US, you can indicate this and we need no further visa status information. However, if you will be in the US for your program, you will need to show proof of non-student visa status. Please see the information for current visa holders below.

remaining on a non-student visa

If you are currently in the US on a non-student visa (such as an H-1 work visa) and are planning to remain on this visa for the duration of your studies at Illinois, you will need to indicate your current visa type.

In addition, you will need to upload a copy of your current visa.

Sponsored J-1 students

If another organization, such as IIE Fulbright or LASPAU, will be issuing your DS-2019, you will need to provide us with the name of this organization and upload a copy of your award letter.

asylee, paroled in public interest, refugee status

If you have been granted one of these statuses, you will need to upload documentation of this status. You will then be classified as a domestic student and be prompted to answer questions regarding your legal state of residence in the US in the Residency Information section of this page.