NSIF Departmental Information
ISO’s electronic New Student Intake Forms (NSIF) play an important role in supporting international students who intend to study at the University of Rochester. F-1 Student and J-1 Exchange Visitor are the two visa categories UR is able to sponsor for full-time study. Students must use the NSIF to request the Form I-20 (for F-1 study) or Form DS-2019 (for J-1 study) if they intend to study under the UR’s immigration sponsorship. Students who intend to study at UR under a US government organization’s sponsorship, such as Fulbright, must also complete the NSIF.
The NSIF consists of two parts, the NSIF Department Section and the NSIF Student Section. After the student’s admitting department or admissions office submits the NSIF Department Section, the student will receive an email communication inviting them to complete the NSIF Student Section.
Completing the NSIF Department Section
The NSIF Department Section will expect you to complete a short series of forms. Detailed guidance for completing each section is offered below.
When you are ready to begin initiating NSIFs, please log in to URcompass, Departmental Services. You must then select the appropriate New Student Intake Forms (NSIF) button to initiate a new submission, based on the academic year to which the student has been admitted. To initiate the NSIF, follow the prompts to locate the student’s ISO record by entering the URID and date of birth.
Enter the departmental email address to be used for notifications related to NSIF processing. This may be an individual user, or a shared office account. We recommend using a shared office email for continuity and support.
Enter the student’s email address to be used for notification that the NSIF is available for their completion and submission.
Note: Students need to receive and initialize their UR NetID before accessing URcompass using their Entra ID, and to set up their Duo two-factor authentication. Please be sure students have been provided their URID and instructions to activate their record through myIdentity Self Service. Information for incoming students is available here: https://tech.rochester.edu/incoming/.
Review the admit term, specific degree program, and academic major code that are passing to ISO from UR Student. If they are incorrect, please use the text field to identify the accurate details. Provide additional details related to the UR school, academic department, and a simplified degree level listing (Bachelor, Master, Doctorate, Other).
Enter the relevant program dates to be listed on the I-20 or DS-2019:
- Program Start Date: Enter the date the student is expected to engage in required, in-person orientation/program activities, if such activities are scheduled to be held prior to the start of classes. This date cannot be more than 30 days prior to the start of classes. This date can match the Start of Classes date, if there are no required, in-person orientation/program activities scheduled to be held prior to the start of classes.
- Start of Classes: Enter the date the student will begin classes for the term and will be full-time enrolled.
- Program End Date: Enter the date the student is expected to complete their degree/program requirements, if making normal progress. This date should be aligned with the academic calendar, not necessarily the end of a calendar month, etc.If the student is expected to complete in a Summer or Fall term, please be sure you are using the last day of exams for the relevant term.If the estimated completion date is in a Spring term, please use the last day of commencement weekend. Per the Registrar, the last day of commencement weekend is actually one day later than noted on the official UR 10-Year calendar: https://www.rochester.edu/provost/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Approved-Academic-Calendar-2023-2034-Updated-December-202316-1-2024.pdf
Indicate whether the student is proficient in English, according to standard admission criteria, and how that determination was assessed.
Identify the relevant ISO Expense Template for this student’s program by narrowing options to your school and then select the template name from the list. The figures will populate in a table for verification. If one of the standard templates does not apply, please contact us at admitquestions@iso.rochester.edu to determine the correct amounts and then enter them manually in the form.
Enter the total amount of University of Rochester financial support the student will receive in their first academic year of study and mark the different funding types included in that amount (Scholarship, Assistantship, Fellowship, Other). Rank-order from LARGEST funding source (i.e. PRIMARY) to smallest funding source, all UR funding source(s).
Upload a copy of the student’s University of Rochester Award Letter or Financial Aid Summary, if applicable.
Review reminders about next steps in the NSIF process. Confirm form data is accurate and type your name in lieu of a signature. The submission of this form will “lock” the Department Section of the NSIF and trigger an automated email to the student inviting them to access their NSIF online and complete their required forms in the NSIF Student Section.
Notification and updates to ISO
Upon submission of the NSIF Department Section, the student will receive an email with instructions to access the NSIF via URcompass in order to complete the NSIF Student Section. The message will include the funding calculations provided in the form, for reference and preparation of financial documents. The departmental contact email will also be copied on this message for reference, and all future messages related to the NSIF.
If information on the NSIF Departmental Information forms change subsequently, please contact ISO at admitquestions@iso.rochester.edu for next steps. Our staff can set the form(s) back to draft status to allow for additional edits.
Please cancel the NSIF in URcompass by submitting NSIF Department Form 5 if, at any time in the NSIF process, you conclude that the student will no longer attend UR. If the student will defer to a future academic year, the NSIF should also be cancelled.
If the student notifies you of a visa delay or denial following a visa interview, please direct them to report the visa delay/denial to ISO in URcompass.
Additional support and resources
Review the guidance, training sessions, and downloadable materials below for additional support. You can also contact us with any questions, we’re here to help!
ISO offers an NSIF Department Checklist (PDF) providing an overview of the overall coordination, prerequisite systems configurations, University Department forms, and system-driven communications involved. This document is shared at the start of each new NSIF cycle; please contact us if you have not received it and would like it shared with you by email.
ISO holds an NSIF Departmental Training every Spring for University admission and academic partners. Please consider attending if you expect to admit students who may need immigration sponsorship for initial arrival, and will be involved in the NSIF process.
A recording of the most recent meeting is available below. Please email ISO directly if you need the presentation slides (PDF).
Spring 2025 NSIF Departmental Training video recording [2/19/2025]
If the student is no longer expected to enroll in the relevant academic year – submit NSIF Department Form 5: Cancellation Notice.
If the student will arrive to enroll in the relevant academic year, but later than originally reported in the NSIF and issued on the student’s immigration document – submit NSIF Department Form 6: Adjusted Arrival Information. Please note: If new dates are known before a document is issued, please contact ISO to request that NSIF Department Form 2: Academic Program Information be returned to draft for your edits to the dates.
The UR Student record must have a ‘Student Immigration Sponsorship Status’ setting to pass data to ISO. This process is largely automated for matriculating international students. This setting will pass a new record to ISO’s database and enable URcompass functionality. Please allow 2-3 business days for these sequential configurations to take place. Once the record has successfully passed to ISO, departments will be able to locate the student’s record in URcompass and initiate the NSIF. If you are not able to find a record in URcompass in order to initiate an NSIF for them – please reach out to admitquestions@iso.rochester.edu so we can check on the status of the UR Student record.
If a student ultimately does not need University of Rochester immigration sponsorship, ISO will remove or change the UR Student setting.