New Student Intake Forms
New international students who will study at the University of Rochester in F-1 or J-1 status must complete the New Student Intake Forms (NSIF). If you intend to study under the UR’s immigration sponsorship, you may use the NSIF to request your Form I-20 (for F-1 study) or Form DS-2019 (for J-1 study). Please use the guidance provided below when completing your NSIF.
Topics on this page:
Accessing the NSIF Student Section
After your admitting department or admissions office submits the NSIF Department Section, you will receive an email communication inviting you to complete NSIF Student Section. In order to complete the NSIF Student Section, you will need to access ISO’s client portal URcompass using your University Entra ID and Duo two-factor authentication.
To ensure you can use your Entra ID login, please be sure you have taken the steps University IT has outlined here for incoming students: https://tech.rochester.edu/incoming/. Contact University IT directly for support if you encounter problems with your login: https://tech.rochester.edu/.
NSIF Student Form 1 – Instructions
Please confirm the email ISO should use to communicate with you prior to the start of your program.
Please be advised: As of 3/14/2025, University IT confirmed that email communications cannot be delivered to yahoo, outlook, and hotmail accounts via University systems at this time (such as URcompass, Blackboard, etc.). University IT does not expect to resolve this email delivery problem, so you may want to consider using a different type of personal email account – especially if you have difficulty accessing your school email while outside the United States. However, you may still review communications sent to you via URcompass directly in your URcompass account.
NSIF Student Form 2 – Immigration Information
If you are seeking University of Rochester immigration sponsorship, indicate the Student Visa Category you intend to pursue for your study (F-1 or J-1) and your SEVIS Category. Based on your selection, you may be prompted to provide additional information related to your current and/or previous US immigration status. If you are planning to study at UR under sponsorship from another organization, you may indicate this in the NSIF.
NSIF Student Form 3 – Personal Information
Please provide your biographical details: name, date of birth, citizenship, and city/country of birth. You will also be asked to provide your passport details and to upload a copy of your passport ID page. If you don’t yet have a passport, you can still complete the NSIF so as not to delay your submission but you should provide a copy to ISO when you receive it.
If you have been issued a student visa sticker previously, you’ll be asked to upload a copy of it even if it is already expired.
If you intend to study with UR immigration sponsorship in J-1 status, you will need to provide your home country academic and occupation details.
NSIF Student Form 4 – Contact Information
Please provide your phone number and residential address outside the United States. You must list the full details of where you live, including street address, city, state/province (when applicable), zip code, and country.
If your SEVIS Category is Change of Education Level or Immigration Transfer, you must also provide your most recent US residential address.
Please also enter the contact information for a family member or friend who we can contact if there is an emergency while you’re in the US. This person can be located abroad or in the United States.
NSIF Student Form 5 – Financial Support Information
When applying for a Form I-20 (for F-1 study) or Form DS-2019 (for J-1 study), you must show that you have sufficient financial resources to cover your educational expenses, which includes tuition for full-time study, required fees, and living expenses. If you will be applying for the F-1 visa, you must be able to document sufficient funds for the first academic year of study. If you will be applying for the J-1 visa, you must be able to document sufficient funds for the full duration of study. The estimated costs will be adjusted with an additional $7,000 for each dependent per academic year, if you are requesting an immigration document for your spouse and/or children.
You should also have a realistic plan about future years if the program of study is longer than one academic year. Opportunities to get additional funds after starting your program – whether through on-campus employment, scholarships, or financial aid – may be extremely limited.
NSIF Student Form 5 will display a table that summarizes the estimated costs of your study in the first academic year and your expected school funding support, as submitted by your admitting department in the NSIF Department Section. If the amount listed in ‘Remaining Funding Required’ is a negative value, you do not need to provide additional proof of funds. The negative value means your estimated costs are fully covered by school funding.
If your school funding will not fully cover the estimated costs of your study, you must provide additional proof of funds that meets the amount not covered by the school funds. You’ll be prompted to upload electronic copies of your funding document(s) in the NSIF, but original documentation will be required when you apply for your visa or travel to the United States to begin your program.
When uploading evidence of available funds, you will be required to identify the type of funding and the amount of funding available in US dollars. Funding types can include Personal Funds, Family Funds, Private Sponsor Funds, Home Government Funds, or Home Institution Funds (when sponsored by a University outside the US).
Important Note: the information on the financial documents you provide will be included in your US Homeland Security SEVIS record and used to certify your eligibility for your F-1 / J-1 visa. By submitting these documents to the ISO, you are attesting to the availability of financial resources to fully support your education at UR. Knowingly providing documents that are not genuine, accurate, or representative of your financial means and resources may lead to serious immigration consequences, including a finding of visa fraud and/or termination of your ability to enter or remain in the US as an F-1 or J-1 student.
Documents should be in English or accompanied by an official or unofficial translation. Documents submitted should be no more than six months old on the date of NSIF submission. Financial documents should be prepared as clear PDF or JPEG files and can include any combination of the following:
- Personal or family bank statement/letter, with name(s) clearly printed in English
- Scholarship letter(s) from government sources, or other scholarship-granting agencies, clearly indicating your name, scholarship year or dates, and covered amounts
- Approved loans (official confirmation of loan approval, not just application, is required)
- Stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and similar investments may be accepted but will be counted at 50% value
If you are providing documentation of funds not held in your name, you must have the account holder complete a Statement of Financial Support, and upload this signed document in the NSIF.
The following types of documents are NOT accepted for purposes of establishing eligibility for F-1 / J-1 status:
- unofficial documents (such as screenshots)
- documents older than 6 months
- documents missing key details (such as name, amount, date, etc.)
- tax documents
- income/salary/payroll statements
- life insurance policies
- property deeds or rental agreements
- promissory notes
- lines of credit from credit cards
- chartered accountant statement
- valuation statement of fixed asset (jewelry, property, automobile)
- cryptocurrency accounts or wallets
- other statements regarding assets that are not available in liquid cash amounts
NSIF Student Form 6 – Dependent Family Information
If you intend to have an eligible dependent join you in Rochester, please submit Form 6 for each dependent (spouse and/or children). You will be asked to provide their biographical details and a copy of their passport ID page.
F-2 and J-2 dependents each receive their own Certificate of Eligibility (I-20 or DS-2019) when your immigration document is issued. When applying for their visa, they will need to have documented proof of the dependent relationship, such as a marriage or birth certificate. Extended family members, other than your spouse and children, are not eligible for F-2 or J-2 dependent status.
Dependent documents can also be requested after your arrival if your family members plan to join you later.
NSIF Student Form 7 – Student Submission
Submission of this form will alert ISO that your NSIF is ready for review and processing.
After submission of the NSIF Student Section
If we need more information or documentation before processing your NSIF, we will email you with further instruction. Standard NSIF processing is 2 weeks, but it may often be much quicker than this – please carefully monitor your email communications to ensure you don’t miss any important messages from ISO during this time.
You will be notified when processing of your NSIF is completed with instructions about how to access your immigration document (I-20 or DS-2019) in URcompass if you intend to pursue study under UR’s immigration sponsorship.