Dear Students, 

Today the U.S. government offered clarifying guidance for Fall semester, which particularly impacts new students who are outside the United States. The government has confirmed that if you will take only online classes in the Fall, you will not be eligible for a visa or for entry to the United States. You can take fully online courses as a new student if you are outside the United States. And continuing students, as well as new students who have transferred in, or changed programs at UConn and have remained in the U.S., can also take fully online courses, and maintain visa status.  

This updates last week's information provided by our office that only advised new students to take an in-person course. Now we are telling you that you are required to take at least one in-person or hybrid course, if you want to travel to the United States for your Fall semester courses. Even with this updated guidance, it could still be difficult for new students to obtain a visa or travel to the U.S. - there are still many uncertainties and confusion around policies for international students, worldwide. 

We interpret this guidance to apply to any student currently outside the U.S. who has an I-20 with a Fall semester program start date, and lists the following Form Issue Reasons: Initial Attendance, Transfer-Pending, or Change of Education Level. 

We are notifying UConn academic programs of this requirement, and we advise you to contact your academic advisor or program to find out if an in-person course will be available for you to take. If not, you should seek other arrangements to start your program or delay your arrival. 

When you go to your visa appointment (if needed - Canadians do not require a visa stamp), or travel to the U.S. , we suggest that you have with you a print-out of your schedule, showing your course modalities, to prove that you not enrolled in fully online courses. We also suggest you bring a letter to further document that UConn is not offering only online courses, which you can download here. 

When you arrive at U.S. immigration, present your I-20 and passport, and if you are asked to provide further documentation of your in-person courses, have these documents ready to access, but do not provide them unless prompted.