I-20 Information & Next Steps To Becoming A Global Falcon

Student Financials Section of Your Form I-20

The Form I-20 is an immigration document.  It is not a contract with Bowling Green State University.  The costs indicated for tuition, living expenses, books and insurance are only an estimate of the first academic year of attendance (August through May), as published by the BGSU Office of the Bursar for the minimum credit hours required to be a full-time student.  Your Department may require you to enroll in additional hours to complete your program within the specified time frame.  You have received your Form I-20 because you have submitted evidence that you have the resources required to attend BGSU.

Student’s Program of Study Section of Your Form I-20

Please check the Education Level of your Form I-20. It should state “Bachelors”, “Masters” or “Doctoral”.  Please make sure the Education Level matches the academic level you are at in your program.

Major 1 provides information about your specific area of study.  We make every effort to match your program name as closely as possible to the code in the federal system.  However, please be aware it is not uncommon for program codes to not match perfectly.

Sign your Form I-20

After reviewing the information on your I-20 and reading page 3, make sure you sign the bottom of the first page.

Request a hard copy of your admission letter and form I-20

If you would like hard copy of your admission letter and form I-20 sent by mail, please complete the below shipping information. Be aware that you will be responsible for the shipping costs.  Please click the link below to order the shipping of your immigration documents. Please note we are unable to ship documents to a P.O.Box.

https://study.eshipglobal.com/

• You will be required to establish an account by creating your own user name and password. 
• Select Ohio as the state and Bowling Green State University as the university you wish to create a shipment from.
• You need your BGSU Student ID Number, mailing address, email address, phone number and credit card information in order to complete this online request.

If you have questions or experience problems when using this online service, please use the help feature located on their webpage. Once your documents are mailed from eShipGlobal, you will be sent an email that will provide you with the tracking number and details for your shipment.

We will ship to addresses in the United States using the US Postal System. If you would like to use this service, please provide a U.S. mailing address.

Student & Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) Fee

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provides for collection of a Congressionally mandated fee to be paid by certain aliens who are seeking status in the United States as an F-1, non-immigrant student or as a non-immigrant exchange visitor, J-1 category.

Before you can apply for your first F-1 or J-1 visa for entry to the United States, you must pay the SEVIS fee. This is a separate payment from the visa application fee. The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) is an automated process for collecting, maintaining and managing information about international foreign students, exchange visitors and their dependents during their stay in the United States.

Important information you need regarding the SEVIS Fee and payment:

SEVIS Fee Cost

• For students, F-1: $350
• For exchange visitors, J-1: $220
• For spouses and dependent children (F-2 or J-2) of students or exchange visitors: None

SEVIS Payment

• You may pay electronically with a credit card by completing Form I-901 at www.fmjfee.com .
• You may pay by mailing a check or money order drawn from a United States bank and payable in United States currency.  
  • The form is available at:  http://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/I-901.pdf  .
• You may pay by Western Union Quick Pay.    
  • Instructions can be found at:  http://www.ice.gov/sevis/i901/wu_instr.htm .
• KEEP YOUR RECEIPT OF PAYMENT!   You will need to present this a proof of payment.
  • Anyone who submits payment will be able to print out an electronic receipt.

Canadian and Bermudian Citizens

Canadian and Bermudian citizens must present the SEVIS fee payment receipt at a United States port of entry. You will not be able to pay the SEVIS fee at the border. For further information, visit:  http://www.ice.gov/sevis/i901

Once you have received your U.S. visa, please send a copy of the visa to iss@bgsu.edu You will then receive important information from out office to help you prepare for your arrival to BGSU.

• Go to www.bgsu.edu
• Log in to your MyBGSU account
• Select Financials
• Select View Bill & Make Payment

If you have any questions concerning your Bursar bill, contact the Office of the Bursar at bursar@bgsu.edu or visit their website at http://www.bgsu.edu/bursar.html .

Undergraduate students have the following requirements to fulfill:

1. ALL incoming undergraduates take the University Writing Program’s placement, including international students. Non-native English speaking students may be required to complete ESOL writing courses as prerequisites to University Writing Program’s WRIT courses. Detailed instructions are available on the UWP website.
2. In addition to the writing placement, some non-native English speaking undergraduate students are required to complete an ESOL Speaking/Listening placement. If you are required to take the ESOL speaking/listening placement, you will receive an invitation to the placement test Canvas site. Full instructions are available in Canvas. If you do not receive the Canvas invitation, you are exempt from ESOL speaking/listening classes.
3. New undergraduate international students may be required to take a math placement test.
   1. We determine your Math placement by assigning a math placement code to each undergraduate student to ensure you do not enroll in a math class before you are ready. Many math, science and business courses require a minimum math placement code – and even if you don't have to take these courses now, if you change your major or declare a minor, you may need a placement code in the future. So, having an accurate placement code on file is very important. Regardless of your current major, having a math placement code on record will help us guide you as you design your BGSU academic journey.
   2. *International students who do not have an automated math placement because we have an ACT/SAT math score and your high school GPA on file, and need to take a course that requires a math placement or prerequisite course to be eligible to enroll, will need to take the math placement test. You may be required to take a math placement test if we do not have both.
   3. For more information on how we determine your math placement code, please visit the Math Placement at BGSU website.

Note: you must create your BGSU email account before you are able to complete these placement tests. Please do so as soon as possible if you have not already! 

Graduate students must consult the following resources:

• Graduate college minimum requirements are available on the graduate tab of the placement testing website.      
• Additional classes and/or screening might be required for international graduate students with instructional duties.  Please visit this website for more details.  

For more information about the ESOL Program, please visit our website at: www.bgsu.edu/esol. If you have any questions, please contact our office at esolprog@bgsu.edu.

To view the many comfortable housing options available to you, please visit this website.

BGSU Residence Life

As a Graduate Student at BGSU, on campus housing is not provided.  It is the responsibility of the student to obtain off campus housing. While our office, BGSU’s International Programs and Partnerships, does not find or place international students in off campus housing, we are still committed to providing relevant information to assist new international students in their search of off-campus living options.

BG Rental Guide

Here are some suggestions:

• Begin your search for living accommodations in the Bowling Green area as soon as you have been admitted. Waiting until your arrival to Bowling Green to begin searching for accommodations off-campus may result in limited housing options with higher rent than budgeted, or no available housing options in the location you prefer. In these cases, you may find your expected living costs will go up, commuting longer distances to attend classes, or you may have to stay in a hotel for a period of time until housing becomes available.  All of these potential additional costs would be your responsibility to pay.  
• Please be advised, International Programs and Partnerships at BGSU does not endorse one rental company over another, nor can we serve as co-signers for off-campus properties.
• Visit the Off-Campus Student Services website (https://www.bgsu.edu/off-campus-student-services.html). Here you will be able to search for rentals, roommates, and download the most updated list of rental property owners in the Bowling Green area.
• After you arrive in Bowling Green and you are a registered student, consider utilizing the BGSU Student Legal Services (https://www.bgsu.edu/student-legal-services.html) if you have any questions about lease terms or other legal questions. 
• When you have been admitted to BGSU and have received your International Student visa, please utilize these valuable resources to search your off-campus housing options prior to your arrival to BGSU. Feel free to contact us at iss@bgsu.edu if you have any questions or concerns.