New Students

Applying to George Mason University

Welcome to George Mason University! The Office of International Programs and Services (OIPS) is a post-admissions office. In order to learn more about how to apply to a program of study, visit the GMU Admissions website: http://admissions.gmu.edu/

Once you are admitted to a full-time program of study, your department will forward your materials to OIPS in order to obtain the appropriate immigration document for you (an I-20 for those applying for an F1 visa or DS-2019 for those applying for a J1 visa). Please contact OIPS with any questions.

Applying for an F-1 Student I-20

Applying for a J-1 Student DS-2019

Applying to GMU on another visa type

Applying for an F-1 Student I-20

All students applying for an F1 visa need an I-20 at the visa interview. Please include all of your I-20 application materials with your program application, as instructed. If you send your documents separately, it may delay the processing of your I-20.

Checklist for I-20 Application

Apply for a *full-time* program of study

Be sure to include all materials required for the I-20 application. Your I-20 cannot be processed until you have submitted all of the below materials:

• A complete Certificate of Financial Responsibility (CFR)
  • Make sure that you and all of your financial sponsors have signed page two, clearly stating the amount they will contribute to the total cost of your education at Mason.
• Supporting financial documents
  • Each sponsor must show proof of the total amount they are providing.
  • To speed up processing please be sure that your documents:
    • Are no more than 1 year old
    • Are in English
    • Include the currency type clearly indicated by the banking institution
    • Show the bank account holder’s name as matching your or your sponsor’s name
    • Are printed on official bank letterhead, have an official banking institution stamp or banking institution representative’s signature.
    • Copies of financial documents are accepted.
• Copy of
  • Identity page of your passport
  • If you are a student transferring from another US university only:
  • A completed transfer form which can be found at this link: http://oips.gmu.edu/forms/f1/F-1StudentTransferForm.pdf
  • Copies of pages 1 and 3 of previous I-20s
  • Copies of previous visas (from your passport)
  • Copy of your I-94 card
• All of the above documents can be faxed to (703) 993-2966 or scanned and e-mailed to oipsadmi@gmu.edu

Once you have submitted every required item listed above, your request for an I-20 can be reviewed. OIPS will be notified when you have been admitted to your program of study. We will then review your financial documents and process your I-20 form. You will be notified of any insufficiency.

IMPORTANT: Complete applications including all of the above materials receive priority processing. Your I-20 will be delayed if any items are missing.