Immigration Status Verification — USC OIS

Step 1: Review New Student Information

OIS provides helpful video guides tailored to students’ visa categories and individual circumstances. Watch the video that applies to your visa type:

• F-1 Degree Students: Watch the Information Session for New and Continuing F-1 Degree Students
• J-1 Degree and Non-Degree Students: Watch the J-1 Degree and Non-Degree Student Orientation Video

Step 2: Complete the Immigration Status Verification Form and Upload Immigration Documents

Students can access and complete the Immigration Status Verification Form on Trojan International, USC’s immigration services portal.

Before completing this form, gather the following documents:

• Signed USC Form I-20 pages 1 and 2 (see example) or USC Form DS-2019 page 1 (see example)
• Passport photo ID page (see example)
• I-94. To download this form, visit the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website and click “Get Most Recent I-94/I-95.” If the website does not load your I-94, include a photo of your I-94 entry stamp in your passport (see example).
• Travel history. To access travel history, visit the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website and click “View Travel History.” If the website does not load your travel history, complete this form.
• F-1 student visa (see example) or J-1 student visa (see example). Canadian citizens are exempt from this requirement.

Please note that F-1 students with “Transfer Pending” Form I-20s (same SEVIS number as previous school) must check in 15 days before the program start date on page 1. F-1/J-1 students with Initial I-20s/DS-2019s (first time in the United States with their new I-20/DS-2019) must not enter the United States more than 30 days before the program start date on page 1. 

We’re here to help you navigate ISV requirements. If you have questions, please contact OIS.

Step 1: Review New Scholar Information

Please watch the J-1 scholar orientation video before continuing.

Step 2: Complete the Immigration Status Verification Form and Upload Immigration Documents

Research scholars, short-term scholars and professors can access and complete the Immigration Status Verification Form on Trojan International, USC’s immigration services portal. 

To complete this form, gather the following documents:

• Signed USC Form DS-2019 page 1 (see example)
• Passport photo ID page (see example)
• I-94. To download this form, visit the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website and click “Get Most Recent I-94.” If the website does not load your I-94, include a photo of your I-94 entry stamp in your passport (see example).
• Travel history. To access travel history, visit the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website and click “View Travel History.” If the website does not load your travel history, complete this form.
• J-1 scholar visa (see example). Canadian citizens are exempt from this requirement.

To complete ISV, scholars must provide a local U.S. address and phone number, which is used to validate the SEVIS record. Exchange visitors staying in temporary accommodations may use their temporary address for ISV submission. They may then update their U.S. address and phone number by logging in to Trojan International and submitting a SEVIS U.S. Address and Contact Update request. Please note that immigration regulations require scholars to update their address in SEVIS within 10 days of moving.

We’re here to help you navigate ISV requirements. If you have questions as a J-1 scholar, please contact OIS.

F-2 and J-2 dependents do not need to complete ISV.

Students who fall under one of the following categories must complete ISV:

1. Permanent residents.
2. Students pending permanent residency.
3. Students on other nonimmigrant visa types such as E1, E4, H-1B, H4, L1, L2, O1 or R1, who are currently in the United States.
4. Online program admits (students who will complete their program outside the United States).

Continuing students in a non–F-1 or J-1 visa category, such as E-2, L-2 and TN, or students with a pending Form I-485 application with USCIS, will receive an OIS55 hold on their USC student account one month before the expiration of their current status, as indicated on their I-94, EAD, or I-797 Approval Notice, or one year after the issuance date of their Form I-485 application.

Students should not experience any registration restrictions in future semesters before the OIS55 hold takes effect. The hold will be lifted once the student resubmits the ISV form.

Step 1: Activate Your USC NetID Account Services

All USC faculty, staff and students receive a USC NetID account, which grants them access to their USC email account, USC network and wireless services, and a wide variety of online services. Visit USC Information Technology Services for information on how to activate your USC NetID account services.

Step 2: Gather Your Immigration Documents

Required immigration documents differ depending on a student’s visa type. 

If you are a permanent resident or pending permanent residency, gather the following documents:

• Passport photo page with expiration date and passport number (see example)
• Permanent resident or pending permanent resident documents (see example)

If you are on another nonimmigrant visa type, such as H-4, E-2 or L-2, gather the following documents:

• Passport photo page with expiration date and passport number (see example)
• I-94. To download this form, visit the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website and click “Get Most Recent I-94.” If the website does not load your I-94, include a photo of your I-94 entry stamp in your passport (see example).
• Travel history. To access travel history, visit the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website and click “View Travel History.” If the website does not load your travel history, complete this form.
• Visa (see example)

If you are an online program admit completing your program from outside the United States with no U.S. in-person requirements, you do not need to upload any immigration documents to Trojan International. Simply complete the form and wait for your academic advisor to confirm eligibility. 

Step 3: Complete the Form and Upload Your Immigration Documents

Log in to Trojan International using your USC NetID, upload your immigration documents and complete the form. 

DACA and AB540 students are not required to complete ISV. Instead, send your USC ID number to oisisv@usc.edu to request removal of your OIS50/OIS60 hold.

Students who have completed a degree program at USC and will begin a new program at USC in the subsequent semester will have an OIS50 hold placed on their record by the admissions office. These students are not required to complete ISV with OIS.

To remove the OIS50 hold as an F-1 student, log in to Trojan International and upload a copy of the signed I-20.

To remove the OIS50 hold as a J-1 student, log in to Trojan International and upload a copy of the signed DS-2019.

F-1 international students who have graduated from USC, are currently on OPT or STEM OPT Extension, are maintaining their F-1 status and are starting a new degree program at USC for the upcoming semester must complete the following steps. 

Step 1: Submit the New F-1 Student Request

Submitting the New F-1 Student Request in Trojan International is required to receive the Change of Education Level (COEL) I-20 from the USC Graduate Admission office. The COEL I-20 will retain the same SEVIS ID Number as the OPT I-20.

Step 2: Submit the F-1 Student Validation of New Program Request

After receiving the COEL I-20, students must submit the F-1 Student Validation of New Program Request in Trojan International to remove the OIS50 hold, which restricts course registration. OIS will remove the hold within three business days after receiving this form.

Students may continue to work on OPT or STEM OPT Extension until the Employment Authorization Document (EAD) expiration date or until the Friday before the start of the academic semester — whichever date comes first. 

Students currently on OPT or STEM OPT Extension are not eligible to participate in CPT during the first semester of their new program at USC unless off-campus work during the first semester is a degree requirement.