If a student will be deferring their admission to a future semester, and they have already received a Notre Dame sponsored I-20/DS-2019 and SEVIS record, they will need to request an updated form.
Process
Once the deferral has been approved by the academic unit, they can direct the student to complete the Updated I-20 Request or Updated DS-2019 Request form in ISSAlink. Students will need the following for the updated I-20 or DS-2019 request:
- Updated admission letter OR a letter confirming deferral approval
- If the updated letter from your program admissions office is not available, we will accept a letter from the department confirming the deferral
- A template for the "letter of confirmation of deferral" can be found here, and it should be printed on department letterhead.
- We recommend that students carry the updated admission letter to their visa appointment; however, if this is not possible, then the original admission letter and the letter confirming the deferral should be presented together (we inform students about this as well).
- Updated financials (dated within six months of the anticipated visa appointment, unless full funding is documented in admission letter)
Once the student has uploaded all documents to the appropriate form, ISSA will process the request and issue a new I-20 or DS-2019, reflecting the new initial semester.
Special note: it's important to understand that it is the student's responsibility to initiate this request with ISSA.