Harvard Summer School 2012

International Students


Dates & reminders

  • I-20 requirements deadline: May 7
  • English proficiency deadline if requesting I-20: May 7

Common questions

Visa and I-20 Guidelines

Visas and part-time study

B-2 visas are for people whose main reason for visiting the United States is tourism. However, the US government has advised that a casual, short-term class that is not the primary purpose of the visitor’s presence in the United States may be appropriate for the B-2 visa category. The B-2 tourist and B-1 business visas are not appropriate for students who will enroll in full-time study.

Visa-waiver program. Many countries, including Canada, are part of a visa-waiver program. Citizens of these countries may travel to the United States as tourists without obtaining visa stamps. The rules regarding study are the same as for the B-2 visa; full-time study is not appropriate. If you enter the United States under the visa waiver program, you may be admitted for a 90-day period and cannot change your visa status or extend your stay. Check with your local US consulate or embassy for information. And visit these US Department of State webpages: visa type information, list of embassies, and the visa waiver program.

Please contact visas@dcemail.harvard.edu with any questions about visas for Summer School.

F-1 student visa for full-time study

If your primary reason for coming to the United States is to study and you will be enrolled full time at the Harvard Summer School, then the F-1 student visa is the appropriate visa for you.

You are a full-time student if either of the following applies:

I-20 for the F-1 visa

To apply for an F-1 visa, you will need to request an I-20 certificate from the Summer School. There is a $150 processing fee when your I-20 is issued.

If you are currently studying at another US school or will be attending another school or program on an F-1 visa before the start of Harvard Summer School and do not intend to return to that school in the fall, you should request an I-20 from the Summer School. You also must submit a Transfer in to Harvard Form and copies of pages 1 and 3 of your most recent I-20 along with your other I-20 request documents no later than May 7.

If you plan to be a full-time student at the Summer School and then attend another US school on an F-1 student visa in fall 2012, request an I-20 certificate from the Summer School and enter the United States on an F-1 student visa in June for your studies at Harvard Summer School. You may transfer to the new school within the 60-day grace period following the program completion date specified on your Harvard I-20 certificate.

Canadian citizens should obtain an I-20 certificate, although they are not required to get the visa stamp.

Note that Harvard Extension School does not issue I-20s for the F-1 student visa.

Request an I-20 and meet all requirements by May 7

Request an I-20 certificate early to meet the requirements by the May 7 deadline. Request an I-20 after you:

A nonrefundable $150 Harvard I-20 processing fee will be charged when your I-20 is issued. You will not be issued an I-20 if your request is not complete by May 7.

Requirements for obtaining an I-20 certificate

Meet all of the following requirements by May 7 for an I-20 certificate to be issued to you. If you miss the deadline, no I-20 will be issued.

  1. The following required documents have been received by Harvard Summer School:
    • Form F, fully completed and signed. If you complete an I-20 request online, you must print the page, sign it, and submit it to the Summer School. Completing Form F online is not sufficient to meet this requirement.
    • Copy of the identification page of your passport.
    • Transfer in to Harvard Form (if you are transferring to Harvard Summer School from another US school you are attending on an F-1 visa and to which you will not be returning in fall 2012) and copies of pages 1 and 3 of your most recent I-20.
    • Preliminary data sheet III (and supporting documentation) if spouse and/or children will come with you to the United States and will need their own visa documents.
      Submitting forms: All documents must be scanned and e-mailed to visas@dcemail.harvard.edu, faxed to (617) 998-8467, or mailed to Harvard Summer School, Registrar’s Office, 51 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138.
  2. You have been admitted to a selective admissions program (if you applied for such a program).
  3. You have registered for a full-time program of courses (as described above).
  4. You have met the English proficiency requirement if you are registering for general program courses (not English language) and English is not your primary language.
  5. Your payment of the $50 nonrefundable registration fee and $1,500 deposit toward your total Summer School charges has been received by the Summer School.

Please note: I-20s are not issued to students in study abroad programs or distance education courses that they will not attend on campus.

Visiting Canada during the summer. If you plan to travel to Canada while studying in the United States, you should contact the Canadian consulate in your home country before departing for Summer School to determine if you need a Canadian visa stamp.

When you will receive your I-20 certificate

It takes 3 to 4 weeks for the Summer School to process your I-20 request. The deadline for meeting requirements is May 7. Note that visa processing times vary from country to country. Complete your Summer School I-20 request early enough to ensure you receive your visa by your departure date.

If you are transferring to Harvard Summer School from another US school, note that once you meet all of your I-20 certificate requirements by the May 7 deadline, your Harvard I-20 will be issued after the program completion date indicated on the Transfer in to Harvard Form signed by the DSO of the school from which you are transferring.

Check the status of your I-20 request by logging into online services. Once the I-20 certificate has been mailed, a link to your FedEx tracking number will be provided.

Checking in upon arrival

If you have an I-20 from the Summer School, you must arrive and check in with a Harvard international student advisor during Opening Weekend, June 23 or 24.

Enrollment requirements for students with I-20s

You must remain enrolled full time in the program for which your I-20 was issued (either an IEL full-time intensive program or general courses taken for undergraduate or graduate credit). If you do not comply with this requirement, you are considered out of status and are subject to removal from the United States.

If you have an I-20 from the Summer School, you may add courses online but may not drop or withdraw from courses or change credit status online. You must submit all course drops or withdrawals, even those that are part of course changes, with the course change and withdrawal form to the Registrar’s Office for approval.