Please review our ISSS Processing Schedule for standard processing times.

Processing timelines begin only when all required documents needed to issue a Form I-20 or Form DS-2019 have been received by Brown. Once all required forms have been submitted, processing times can vary as indicated on our Processing Schedule.

In general, Brown expects to start processing I-20s / DS-2019s for Fall 2026 arrival starting in mid-February 2026. Processing times may be longer during March - May, which is the peak season. 

If you are a Canadian citizen, you must still obtain a Form I-20 to come to the U.S. as an F-1 student (or a Form DS-2019 to come as a J-1 student).

Canadian citizens do not need entry visas to enter the U.S. However, you must still be able to present a Form I-20 or Form DS-2019 to enter the U.S. as an F-1 or J-1 student. If you do not have a Form I-20 or DS-2019 by the time you enter, you may be admitted into the U.S. as a tourist. Because tourists are not allowed to study or work, you would be required to leave the U.S. and re-enter again with your Form I-20 or DS-2019, if this were to happen to you.

No, the I-20 / DS-2019 forms are actually called visa certificates, which is not the same thing as a visa.  However, you need to have a visa certificate:

• when applying for an F-1 or J-1 student visa at a U.S. consulate, and/or
• when entering the U.S. as an F-1 or J-1 student, to show to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and
• at all times while inside the U.S. in F-1 or J-1 student status

The information on your I-20 or DS-2019 should always be up-to-date and accurate while in the U.S. as an F-1 or J-1 student.

The major and field of study sections on Form I-20 and Form DS-2019 does not reflect the actual degree program name used at Brown. Instead, it reports majors and fields of study by using the U.S. government's Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) code system. Brown and other schools are required to map their programs to the CIP system, or to put it differently, assign a CIP code to each program. However, the CIP system uses names that can be either similar or different to the actual program name. It is the CIP code and name that is reflected on the I-20 or DS-2019.

Example: a program in “Economics” could have more than one CIP code, depending on the mapping used by the school:

• 45.0601 - Economics, General
• 45.0602 - Applied Economics
• 45.0603 - Economics and Quantitative Economics

Undergraduate students will have the CIP code for “General Studies” listed on the I-20 until they have declared a concentration (typically in their second year). If you have further questions, contact isss@brown.edu. 

If you are already in the U.S. on another type of visa, (e.g., H-4, J-2, etc.) you are not required to change to F-1 or J-1 status just to attend Brown. However, keep in mind the following points:

• It is your responsibility to determine if your current visa allows you to study (while most do, some visas such as the B-1 / B-2 and F-2 visas do not allow study at all, or only allow part-time study)
• Most visas for dependent children usually expire whenever the child turns 21 or gets married, whichever is first
• Some visas permit employment, but others do not.

If you are interested in or need to change to F-1 or J-1 student status, contact isss@brown.edu directly with details about your particular situation or arrange an appointment with your school's ISSS advisor.

If you already have F-1 status at another school, but intend to start a new program at Brown, you will need to arrange to transfer your active F-1 SEVIS record and I-20 to Brown.

• Talk to an international student advisor (DSO) at your current school and inform them of your plans. Your DSO may ask you to provide a copy of your admission acceptance to Brown.
• In general, there cannot be more than five months between the end of your current program at the start of your new program at Brown. Talk to your current DSO for more information.
• You may need to provide your current DSO with Brown's F-1 SEVIS School Code, which is BOS214F20089000. Your DSO will arrange to have your SEVIS record transferred to Brown at an appropriate “transfer out” date, which is when your SEVIS record will become available to Brown.
• Please note that Brown cannot produce an I-20 for you until the transfer-out date has been reached. If you are on post-completion OPT, your OPT is completed automatically once your record is transferred to Brown.

If you are currently attending another school as a J-1 student, please write to ISSS directly at isss@brown.edu with details about your current program and anticipated program at Brown, as J-1 transfer procedures follow different requirements.

F-1 and J-1 students may be accompanied by F-2 or J-2 dependents, respectively. Dependents are defined as the legal spouse of the student, and/or the unmarried minor children of the student, under the age of 21. Read our F-1 versus J-1 comparison for more information about dependents.

You must request a separate Form I-20 / Form DS-2019 for each dependent accompanying you (do not however include any family member if they have U.S. citizenship or permanent residence), and they must use their separate forms to apply for visas and/or entering the U.S. in dependent F-2 or J-2 status. 

To qualify for separate dependent I-20 or DS-2019 forms, you must show additional funding to document your ability to cover the expected living expenses of your family members. For 2025-2026, the required funding amounts were as follows (2026-2027 numbers will be made available in early February 2026).

• Dependent Spouse: $11,040 USD per year ($920/month)
• Dependent Child: $7,740 USD per year for each child ($645/month)

Students should contact their admissions office and ISSS if they will not be able to arrive on time. Different programs have different deadlines for arrival. In certain cases, it may be necessary for you to consider deferring to a future date, if your school makes that option available.

See our Travel Ban Information page for more details.