Plan Your Arrival Date
How Soon May You Arrive in the U.S.?
International students with an F-1 or J-1 visa are able to enter the United States 30 days prior to the start of the semester. If you aren’t sure when this is, please review your I-20 or DS-2019 for the Start Date. If you plan your trip more than 30 days before your start date, you will be denied entry into the United States.
Things to Consider
As an International Student, you may have many responsibilities to complete before classes begin. Please consider the following:
- International Orientation: All New and Transfer International students must attend International Orientation. Please review the dates and times on our Orientation Page.
- Housing: All students must secure their own housing. If you have not secured housing, please Review Housing Options. Once you have secured housing, determine when you are able to move in.
- Academic Orientation and Advising: Many of the graduate programs at Georgia State require students to attend Academic Orientation or Advising. Please confirm with your department.
- Adjusting to Atlanta and Georgia State: Atlanta is a large U.S. city and Georgia State is in the center. You may want to locate shopping, transportation and your classroom buildings before classes begin.
We encourage all students to arrive at least 2 weeks before the beginning of the semester to provide enough time to adjust and settle before the semester.
Contact Us
ISSS is committed to maintaining support and services to you during this time and will continue to operate under normal operating procedures for the remainder of the semester, just from a remote and online platform. This means you can call us directly or email us to request information and/or telephone/web appointments for advisement during our regular advisement hours.
For the Atlanta campuses, please call 404-413-2070 or email isss@gsu.edu.
For Perimeter campuses, please call 678-891-3235 or email issspc@gsu.edu.
Location:
Sparks Hall - Room 252
ISSS, Georgia State University
33 Gilmer St. SE
Atlanta, GA 30303
Telephone: 404-413-2070
Fax: 404-413-2072
Email: isss@gsu.edu
Mailing Address (please use our physical address above for express mail):
International Student and Scholar Services
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 3987
Atlanta, GA 30302-3987
USA
Georgia State-sponsored H-1B, TN, O-1, J-1 Scholar and Permanent Residency Petitions
Any advising for employment-based visas, green cards or hosting a J-1 Scholar (Research Scholar, Professor, Short-Term Scholar, Student Intern, Specialist) which are sponsored by Georgia State needs to be set up by appointment after the hiring department has requested the immigration process they wish to sponsor.
Office Hours:
8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday
Advising Hours (F-1 & J-1 Students) are as follow:
Monday: 1-4 p.m.
Tuesday: 9 a.m.-noon
Wednesday: 1-4 p.m.
Thursday: 1-4 p.m.
Friday: 1-4 p.m.
ISSS is committed to serving you in the safest and most efficient way possible.
Beginning Spring 2022: F-1 and J-1 students wishing to speak with an ISSS advisor at the Atlanta Campus over the phone or in-person must access the QLESS system in order to get into our virtual queue. Once in the virtual queue you will receive instructions regarding a call back from one of our available advisors or instructions on when to come into the ISSS lobby to meet an advisor.
If you wish to speak with an ISSS advisor, please click the QLESS link below during advising hours and get into the virtual queue.
Clarkston Campus
Location & Mailing Address:
Building CN 2230 (Student Center)
ISSS, Perimeter College, Clarkston Campus
555 N. Indian Creek Dr.
Clarkson, GA 30021
Telephone: 678-891-3235
Fax: 678-891-3068
Email: issspc@gsu.edu
Dunwoody Campus
Location & Mailing Address:
Building NB
Room 1200
ISSS, Perimeter College, Dunwoody Campus
2101 Womack Rd.
Dunwoody, GA 30338
Telephone: 770-274-5570
Fax: 770-274-5253
Email: issspc@gsu.edu
Office Hours:
8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday
Walk-in Advising Hours (F-1 & J-1 Students):
9-11:30 a.m., Monday and Wednesday
1:30-4 p.m., Monday through Friday
Occasionally it may be necessary to make emergency cancellations of advising times last minute. We apologize for any inconvenience.