Gaining Admission as an International Exchange Student
Step One: Seek nomination from your home university
Step Two: Complete the short UNC Asheville CFCN application– Choose “Exchange” as the type of application and submit required documents to the UNC Asheville via email.
Provide your immigration officer, Laura Dobson, in the Office of Study Abroad with:
- a copy of your transcripts of previous coursework taken (at university or high school),
- a copy of your standardized English test scores, if you are not coming from a country whose national language/official language/language of university instruction is English,
- a copy of the face page of your passport and
- financial certification and bank statements. An Affidavit of Financial Support for International Student Applicants and a bank statement or letter from your sponsor’s bank, demonstrates the financial support on official letterhead that you need to cover, in liquid assets, the cost of insurance, a standard double room and a full meal plan. Find UNC Asheville housing and meal plan rates here.
Step Three: Receive your Admissions Letter, student ID and helpful initial information along with your DS2019 from UNC Asheville and seek to obtain your J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa
Applications for J-1 Visas (DS-160s) require:
- The payment of a visa fee.
- A SEVIS fee receipt from a second required fee. Please go to FMJfee.com for instructions on paying the SEVIS fee and generating this receipt.
- A valid passport (valid for at least six months beyond your intended stay)
- Form DS-2019
- Visa Fee
- Evidence of Financial Support
- Passport-size photograph
- Additional forms and/or documents as required by the consulate at which you apply
Step Four: Take care of next steps at UNC Asheville (housing, course registration and immunizations form, arrival information sheet and working with UNC Asheville to purchase your required GeoBlue insurance, etc.)
Continue to receive communications via your UNC Asheville email address all processes to take all these steps and get ready for your arrival.
Step Five: Arrive, Attend Mandatory Orientation
You can enter the United States on using your student visa up to 30 days before the start date on your DS-2019 form but make sure to be in touch with the UNC Asheville Office of Study Abroad to make arrangements for arrival, insurance coverage, mandatory immigration orientation and registration in the SEVIS system.
To complete the government reporting requirement, you must attend the Orientation. Bring your documents with you (Passport, DS-2019, visa and I-94) to the Orientation. These documents will be copied and uploaded into your electronic file at and after the Orientation.
Immigration-related documents:
Passport and Student Visa, establishes your country of citizenship and the visa category under which you obtained legal entry into the United States.
DS-2019, also called “Certificate of Eligibility,” is required to obtain a J-1 visa at the U.S. consulate and is used to enter the U.S. It indicates your length of stay in the U.S. on your J-1 program, authorizes you to participate in the University of North Carolina Asheville J-1 Exchange Visitor Program and is used for travel outside, and reentry to, the U.S.
Form I-94, The I-94 is the Arrival/Departure Record, in either paper or electronic format, issued by a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer to foreign visitors entering the United States. Most Arrival/Departure records are created electronically upon arrival. Students are required to print their I-94 form and carry a copy on their person on a daily basis. You can access and print your I-94 at this website.
Health Insurance
The U.S. government requires all J-1 students to have sufficient health insurance coverage that meets certain minimum requirements throughout their entire stay in the U.S. The UNC university system requires UNC Asheville students coming on J-1 visas to purchase Geo Blue insurance through the system.
Geo Blue meets the U.S. Department of State’s requirements for insurance for J-1 visa holders:
• Medical Benefits: $100,000
• Repatriation of Remains: $25,000
• Medical Evacuation: $50,000
• Deductible per Accident or Illness: $500
Housing
On-Campus housing is provided for you. Be sure you have applied online per the instructions you received with your acceptance packet. If you opt for off-campus living, you will need to secure your own housing arrangements.