Contact Us

Contact Us

Office Hours Advising Hours and Live Chat

ISSS advisors are available to meet with you to discuss questions you might have.

You must have an appointment in order to speak with an ISSS advisor during Advising Hours, but you are welcome to connect with us on Live Chat whenever we are online.

Please adhere to the following guidelines:

    • If you have already submitted a Help Ticket, please do not make a separate appointment to follow up. You’ll receive a response in five to seven business days
    • Remember to include your Campus ID and any relevant information when making your appointment

Fall 2023 Advising and Live Chat Schedule

If you need assistance, please submit a Help Ticket and we will respond as soon as possible.

There will be no Live Chat on Wednesday or Friday, December 6 or 8.
Live Chat will resume on Monday, December 11.

Our advising staff is working to process all submitted applications. Please do not send follow-up messages regarding the status of your submission. Thanks for helping us to best serve you.

Current processing time for all submitted requests: 5-7 business days.

chatLive Chat (all times Eastern US Time)

Monday: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Wednesday: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Friday: 2:00 PM -4:00 PM

Live Chat

To ask quick questions related to your F-1 status and immigration, such as: F-1 credit requirements, CPT requirements, work authorization, travel

To ask quick questions about accessing services via the ISSS Portal, such as requesting an initial Form I-20, I-20 reprints, travel signatures, submitting a CPT application, etc.

Live Chat is NOT for following up on a submitted application or Help Ticket – remember ISSS takes 5-7 business days to process applications or respond to inquiries

Questions or situations that are more complex require an advising appointment. You can make one here: ISSS Advising Hours

Office HoursISSS Advising Appointments

Monday: 10:00 AM- 12:00 PM
Tuesday: 10:00 AM- 12:00 PM
Wednesday: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM

Book an Advising Appointment

If you have a question or issue that is too complicated for Live Chat.

If you have documents that need to be physically reviewed — other than I-20 travel signatures (see “Document Drop Off” below).

Advising appointments are NOT for following up on a submitted application or Help Ticket – remember ISSS takes 5-7 business days to process applications or respond to inquiries.

Booking an advising appointment will not speed up our reply to you; in fact it will delay our ability to respond to your Help Ticket or process your application.

help_ticket Submitting a Help Ticket

If you have a question or issue that you cannot resolve using any of the methods above, please submit a Help Ticket. We aim to respond to inquiries within 5-7 business days. ISSS advisors respond to tickets during business hours: Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.

Please do not submit multiple tickets or contact individual CGE staff members. This will only delay our ability to respond promptly to your inquiry.

  • Recently admitted F-1/J-1 students
  • Current F-1/J-1 students
  • H-1B Employees
  • UMBC faculty and staff

Submit a Help Ticket
(UMBC user)

  • Graduates of UMBC who are working on OPT or STEM OPT
  • Users without myUMBC accounts or Single Sign-On (SSO) credentials

Submit a Help Ticket
(non-UMBC user)

 

Document Document Drop Off & Pickup

If you need to drop off an I-20 for a travel signature or pick up a document from ISSS, you can visit the front desk of the Center for Global Engagement (CGE), located on the second floor of the University Center (above Starbucks and Chick-fil-A).

CGE is open from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday.

Please adhere to the following guidelines:

  • Only come to pick up a document when you have been notified it is available
  • Document requests cannot be made by visiting the front desk – please use the appropriate method (ISSS Portal or Help Ticket) to make your request
  • You must bring your UMBC Campus ID card
  • You cannot meet with an ISSS advisor when you pick up a document

 

ISSS is your best source of information regarding immigration, visas, and work permission. For other inquiries, please contact the specific office or department that manages those areas:

Student Business Services (SBS)

Billing, payments, wire transfers, tuition and fees, payment plan

Retriever Integrated Health (RIH)

Health insurance, immunizations, health form, counseling

Off-Campus Student Services (OCSS)

Finding an off-campus apartment, roommates, commuter resources

Career Center

On-campus employment, internships, PRAC enrollment for CPT, & job search support

Office of the Registrar

Requesting a transcript, adding/dropping courses, enrollment verification, graduation for undergraduate students

Academic & Pre-Professional Advising

Academic advising for undergraduate (BA, BS) students, resources for academic success

Academic Advising for Graduate Students

Each academic department provides academic advising for their master’s and Ph.D. students

Graduation (Graduate Students)

The progressions team in the Graduate School assists master’s and Ph.D. students with graduation

Before you schedule an appointment or contact us, the answers to most F-1 student questions can be found here:

New StudentNew Students!
International Student Arrival Guide
Extend I-20New Students!
Apply for your Form I-20
new communicationsRecent Student
Communications

Change of StatusChange of Immigration Status

SSNSocial Security Numbers (SSN)

ID CardApplying for a Maryland
Driver’s License or State ID

TravelTravel Outside the US

extend-programExtend Your F-1 Program (I-20)

CPTCPT: Off-Campus
Work Authorization

OPTOPT: Post-Graduation
Work Authorization

STEM OPTSTEM OPT Extension

transfer-outTransfer Out
(F-1 SEVIS Transfer)

stem_opt_validationSTEM OPT Validation Report

Something Else?Something else?
See how to contact ISSS