Go to your Activity Page, accept your Admissions offer and set-up your JMU Dukes e-mail account

You need to provide your Designated School Official: Thomas Lavenir or isss@jmu.edu with the following information:

• Home address and phone number
• Scan of your passport (biographical page) 
• If you plan to bring your dependents [use this handout to truly understand what bringing your dependents with you means from an immigration perspective as well as other important considerations]- the scan of your dependents' passports
• If you are transferring from another US college/university- a copy of your current I-20 and F-1 visa
• Proof of Financial Ability (see step #3)

To create your Form I-20, you need to provide proof of your financial ability to pay for the first 9 months of your program at JMU. The amount is dependent on the specific academic program you have been admitted to and a few other factors.

• A GA offer letter- If you need a Graduate Assistantship (GA) to help fund your studies (see step #3a)[Use this sample GA offer letter]
• A copy of their own bank statement
• A letter [Use this sample handout to help your sponsor write an effective sponsorship letter] and bank statement from their sponsor. Potential sponsors could be:
  • relatives/family members,
  • companies/organizations you have worked for in the past, 
  • Faith organizations or others that you are a member of

• Go to PageUp to search and apply for GA positions.
• There are no restrictions as to which and how many GA positions you can apply for.
• A resume, a cover letter, and references will be needed to be considered for the position you are applying for. Think of a cover letter as a way to translate your experiences listed in your resume in ways that your reader will be able to (a) relate to you and (b) understand how these experiences will apply to the GA responsibilities.
• Only individuals who are selected for the next phase of the GA search will be contacted.
• Sign up for Job Alerts to receive e-mail notifications every time a new GA is posted!
• This whole process of searching, applying, and obtaining an offer can take many months.

Once your Designated School Official receives all of the requirement information, your I-20 Form will be sent to your JMU Dukes’ email address. It can only be sent to this e-mail address therefore you need to make sure you can access you JMU e-mail account. This is also the way that JMU professors and staff will communicate with you.

How to access your JMU Dukes email account:

Activate your e-ID and access MyMadison using your e-ID and your password. This looks like:

• Step 1: Did you confirm your attendance to the Graduate School by logging into your Activity Page? 
• Step 2: If you did, you would therefore be considered as having matriculated.
• Step 3: After having done so (wait 24 to 48 hours),
  • you should receive an email from JMU IT.
  • If you have not received one yet, check your spam/junk e-mail folder
  • If you still cannot find it, you may need to request a reactivation code from the IT Computing Helpdesk,
    • To do so click on this link.
    • Click on get a new activation link.
    • In the empty fields (as shown below) enter
      • your last name,
      • the JMU (4-digit) PIN, which is the same pin you used for your application (in CollegeNet).
      • Home e-mail

 

How to use your JMU e-mail account

• How to access your JMU Dukes e-mail account, and how to set-it up... 
• More information related to DUO – JMU’s two-factor authentication system)

For additional Assistance

You may also reach out to our JMU IT Helpdesk, helpdesk@jmu.edu, for further assistance. Make sure to provide your JMU eID (or username)!

Once you have your Form I-20, double-check to make sure that the information is accurate. As you do so, keep these few points in mind:

• All of the documents that you have provided to your Designated School Official are the same ones that you will need to bring to your visa appointment at the US embassy when you apply for your F-1 visa. 
• The name of your academic program found on your Form I-20 may appear differently than how it is found on JMU's academic program web pages.  Don't worry! That's perfectly normal. USCIS (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services) has a list of codes for all of the existing academic programs that US universities offer. To create your Form I-20, the corresponding code to you JMU's academic program was used and that is the name you see instead 

Now that you have your Form I-20 (print it out and sign it), you now need to use it to schedule your F-1 visa interview at the US Embassy  

Take me to: Phase 2