J-1 New Students

Dear Incoming Exchange Student for Spring 2013,

Congratulations on your admission to California State University, Northridge. Our staff wishes to welcome you and to offer you special assistance throughout your stay here. To ensure your success on campus, we will provide you with immigration, personal advisement, and a variety of social, educational, and cross-cultural programs. This letter is intended to provide you with some helpful and important information regarding activating your account, registration, payment deadlines, and housing.

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE administers the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, as amended. The Act promotes mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries by means of educational and cultural exchange. The Exchange Visitor Program provides foreign nationals with opportunities to participate in exchange programs in the United States and then return home to share their experiences.

TWO-YEAR HOME-COUNTRY Physical Presence Requirement [212(e)] – Some Exchange Visitor Program participants and family members who were admitted to the U.S. or who adjusted their visa status to J after admission must return home for a minimum of two years after completing their educational or cultural exchange program before they can change or adjust their status. This requirement applies to those whose:

  1. Exchange program was financed to some extent by the U.S. Government or your home country government;
  2. Skill appears in the Exchange Visitor Skills List as identified by their home country government; or,
  3. Purpose in coming to the United States was to receive graduate medical education or training. For details see [(22 CFR 62.44 (e)] or contact your responsible officer.

Please click here to find more information regarding the Exchange Visitor Program.

Next Steps

  • You must first apply at a U.S. Consulate or Embassy for an entry visa. You will need your Form DS-2019, and your country's original passport. Please follow instructions given on the specific Consulate's website.
  • As soon as you arrive in the United States, you must attend a mandatory J-1 Orientation meeting. This meeting will be held at the International and Exchange Student Center (IESC) on January 18th at 3:30pm At this appointment, you will be meeting an advisor, who will process your DS-2019 and immigration documents, give you important information on how to maintain legal student status in the U.S., help you become acquainted with the structure of your new campus, and make you aware of the campus offices and services you can use and help you with the registration process (Please note that you are expected to be enrolled in full course of study BEFORE attending this meeting).
  • If you are outside the United States or planning to travel and re-enter the U.S, the LAST DATE for you to enter this country is January 17th , 2013. This information is in section 3 of your DS-2019.

Failure to report to the IESC within 30 days of arrival and provide required documents will result in automatic termination of your SEVIS record by immigration.

Below is the list of documents that you must bring before or on the J-1 orientation meeting on January 18th at 3:30pm. Please be prepared to submit photocopies of the following documents and proof of health insurance which MUST meet the minimum requirements below:

HEALTH and ACCIDENT INSURANCE POLICY offering at least U.S. $ 50,000.00 USD in major medical and hospital coverage plus $7,500.00 USD in repatriation and $10,000.00 USD evacuation coverage through the end of the academic year. In addition, your deductible should not exceed $500 USD per accident or illness. Please read page 2 of your DS-2019 form section 1 (f) for more information.

  • A policy can be purchased online at www.csuhealthlink.com and must be paid separately from your tuition. Payments are to be made online only.
  • If the policy is purchased elsewhere, please bring a receipt showing proof of expiration date as well as the policy description, or a letter from the insurance company with your full name verifying that your current insurance meets the above requirements.
  • Policies purchased in countries other than the United States must be officially translated in English and all relevant amounts must be in US dollars.

IMMIGRATION DOCUMENTS (photocopies required)

  • Valid passport pages showing name, photo, number and expiration date
  • Visa

AND

  • For New J-1 Exchange Student arriving from overseas: Front and back of Form I-94 (White Card), DS-2019 with entry stamp.
  • For Transferring J-1 Exchange Student from another U.S. school: Front and back of Form I-94 (White Card) and Form DS-2019 with section eight (8) signed by the last authorized school.

In the near future you will receive the following information:

  • A letter of Admission that includes your student ID number.
  • A letter from the University with your User ID and password and directions to activate your account, your CSUN portal. Please activate your account immediately to be able to access important information and email communications from the University, and register for classes (see below for instructions).
  • Form DS-2019
  • Your Registration Access Mailer which has information about your registration appointment and directions regarding registering online (see below for more information on registering for classes).

If you are missing any of the first three pieces of information, it is either because your application has been processed after the deadline, or there may be an issue with your address. Please contact us if you do not receive any of the above information.

YOUR FIRST STEP after your receive your CSUN username and password: Activate your CSUN account on the web portal. Once you do this, you can access all the information in your records. You will be able to access the schedule of classes, obtain financial information, register for classes, etc. For more information, please visit the following links: http://www.csun.edu/itr/guides/account.html and http://www.csun.edu/anr/soc/guides/index.html.

REGISTERING FOR CLASSES:

  • Registration is done via the Internet. Log into myNorthridge Portal at www.csun.edu with your CSUN User ID and Password.
  • The Spring 2013 Schedule of Classes will be available online at http://www.csun.edu/anr/bulletin/. You are strongly urged to read all instructions carefully prior to registering.
  • The Registration Access Mailer has already been sent to you via mail/email. The packet will indicate a Registration appointment between November 1st and December 10th, 2012. Registering on the date you have been assigned will give you the best selection of classes and class times. However, you may continue to access the system as often as you like from your registration appointment date through January 21st , 2013.
  • Nonrestrictive Registration and Wait Listing begin on December 11th and continues until January 21st , 2013 (No appointment is required. You may wait list for closed classes). To learn more about Wait Listing, please click here.
  • Weekday classes begin on Tuesday January 22nd (Monday January 21 is a holiday ) (add classes using permission numbers). Please note that Saturday classes begin on January 26th, 2012.

Please note: If you see a class listed in the catalog but not in the schedule, it means the course is not offered during the Spring semester. A catalog lists all the courses ever offered through the university, whereas, a schedule lists courses that are actually offered during a specific semester.

If you cannot register for a specific class, it is because departments have their restrictions or prerequisites per course. This may prevent you from registering for that class. Please contact us to request a support letter. You may email this letter to the professor as an attachment or print and present to professors when trying to add a class during the Add/Drop period.

CSUN professors have been receptive to exchange students in the past. There are, however, departments with extreme restrictions. Those departments include Business and CTVA. Also please keep in mind that seats in junior and senior level classes cannot be guaranteed. We do hope you are flexible with your coursework and are prepared to take some other courses if some don't work out. Unfortunately, we do not have control over departmental restrictions or course requirements that may be applicable to certain areas from your home campus' transcript.

HOUSING: If you have applied for on-campus housing, you must use your student ID number from now on to access your housing information. If you have already arranged to stay in on-campus housing, Spring 2013 check-in is on Friday, January 18th, 2013. For all housing inquiries, please contact the Housing Office at (818) 677-2160. Information on Student Housing is also available online at https://housing.csun.edu/.

TRANSPORTATION: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) is the nearest airport to CSUN.

Important: Students are responsible for making their own arrangements for transport.

The following options are available:

  • The best option is the FLYAWAY bus, which can be boarded outside each terminal at LAX – Look for the Flyaway Bus signs. It departs approximately every half-hour (24hrs) and goes non-stop to the Flyway Bus Terminal at Van Nuys, California. PLEASE NOTE: There is a Flyaway Bus to two other destinations, so make sure you get on the VAN NUYS FLYAWAY BUS (NOT Union Station or Westwood). Travel time is 50 minutes and costs $7.00 one way (You can buy a ticket when you arrive at Van Nuys, but please note that payment is only by credit or debit card – NO CASH). Take a taxi from the Van Nuys Terminal to the CSUN campus (see below for the address for student housing). Please visit http://www.lawa.org/welcome_lax.aspx?id=4697 for more information.
  • Taxis are available from LAX to CSUN and cost about $35 to $50.
    Authorized Taxicab Supervision (ATS) (323) 776-5324
    L.A. Taxi/United Checker Cab (213) 627-7000.
    You may also visit http://www.layellowcab.com/ for services and other information.
  • A "shuttle van" is also available outside each terminal at LAX. These vans carry several passengers and make several stops. Board the San Fernando Valley shuttle. The estimated cost is approximately $15-$45 and the estimated travel time is one to one and one half hours. Advance reservations can be made at http://www.supershuttle.com/

The Student Housing Department is located in Building 6 on the corner of Lassen Street and Zelzah Street. Please do not have your cab wait for you while you check in. One student from New York had the driver wait, and he kept his meter running. The resulting cab fare was $75.00!

Please feel free email us at Jstudentadvisor@csun.edu or contact us at (818) 677-3053 if you require further assistance.

Sincerely,

International & Exchange Student Center
Office of Student Development and International Programs
California State University, Northridge