International Students

Are you interested in attending one of our schools to further your education in the United States? If so, we are here to help you. The International Students Services Office is dedicated to assisting you during your time at the schools in the Diocese of Davenport and has, therefore, developed applications, guides, tips and frequently asked questions to ease your transition or decision making.

Our office is the liaison between all international students, scholars, and the United States Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS), the Department of State, and other organizations involved in international cultural exchange.

We can help you to continuing or just starting your education in the United States. Our Administrators are ready to meet with you when you decide on a school in our Diocese. They will discuss with you the academic requirements and give you an acceptance to their school. Once the proper paperwork is filled out and returned to the Diocese of Davenport office it will be reviewed and then an I-20 will be issued. This process can take up to a week so please plan early and make contact as soon as you decide on a school. Keep in mind some of your consulate appointments can not be made till you get your I-20 number, so please plan ahead.

We have welcomed students in the past couple years from South Korea, Germany, Switzerland, Mexico, Ireland, Africa, and Japan. We hope that your experience with the Midwest schools are a great experience for you.

If you haven't decided which school you want to attend please click on the schools below to see the elementary, middle and high school or university that are in our Diocese. These links give you brief information about the school. If you would like additional information please contact the school directly. The flier is just a brief overview of each of our schools.

As soon as possible. It is best to start early and have everything in order long before you are supposed to leave for the United States.

YES! Once you are accepted we contact the Diocese of Davenport with an acceptance letter. The I-20, Declaration of Finances, and financial statements are the needed forms to obtain your visa. IMPORTANT: Wait for this documentation to arrive before coming to the United States! You will need to take these documents to the local American Embassy where a decision on granting you a visa will be made. The Embassy will be looking for a number of things including a formal acceptance letter, your financial ability to attend, and a willingness to return to your country upon completing your studies (since you are applying for a non-immigrant visa).

Entering the country on a tourist visa will stop you from becoming a full-time student. Please follow all procedures requested by the Diocese of Davenport and the Visa Officer of the American Embassy in your country.

After you have submitted the appropriate documentation an I-20 Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant (F1) Student Status will be sent to you and you should make your appointment with the U.S. Embassy in your home country. (Please do this as soon as possible since it sometimes takes weeks to secure an appointment at the Embassy.) You will need to take the I-20, your acceptance letter, Financial statement, and supporting financial documents with your to this appointment. You will be interviewed and a determination to issue you a student visa will be granted after considering:

2. Do you have sufficient reasons to return to your home country? (You are applying for non-immigrant visa and most are denied if the Consulate Officer suspects you will attempt to immigrate to the U.S.)

If you are granted an F1 student visa you should receive a stamp or sticker for your passport saying so. You may make your travel arrangements to arrive by the date posted on the I-20 under item 5. Please note that an F-1 student cannot work off campus in the U.S. without authorization by the school and must take a full course load of study.

The Immigration and Naturalization regulations allow for the students to arrive no sooner than 90 days prior to the date posted on the I-20 under section 5. When you arrive on campus please bring all your immigration documents to the school office. we will need to make copies of these.

At the port of entry you will need your passport, visa, I-20 and evidence of financial support. The immigration official will give you an I-94 white card that shows your date/plate of entry and alien status as an F-1 student. You will be given an eleven digit admissions number. The official will take the school copy of your I-20 and return the endorsed student copy to you. Make sure they return both the white card and I-20 student copy to you.

We recommend you have health insurance throughout your stay in the United States.

We have a two-way exchange program with Okinawa Japan International Advisor. We are looking for host families that would like to host a Japanese student for 9 months school is in session.

ALL paperwork is required to the International Student Services Office before and I-20 will be issued. Please allow 2-3 days for the review process. If required paperwork is missing NO I-20 will be issued till the required paperwork is provided to our office. Upon review of the required documents and I-20 will be issued. If you would like to pick up the I-20, an appointment will be required. If we have to send the I-20 internationally, you will be invoiced for the postage. NO WALK-IN I-20'S WILL BE ISSUED! As of January 1, 2008 - processing fee will be $150 per student.

Bank statement (this needs to be the student parents account) has to be in US dollars

*If you are going to help support this student financially in the USA please provide a copy of your bank statement and a letter of support.

2 letters from current English teachers (we are a English Proficiency school system)

A check or money order for $450 made payable to the Diocese of Davenport. ($300 will be sent to the school to hold your spot and then it will be deducted from your tuition upon registration. $150 stays with the Diocese of Davenport for processing) *As of January 1, 2008 processing fee is $150 per student.

**If you address changes anytime while here on an I-20 with the Diocese of Davenport, you need to report this within in 10 days to Virginia Trujillo. If this does not happen, your I-20 can be terminated.

If you are currently an I-20 student at an approved F1 school, you can transfer out of your current school and transfer in to our school system. The Diocese of Davenport issues all the I-20's for each of our schools. THE INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL DOES NOT ISSUE I-20'S.

We will need all of the above to open a folder on you. See above "Required Forms" plus you need to have your current school fill out and fax or email to my office the "intent to transfer in form" or the "intent to transfer out form" (depends on the situation). This is a required document before a transfer can be done. We will also need a copy of your school transcripts send to our office with above paperwork.

There is a $100 processing fee if you transfer from our school to another school within 2 years. Please see the 2 year commitment information page. *As of January 1, 2008 processing fee will increase to $100 per student.

Diocese of Davenport: $150 processing fee (U.S.) *new fee as of January 1, 2008.

This should be sent back with the Application for Admissions, Declaration of Finances, Bank Statement, English Proficiency Test, letters from teachers, letter from student, school transcripts and medical information. This needs to be either a Cashiers Check or Money Order in US dollars outside of the U.S., if in the U.S. a personal check is accepted.

This should be sent in with the Application for Admission, Declaration of Finance, Bank Statement, English Proficiency Test, letters from teachers, letter from student, school transcripts and medical information. This needs to be either a Cashiers Check or Money Order in US dollars outside the U.S., if in the U.S. a personal check is accepted.

We recommend that the school is paid one full year of tuition upon registration. Some schools may work with you to make monthly payments.

If a student transfers to another F1 school within 2 years of attending our school, a transfer fee will be charged.

I-539 fee: Please check with our Immigration office on the current fee. 563-324-1911 ext. 262.

Tuition Fees: these fees are different for each of our schools due to different areas and structures. Please be advised 1 full year of tuition is due upon registration. If you are going to be in the band, play sport, etc. there maybe extra fees. Please see the tuition link for each of our schools.

Click on this link to see what the latest alert we are on and any special travel instructions.

NAFSA - has issued travel warnings for different countries. Please click here to get the latest. Travel warnings are issues when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid a certain country. The countries listed are currently on that list. In addition to this list, the State Department issues Consular Information Sheets for every country of the world with information on such matters as the health conditions, crime, unusual currency or entry requirements, any areas of instability, and the location of the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate in the subject country.

The primary responsibilities of DHS (Department of Homeland Security) in the student tracking and monitoring process include:

From a broader perspective, DHS is the collection point for all SEVIS related information. In this role, DHS is responsible for assuring the accuracy of SEVIS data and for providing information to Congress and other government agencies, as required by law.

Other government agencies with specialized involvement in the SEVIS process include:

The Diocese of Davenport does not issue paperwork for B1/B2 visas. If you are interested in this visa please contact the Immigration Office at 563-324-1911.

The Diocese of Davenport does not issue paperwork for J1 visas. If you are interested in this visa please contact an agency in your area.

The Diocese of Davenport is located on more than 5 acres in the heart of Davenport, Iowa, one of the 5 adjacent cities that comprise the Quad Cities (population 400,000) along the Mississippi River.

Davenport, is the second largest city in Iowa, is just 183 miles/294 km from Chicago. The area offers a variety of cultural and entertainment activities, as well as excellent recreation and shopping facilities.

The Quad City International Airport is located in Moline, Illinois, and is about a 20-minute drive from our facility. We are also accessible from Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (a three hour drive). A bus or limousine can be taken from O'Hara to the Quad Cities.

We have schools in several different cities in our Diocese which represents 74 cities in the lower eastern area of Iowa along the Mississippi River. Please see the map of our Diocese which shows you the locations of our schools, countries, and cities which we call the Diocese of Davenport.

To legally enter the United States as a non-immigrant visitor, most foreign nationals must obtain a visa from the Bureau of Consular Affairs at the U.S. Department of State (DOS). DOS issues different types of visa according to the purpose of the person's visit. SEVIS tracks non-immigrants in three classes of admission (visa types):

The Diocese of Davenport only issues I-20's for F1 students currently. We do accept students that have a F2 or J1 visa, even though we do not issue those forms.

A visa allows the foreign national to apply for admission to the United States at a Port of Entry (POE). Customs and Border Protection Officer at the POE will issue Form I-94. The Form I-94 is an extremely important document - it shows that the foreign national entered the United States legally; the class of admission (F, M, J, etc.) and the length of time the foreign national is allowed to remain in the United States.

F-1 non-immigrants are admitted for duration of status (for as long as the non-immigrant students remains enrolled in a SEVIS approved school full-time and otherwise maintains status).

The individual who serves as a link between the student and SEVIS is one of the following:

SEVIS is a web-based system for collecting, managing, and reporting information on foreign students, exchange visitors, and their dependents temporarily in the United States in a non-immigrant status. SEVP manages SEVIS and provides policy support and program administration for F and M non-immigrants. The reporting and tracking of these non-immigrants is:

The Diocese of Davenport follows the rules and regulations of the Department of Home Land Security (DHS). With doing so we are required to follow certain guidelines when accepting students and termination of students.

There are many reasons a student may be terminated. These reasons are not necessarily negative. For example, an F student might need to return home before completing his or her program. The student would no longer need a non-immigrant status so his or her SEVIS record would be terminated, even though the student might continue to study at our school in the future.

Other reasons for termination revolve around a student's failure to meet the requirements of an F-1 non-immigrant status. Some examples of this are:

Listed below is information on VISA's. If this is not enough information or if you don't understand please contact me.

In Iowa we have several months of winter weather that include snow, ice, and wind chill. We would like to give you some information that might help you prepare for our season of Winter. Depending where you are coming from you may have never experienced snow and ice. In some years winters started in Nov - April. So please be prepared.

I am including a link also to the weather channel pages so you can check the weather temperature at your convenience.

The United States has a tier of colors that the country is notified of if there is a threat on our country. You can see at what level we are at by clicking on the link below. Red is the most severe threat alert we can be put on. When you hear the alert and color please be aware there will be more instructions that will follow. This will affect businesses, airports, government agencies, schools, etc.

Contact Information

I-901 Fee Questions and Payment Issues: Visit the I-901 section of the SEVP website, then send an email to fmjfee.SEVIS@dhs.gov or call the I-901 Fee Hotline at (212) 620-3418.

I-515A Issues: Visit the I-515A Tool Kit on the SEVP website for quick tips, or send an email to SEVIS.I-515@dhs.gov to inquire about previous documents.

Student Questions: Contact the P/DSO listed on the I-20.

Exchange Visitor Questions: Contact the RO/ARO listed on the DS-2019.

SEVIS System Technical Help: Call the SEVIS Help Desk at (800) 892-4829 between 8 AM and 8 PM, EST or email SEVIShelpdesk@eds.com.

PDSO/DSO or RO/ARO with Technical Issues requiring immediate attention: Email Toolbox.SEVIS@dhs.gov

School Certification Questions: Email schoolcert.SEVIS@dhs.gov or call (202) 305-2346

General SEVP Questions: Email SEVIS.Source@dhs.gov

Comments, Suggestions, or Questions about the SEVP website: The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) is pleased to announce a new electronic mailbox, SEVP-Web-Suggestions. This mailbox has been set up for your comments, suggestions, or questions regarding the SEVP section of the ICE.gov website. The mailbox is located at SEVP-Web-Suggestions@dhs.gov. We look forward to hearing from you.

As always, if you have questions about the Program or SEVIS, please contact us at SEVIS.source@dhs.gov.

The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) is now located at the Chester Arthur Building (CAB). The SEVP mailing address is:

ICE/SEVP
425 I Street N.W.
Room 6034
Washington, D.C. 20536

The Chester Arthur Building is a government facility that is not open to the general public. If you require assistance, please first contact your school or program official. If SEVP assistance is necessary, contact SEVP at the above numbers and email addresses.

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U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs:Passport Home Visit this site to find out the latest format requirements for your student visa photograph.

U.S. Department of State Visa Services: Visa Denials Find out what a visa denial means and how you can reapply for a student visa.

*International Students*
Welcome to the Diocese of Davenport International Students page. We would like to welcome you to our community and glad you are interested in getting more information about our schools. We have 15 elementary schools and 5 high schools. We also work very close with St. Ambrose University. We are excited that you have chosen one of our schools for your education.		Staff Contact Info.

Chancery Address: 2706 N. Gaines St, Davenport, Iowa 52804-1998 Phone: 563-324-1911 Email: communication@davenportdiocese.org© Diocese of Davenport 2008