I-20 Information

Steps for Admitted Students

Once you decide to accept an offer from UW Tacoma, please pay the New Student Enrollment and Orientation Fees (for undergraduate students) OR Enrollment Confirmation Deposit (for graduate students).

After this transaction, you will receive an email from uwtiss@uw.edu inviting you to access ISSS Portal. The portal address is: isss.tacoma.uw.edu You can log in using your NetID and password.

You will be asked to upload following documents in order for UW Tacoma to issue your I-20:

1. PDF copy of your Financial Documents (the minimum amount to present for an undergraduate student is $65,814 as of July 2024, amount varies for graduate students depending on programs);
2. PDF copy of your passport data page (the page with your picture on it) and expiration date page (if applicable);
3. PDF copy of your I-94 card or online I-94 (if applicable);
4. PDF copy of your current visa or approval notice of your current visa (if applicable).

We prefer you to have files in PDF format. You can download Adobe Acrobat Reader for free here. Do you not have a PDF reader on your computer nor have a scanner but you have a smartphone? Try downloading CAM SCANNER app. This app will allow you to take a photo of a document and convert it to PDF format!

Once you submit your I-20 request, please allow 5 business days for us to respond to you.

NOTE: All new students have a registration hold until I-20 request is complete. 

Students with an Active SEVIS ID

Some new students are maintaining an active SEVIS record in the U.S. and still enrolled at another institution during the time of acceptance to UW Tacoma OR engaged in post-completion or STEM extension OPT.

As soon as the payment of the New Student Enrollment and Orientation Fee OR Enrollment Confirmation Deposit is completed, start the process of requesting I-20 from UW Tacoma.

Do NOT let your SEVIS record complete! You must request previous school to transfer your SEVIS record to UW Tacoma within 60 days from last date of attendance or post-completion or STEM extension OPT end date. 

In the Online I-20 Request Form, request, "Transfer Pending I-20". You will be asked to enter your current institution information. Get in touch with your current international student advisor gather the necessary information. 

Do NOT have your current advisor transfer your SEVIS record to UW Tacoma until you hear back from us. Your current advisor may ask to fill out the "Transfer Out Form" and submit a copy of the official acceptance language from UW Tacoma. At UW Tacoma, we do not use "Transfer In Form". All transfer information is collected in the Online I-20 Request Form. 

To Students Changing Visas

International Student Programming Fee (ISPF): If you initially started attending UW Tacoma with a visa other than F-1 and now requesting I-20 to obtain F-1 visa/status, please note that you will be subject to quarterly ISPF once you become F-1 student. To learn more, please visit this page. 

International Student Health Insurance: All F-1 students in tuition based programs are automatically billed for ISHIP (International Student Health Insurance Program). If you already have health insurance in the U.S. there is a way to waive it. To learn more, please visit this website. 

UWT Majors and CIP Codes

On the Program of Study section of I-20, Major 1 and Major 2 (if applicable) will be listed. Major names listed these fields are based on the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Code developed by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).  Each UWT's major has been assigned a CIP code and sometimes actual major name and CIP code name does not match. CIP code assigned to each major cannot be changed. Please review the list of UWT majors and CIP code assigned on this spreadsheet (NetID is required to access).