Visa Clearance

Visa Clearance, required of all new international students to the UH Manoa System, introduces you to the general rules of your visa status and verifies your immigration documents upon arrival in the U.S. All new incoming students must complete Visa Clearance. Most of Visa Clearance can be completed online (before you even arrive in Hawai'i).

If you do not complete Visa Clearance, your record will have a registration hold from ISS that takes effect on the first day of the semester. This hold prevents you from adding and dropping classes.

2. You must know your visa type and pay your SEVIS Fee.

Determine your visa status for Visa Clearance.

If you received a form I-20 "Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status," then you are an F-1 student.

If you received a Form DS-2019 "Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor Status (J-Nonimmigrant)," then you are a J-1 student.

Please make sure you pay your SEVIS Fee to ensure your record is registered in a timely manner.

3. Watch the appropriate Visa Clearance Video.

4. Submit the appropriate Visa Clearance Form.

Complete the Visa Clearance Form for your F-1 or J-1 status and submit the completed form. You will only need to complete the form for your visa type (F-1 or J-1)

The form will include the following items:

• The F-1/J-1 Student Visa Clearance Quiz - 10 questions which all must be answered correctly to move on
• Confirmation of your student information
• Your U.S. Address or expected type of residence address (ex: Dorm, Off-campus student housing, apartment) if U.S. address is not yet determined.
• Confirmation that you understand your responsibilities as a UH Manoa F-1 Student
• I-94 Record Retrieval Consent.

Form cannot be submitted until it is completed.

Make sure to have your hawaii.edu account as the primary google account when attempting the following. If any issues occur, log out of all Google and hawaii.edu accounts, then click the link to form and log in from there.

F-1 Visa Clearance Form - Fall 2022

J-1 Visa Clearance Form - Fall 2022  

5. Sign up for in-person document check.

Students with a Visa Clearance Hold on their UH account are required to complete this portion in order to have the "Visa Clearance Hold" removed.

You will be submitting the following documents to the ISS Office for verification and documentation for the ISS Office Records:

For F-1 Students:

1. 1. Passport (for the biographical page)
   2. F-1 Visa (except Canadian citizens)
   3. I-94 with most recent U.S. entry information included
      (Individuals arriving at U.S. air or sea ports will be given electronic I-94s, which may be accessed at http://www.cbp.gov/I94. To obtain the I-94, the person must enter the following information into the web form: name, birth date, passport number, and passport-issuing country.)
   4. I-20 *must be signed by student on page 1*
   5. For GAs Only: Proof of GA employment.

For J-1 Students:

1. 1. Passport (for the biographical page)
   2. J-1 Visa (except Canadian citizens)
   3. I-94 with most recent U.S. entry information included
      (Individuals arriving at U.S. air or sea ports will be given electronic I-94s, which may be accessed at http://www.cbp.gov/I94. To obtain the I-94, the person must enter the following information into the web form: name, birth date, passport number, and passport-issuing country.)
   4. DS-2019 *must be signed by student on page 1*
   5. A completed J-1 Health Insurance Provider Certification Form if you have not submitted it yet. Other documents will not be accepted.

Drop-up: Students are expected to show up at the opening time specified in the session to drop off their documents.

Between Drop-up and Pick-up: Depending on the day of attendance and number expected for the session, there may be a space between drop-off and pick up, if this is during the ISS Welcome Events for the semester we encourage you to attend sessions available!

Pick-up: Documents will be returned in the afternoon of the same day at ISS Office (QLCSS Room 206). The estimated time will be specified at time of drop off.

Sign up on our Visa Clearance Session Sign-Up page.

You should receive a confirmation page and confirmation email with confirmation ID after submitting for a session, if you do not please try again.

6. Enter U.S. address, phone number, and email.

To complete Visa Clearance, you need provide:

1. U.S. address where you will be staying. This may be a hotel or other temporary lodging.
2. U.S. phone number. This can be your hotel/lodging number, dormitory number, personal number, or any other number at which you may be contacted. It must be a U.S. number.

**If you do not yet know this information, you can enter it after your arrival, but before reporting to ISS.

We need this information to "activate" your immigration record. You may update the information when it changes.

Go to MyUH to enter this information. Follow the guide below.

After logging in, go to the "Personal Information" tab and select "View/Update My Address(es) and Phone(s)."

Click on "Current" to change your current address.

Enter your address and phone number in the boxes in the correct format.

When you are finished, click "Submit" at the bottom of the page.