Live IOChat!
Online Advising for International Students at Northwestern University

An advisor will be available on IOChat each week on the following days:

Tuesdays: 9-10am CST
Thursdays: 12-1pm CST
Fridays: 2-3pm CST

IOChat is for current international students at Northwestern University in either F-1 or J-1 status. We are also available to speak to the dependents of international students in either F-2 or J-2 status who may have questions regarding their own status.

IOChat is an online advising tool used by the International Office to provide our students with an additional way to ask questions of their International Student Advisor. Due to the nature of online advising, IOChat should be used for general questions. If your situation is quite complex and would best be discussed in-person, we suggest you come to the IO for Walk-In Advising.

Potential topics of discussion on IOChat might include:

• Questions about Travel abroad or in the U.S. (e.g. Travel Signatures)
• Preparing to Apply for a Visa abroad.
• How to apply for an I-20/DS-2019 Extension.
• Can F-1/J-1 students Work On-Campus?
• How to Request a Document from the IO.
• Going home for Required Military Service?
• Questions about Transferring to another institution in the U.S.
• General questions about OPT and CPT and Academic Training.*

*NOTE: Questions regarding employment (e.g. OPT, CPT, or Academic Training) should be discussed in-person during Walk-In Advising. Also, remember to attend either an OPT or CPT workshop if interested in applying.

The IO Advisor will not be available for chat until the appointed time listed above on this page.

Privacy

MeeboMe is a free, real-time communication service provided by the International Office at Northwestern University. MeeboMe supports instant messaging using AOL Instant Messenger, MSN Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, gchat, and Jabber software. We use a MeeboMe widget integrated into our website to provide web-based instant messaging.

MeeboMe service works best if your computer is equipped with the following minimum features:

• Recommended browser: Firefox 2.0 or Internet Explorer 7.
• Flash Player 9 or higher.
• Javascript enabled in your browser. (Go into browser internet options to enable Javascript.)
• 56K modem or faster internet connection (slower connections may cause delay in question/answer transfer and webpage refreshing).

Privacy

Due to the fact that we cannot verify your identity using MeeboMe, this service is meant to answer general questions only. We will not answer specific questions regarding the following:

• An individual student's SEVIS record or personal data;
• The status of an I-20/DS-2019 Request; or
• Any other questions that may involve personal identifying information.

Note: The online advisor may determine a question inappropriate and instruct the student to contact the International Office directly. Chat sessions are not recorded.

For answers to specific questions, contact the International Office via email.