Pre-Arrival Information: International Office

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Pre-Arrival Information

Congratulations on your acceptance to Northwestern University! The International Office staff looks forward to meeting you and assisting you with your immigration and acculturation needs during your time at NU.

IOChat!
Port of Entry and Inspection
Getting here from the Airport
Housing
Life at NU

IOCHAT!

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. Click here to find out the schedule!

PORT OF ENTRY & INSPECTION

At some point during the flight to the U.S. airline personnel will have passed out a white I-94 card to be fill out and submitted to customs in the airport. Upon inspection, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer will ask for several documents, these are:

Northwestern issued I-20 or DS-2019;
A valid passport (valid six-months into the future);
A valid F-1 or J-1 visa stamp (placed inside the passport at the consulate or embassy abroad);
I-94 card.

These documents should be kept with the traveler at all times. Be prepared to present these documents to CBP upon arrival.

It is very important that this entry is recorded correctly and you may need to confirm with the CBP officer entrance in F-1 or J-1 student status. A few points to keep in mind:

Entry stamps are required on the I-20 or DS-2019, I-94 card, and inside the passport.
The CBP officer will tear off and keep the arrival portion of the I-94 card and will return the "departure" portion.
All three entry stamps should indicate a written "F-1" or "J-1" depicting the recorded entry status.
All three entry stamps should also note "D/S," which stands for "Duration of Status."

Duration of Status (D/S) indicates you have been admitted to the U.S. in F-1 or J-1 status for the duration of your academic program. This period of time is indicated on the I-20 and DS-2019. If you are not provided a "D/S" on entry, ask the CBP officer for clarification.

GETTING HERE FROM THE AIRPORT

Chicago O'Hare International Airportis approximately an hour from Northwestern's Evanston campus. There are several optionsfor getting from the airport to campus, depending on time and budget:

Go Airport Express Shuttle

Airport express provides sharedrides from the airport to campus, and as a Northwestern student, you willreceive a discount. Reserve your spot online AT LEAST 24 hours before your flight. You must be able to show yourI-20/DS-2019 from Northwestern to receive the student discount. If you areattending our Undergraduate Orientation Program, they should drop you off atFoster Walker. Cost is about $28.

Public transportation—Pace and CTA

You can take Pace, the suburbanpublic transit system into Evanston, and switchto the CTA, Chicago'spublic transit system. Pace is $1.75, and the CTA is $2.25. To do this, take the airport shuttle (free) tolong-term parking/Pace. From there, take Pace bus route 250 from O'Hare to the Davis Street CTA station in downtown Evanston, and then pickup the CTA bus route 201 to campus. Get off at Foster.

Taxi/Cab

There are Taxi lines outside ofthe baggage claim area. You should join the line of others waiting for a taxi,and take the cab at the front of the line. Make sure that you only take cabsfrom the official taxi line, and do not accept rides from anyone solicitinginside the airport. This will cost roughly $40-45 with tip.

HOUSING

International students have many options regarding housing. Students can decide to live on-campus, either in Evanston or Chicago, or off-campus in the university's surrounding neighborhoods.

See general Housing Resources.

The following list is comprised of on-campus and off-campus resources as well as information regarding temporary housing.

The University has four housing offices to help students find housing on- and off-campus:

Many international students choose to locate housing in the Evanston or Chicago area. The following is a list of resources to help in that search:

Temporary Housing

There are many options for short-term housing. These are listed in order from least to most expensive:

LIFE AT NU

International students make up approximately ten percent of the overall student population at Northwestern. The international population at NU is diverse with students and scholars coming from more than 100 countries from around the world.

Interested in seeing what incoming international undergraduates had to say in 2007? Check out their interviews.

Study Northwestern - Lonely Planet's Guide to Evanston & Chicago

For a map of the Evanston campus, click here.
For a map of the Chicago campus, click here.

For a sneak peak into life at Northwestern, take a few moments to enjoy any of the following:

For the parents of our international students, please familiarize yourself with some of the following resources and information. We encourage parents to contact the IO should they have questions or concerns.

Life at NU - Additional Resources: