Prospective Students

Thank you for considering TWU for your academic goals!

The International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) office provides support to F-1 and J-1 visa holding students and scholars on all three TWU campuses. On this page you will find information on F-1 eligible programs at TWU, STEM degree options, and how to have an I-20 issued as an Initial or Transfer student once admitted to TWU. All other international students with different visa types and non-U.S. citizen classifications are not required to report on their visa status to the ISSS office, but should refer to the holders of their visa records for federal reporting and verification purposes. To get started with your admissions application, please visit International Admissions.

Please note that TWU does not issue Change of Status I-20s for B-1/B-2 visa holders. If you hold a B visa and you wish to attend TWU, you must be accepted to the university and apply for an F-1 visa from your home country. For more information on the F-1 visa and its requirements, please refer to Study in the States.

Not all academic programs at TWU are F-1 eligible under the federal guidelines. Below is a list of degrees that are not available for F-1 international student admission. When choosing your academic focus, please select from the TWU degrees not included on this list.

2025 Degree Programs Restricted

STEM degrees

The following lists of degrees are those that have been designated as STEM at TWU, and therefore qualify for a 2-year STEM OPT Extension for F-1 visa holding students.

Application

The F-1 Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) involves many moving parts. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Study in the States website offers interactive tools to navigate the international student process, including how to apply for an F-1 student visa & pay the required SEVIS fee.

The I-901 SEVIS Fee payment is required before you can obtain an F-1 Student Visa.

• I-901 SEVIS Fee — pay the I-901 fee and check I-901 status
• How to Navigate the U.S. Immigration System — I-901 SEVIS Fee information, instructions, and tutorials

International students have 2 deadlines:

Admissions application deadline

Immigration deadline

Accepted students must submit all required immigration documents by the following dates:

Applications for admission to TWU are processed as they are received, without regard to semester deadlines. If the immigration deadline has passed, students who are out-of-the-country may be accepted to TWU but will need to defer admission to the next available semester.

TWU ISSS will make every effort to process your Form I-20 in time for you to obtain an F-1 visa. However, there is no guarantee you will obtain a visa in time to begin your studies in your preferred semester. You may have to defer to the next available semester.

I-20 Form Issuance Flowchart [PDF]

Acceptance for initial and transfer students

Once you have been accepted to TWU, the International Student & Scholar Services office will receive a copy of your acceptance letter and email you with information on how your Initial or Transfer Form I-20 will be issued.

Next steps

Create your profile in the International Portal using the instructions provided in the email from intloffice@twu.edu regarding your admission.

The email will provide instructions on how to set up your TWU Pioneer Portal username and password that you will also use in the International Portal. Gather required documents and submit them in the Initial or Transfer I-20 request in the International Portal

Initial and Transfer students:

• A copy of your passport
• Required financial documents for the amount of funding you must show according to the table in the I-20 request

Transfer students, in addition to providing the information listed above, will also need to provide:

• A copy of your visa
• Your most current I-94 Record
• Current Form I-20

Once you have submitted your documents in the International Portal, check your TWU email consistently for an electronic copy of your Initial or Transfer I-20.

Initial students print and sign your I-20 on page 1. You will use this document as your original when requesting your F-1 visa. See guidance on how to prepare for your F-1 visa interview.

Transfer students sign and save your I-20 either electronically or in a printed format.

All students: It is important to abide by the deadlines published above. If you have missed the deadline for admissions or immigration document submission you will need to contact the TWU DSO at intloffice@twu.edu for instructions on how to defer your admission to a subsequent semester.

Page last updated 2:33 PM, October 29, 2025