Student Corner
Before You Fly: The Complete Student Departure Checklist
8 min read · Updated July 12, 2026
Work backwards from your program start date and the chaos becomes a checklist. Here are the 24 checkpoints, in the order that works — every deadline-bearing item links to its official source below.
3–4 months before (8 items)
1. Receive and verify your I-20 — check your name matches your passport exactly, and the program dates and funding figures are correct.
2. Pay the SEVIS I-901 fee on the official FMJfee.com site and print the receipt.
3. Complete the DS-160 online and save the confirmation page with barcode.
4. Create your profile on the official US visa portal for India and pay the MRV visa fee.
5. Book both appointments: biometrics at the Visa Application Center, then the consular interview.
6. Order official transcripts and degree certificates — sealed copies plus scans.
7. Collect financial evidence: bank statements, education-loan sanction letter, sponsor affidavits.
8. Check your passport has 6+ months validity beyond arrival; renew now if not.
1–2 months before (8 items)
9. Attend the visa interview carrying passport, DS-160 confirmation, appointment letter, I-20, SEVIS receipt and financial documents.
10. Once approved, book flights — F-1 students may enter the US no earlier than 30 days before the I-20 program start date.
11. Arrange first housing (university housing, temporary accommodation, or verified off-campus lease — never wire deposits for unseen apartments).
12. Complete university pre-arrival requirements: immunization forms, tuberculosis screening if required, English placement tests.
13. Get vaccination records translated to English and mapped against the CDC schedule; complete missing doses in India where cheaper.
14. Arrange initial money: how you'll pay the first tuition installment, plus access to funds until a US account opens.
15. Buy health coverage for any gap before university insurance starts.
16. Plan your phone: eSIM or roaming for arrival day; keep the Indian SIM alive for bank OTPs.
Final two weeks (8 items)
17. Assemble the hand-luggage document folder: passport with visa, I-20, SEVIS receipt, admission letter, financial documents, transcripts, photos.
18. Carry prescriptions in original packaging with a doctor's letter; check your medicines are legal in the US.
19. Know the customs rules: currency over $10,000 (per family) must be declared; most fresh foods, seeds, meat and dairy are restricted — declare all food.
20. Save key contacts offline: DSO's email/phone, university international office, your first accommodation address in English.
21. Share your itinerary and first-week address with family; set up an international calling plan for them.
22. Scan every document to cloud storage a second time; email yourself the folder link.
23. Check baggage rules for your airline and weigh bags — overweight fees exceed the cost of buying most items in America.
24. Sleep before the flight, and set your first-week plan: our First Week in America checklist takes over from landing.