Making Travel Plans
When to Arrive
When making your travel plans, you should arrange to arrive in the U.S. within 30 days before the start date of your program on the DS-2019 (see item #3). You may not enter the U.S. earlier than 30 days before the program start date. If you are delayed and cannot arrive by your program start date, contact International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) and your host department as soon as you know of the delay. You may need a new DS-2019 with a revised start date to enter the U.S.
Travel Tickets
Because visa processing times can be lengthy and variable, we recommend that you do not purchase travel tickets until after you have received your visa. However, if you need to purchase tickets before obtaining your visa, purchase a ticket that will allow changes to your departure date if necessary.