Immigration Advising
ISSS staff members are available to assist with your questions/concerns through email, phone, and virtual drop-in advising. If your issue cannot be resolved via the other methods, a staff member will schedule a follow-up appointment to meet with you.
Please be aware that during busy periods, ISSS receives a high volume of calls, emails, and virtual drop-in visitors. We may not be able to assist everyone during scheduled office hours, but we will try to assist as quickly as we can.
The busiest months of the year for International Student & Scholar Services (ISSS) are at the beginning and end of each semester.
Virtual Drop-In Advising
Join our virtual drop-in sessions for quick questions—no appointment needed. At least two staff members are available to assist on a first-come, first-served basis.
Schedule
- Monday & Thursday: 2:00–4:00 PM
- Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday: 9:00–11:00 AM
Go to Virtual Drop-In Advising
If your inquiry requires more time, an ISSS staff member will schedule a follow-up appointment based on your availability.
Processing Time Policy
Starting from January 5, 2026, requests submitted to ISSS will be reviewed within 10 business days; shortened from 15 business days. We believe that this change will broadly benefit our student, scholar, and departmental stakeholders.
What is Changing for You?
Student- or scholar-initiated requests will receive a response within 10 business days of being submitted.
- If a request is incomplete, a follow-up email will be sent regarding what additional information or edits are required.
- If a request cannot be completed due to being submitted before we are able to process it, a follow-up email will be sent regarding what information is required to complete the request.
At this time, ISSS does not have a process allowing for stakeholders to request their case be processed faster than 10 business days.
What Counts as a Business Day?
ISSS officially defines a business day under the following terms: Any day in which the ISSS office is open for the full work day and our staff are present in the office and expected to be working for the full duration of that day.
The following are not counted as business days:
- Weekends, observed holidays, and other scheduled closures of the university
- If the ISSS Office is closed for professional development or unscheduled emergencies (including weather closures)
- If the office is closed early due to administrative early release.
If you have questions regarding this change in office policy, questions relating to a specific request you have submitted, or requests for general immigration advising, please contact us.
Document Mailing and Pick-Up
ISSS uses electronic signatures on most I-20 and DS-2019 requests for students, scholars, and student interns. This means for most requests, you will only receive digital copies of your I-20s or DS-2019s unless a physical copy was specifically requested. SSN Endorsement requests will still receive a physical letter and I-20/DS-2019. Students will be able to download the digital document in the ISSS Portal. J-1 scholars and student interns will receive their digital DS-2019 via email.
Front Counter Pick-Up
You can pick up your immigration documents at the ISSS office whenever the office is open. You will need to bring a photo ID (passport, aggie card, driver’s license, etc.). ISSS will not give you your documents if you forget to bring a photo ID
Important: Per Homeland Security regulations, ISSS can only give I-20s and DS-2019s to the person on the document. Third party pick-up by friends or family is NOT allowed.
Regular or Express Mailing
ISSS will mail documents using the mailing option you selected with your request.
Regular mail
Regular mail will not cost extra, but the mail also cannot be tracked once it leaves the ISSS office. It may take at least 2 weeks for you to receive your documents via this mailing option. ISSS will mail the documents to the address you provided in your mailing questionnaire.
Express mail
Express mail orders can be purchased through eShipGlobal (Do NOT order through the FedEx, UPS, or DHL websites directly). You can choose different shipping speeds and shipping companies through eShipGlobal – these options will also have different prices that you must pay.
Visit https://study.eshipglobal.com/ (do not visit the FedEx, UPS, or DHL websites directly) to create a user name and password and to set up an account. To request shipment, you will need your Texas A&M UIN, mailing address, e-mail address, phone number, and credit card information. If you have questions about how to use this service, review the Help section of the eShipGlobal website or e-mail support@eshipglobal.com.