Friday, August 4 - ISSS will send an email with the access URL once the ISSS Portal is live. Our goal is to send this email on Friday morning, but we cannot provide a specific time estimate. The ISSS Portal will not be available until this email is sent out.

No, it will not be possible for ISSS to guarantee expedited processing. However, ISSS staff will be available to begin reviewing and processing requests when the ISSS Portal opens on Friday, August 4th. Our goal is to process all requests as accurately and efficiently as possible. 

No. While it is our sincere goal to improve our processing times in the long term, official ISSS processing times will not change in the short term. For most international student requests, anticipated processing time will still be 15 business days. For new student check-ins, anticipated processing time will still be 5 business days. 

The ISSS Portal is not just for F-1 and J-1 students. It is applicable to all Texas A&M students who are not a U.S. Citizen or U.S. Lawful Permanent Resident. All international students who meet the following criteria will be able to access the ISSS Portal:

1. Receive official admission to Texas A&M;
2. Accept offer of admission to Texas A&M;
3. Claim NetID and password; and
4. Wait approximately 24 hours after all items above are complete.

The ISSS Portal will be accessed through a website. ISSS will share the URL for this website on Friday, August 4th. International students will log in to the ISSS Portal using their NetID and Password. 

No. The most frequently used requests will be available in the ISSS Portal on August 4th. Requests that are submitted infrequently or that only apply to a small group of international students may not be available yet.

No. Some requests names will stay the same, but most will change. Several requests that were separated in Terra Dotta have been consolidated in the ISSS Portal.

All requests will include a description to clarify the purpose and applicable student type for the request. The purpose for these changes is to simplify the request process for all stakeholders. 

If you are unsure which request to use, please email isss@tamu.edu for assistance.

Once your request has been successfully submitted to your academic department for review and processing, the last e-form on the request will show a status of “Routed to Third Party.” Once your academic department submits the recommendation, the request will automatically route to ISSS. Once your request has been successfully submitted to ISSS for review and processing, the last e-form on the request will update to show a status of “Pending Office Approval.”

No. Once your request has been successfully submitted to your academic department for review and processing, the last e-form on the request will show a status of “Routed to Third Party.” Once your academic department submits the recommendation, the request will automatically route to ISSS. Once your request has been successfully submitted to ISSS for review and processing, the last e-form on the request will update to show a status of “Pending Office Approval.”

The ISSS Portal will include a request called “General ISSS Request” that should only be used if a specific request isn’t available yet in the ISSS Portal. If you submit a General ISSS Request when a specific request does exist, ISSS will instruct you to submit the specific request instead. 

The General ISSS Request should be used rather than emailing any requests to isss@tamu.edu. 

No. When the ISSS Portal launches on August 4th, international students will be able to see their current information that is feeding in from the student information system (Howdy Portal/COMPASS) as well as the information that has been downloaded directly from SEVIS (F-1 and J-1 students only). International students will also be able to see any new requests submitted in the ISSS Portal. 

Historical information about requests submitted in Terra Dotta as well as documents from Terra Dotta will not be available in the ISSS Portal when it launches on August 4th.

No. The information that is displayed throughout the ISSS Portal, including the list of available requests and the question asked within requests, is dynamic. The information that appears will differ for each international student based on many factors, including the information that is feeding into the ISSS Portal from the student information system (Howdy Portal/COMPASS) as well as the information that a student enters or selects in the ISSS Portal.

Yes. ISSS is actively working with both Terra Dotta and Sunapsis (the software vendor for the ISSS Portal) to make this happen. We do not have a specific date finalized yet for this data to migrate, but ISSS will communicate to all stakeholders once we know when this is expected to take place.

Yes, eventually. At this time, those international students who had previously logged in to Terra Dotta should still be able to log in using their NetID and Password to view their previous requests and documents. Make sure you are using the live Terra Dotta site and not the test site. The correct URL is https://tamu-iss.terradotta.com/. 

It is expected that international students and ISSS staff will stop being able to log in to Terra Dotta sometime in the next few months. ISSS will communicate to all stakeholders once we know when Terra Dotta access is expected to end. 

Once your request has been successfully submitted to ISSS for review and processing, the last e-form on the request will show a status of “Pending Office Approval.”

Most likely not. Occasionally, the ISSS Portal will display a blank version of the e-form after you press the submit button. This makes it appear that the information you entered was not saved, but typically the information does save. To confirm, navigate back to the request to see the status of each e-form. If the e-form shows as “Submitted” or “Routed to Third Party” or “Pending Office Approval,” then you know it was successfully submitted.

Yes, but to make edits you must Cancel it. If you cancel an e-form within a request that has multiple e-forms, you should be able to edit the e-form and resubmit it. If you cancel an e-form after an entire request (i.e. all e-forms within the request) were submitted, then you will be recalling the entire request from the processing queue. You will need to make edits and resubmit, but you will not be placed back into the same place in the processing queue. 

If an international student’s request requires a recommendation from a faculty or staff member in their academic department, the student will enter the name and email address of the academic department representative who will receive their request within the final e-form on the request. They can enter a generic email address for the advising unit if that is the department’s preference. 

The student will be required to complete all other elements of the request before initiating the academic department recommendation request. 

Once the student submits the request in the ISSS Portal, an email with a link to do the recommendation will be sent to the academic department representative email address provided by the student. The student will no longer be able to edit the request. 

Once the academic department representative completes the request, only then will the request transition to ISSS for review and processing.

No. Academic department representatives will be sent an email through the ISSS Portal that can be forwarded as needed and accessed by any faculty or staff member in the academic department. The email will include a direct link to the student’s request and will not require the faculty or staff member to login with their own credentials to access the recommendation.

Once a student’s request has been successfully submitted to their academic department for review and processing, the last e-form on the request will show a status of “Routed to Third Party.” Once the academic department submits the recommendation, the request will automatically route to ISSS and the last e-form on the request will update to show a status of “Pending Office Approval.”

No. If students need to change the academic department representative they entered within the requested, they have two options. They can ask the individual whose information they entered to forward the recommendation email to the correct faculty or staff member. Alternatively, they can ask ISSS to edit the academic department representative in the ISSS Portal so the correct individual receives the recommendation email.

No. Once a student’s request has been successfully submitted to their academic department for review and processing, the last e-form on the request will show a status of “Routed to Third Party.” Once the academic department submits the recommendation, the request will automatically route to ISSS and the last e-form on the request will update to show a status of “Pending Office Approval.”

No. Requests for J-1 scholars and student interns are not submitted through Terra Dotta, so they can continue to be submitted throughout this transition.

Yes. ISSS will not be able to process any immigration requests for J-1 scholars or student interns between Friday, July 28 and Tuesday, August 1 (3 business days).

J-1 scholars and student interns will not need to access the ISSS Portal.

No. The ISSS Portal will not impact how requests for J-1 scholars or student interns are submitted to ISSS not will it impact how these requests are processed (other than the 3 business days when we cannot process requests, mentioned above).

The best way to communicate with ISSS when Virtual Drop-In is not available is to send an email.

• For international student matters, please email isss@tamu.edu with the international student’s full name and UIN.
• For J-1 scholar or student intern matters, please email j1scholars@tamu.edu with the exchange visitor's full name and UIN (if available).

No. While it is our sincere goal to improve our processing times in the long term, official ISSS processing times will not change in the short term. For most international student requests, anticipated processing time will still be 15 business days. For new student check-ins, anticipated processing time will still be 5 business days.

No, it will not be possible for ISSS to guarantee expedited processing. However, ISSS staff will be available to begin reviewing and processing requests when the ISSS Portal opens on Friday, August 4th. Our goal is to process all requests as accurately and efficiently as possible. 

Sunday, July 23

No. Requests can no longer be submitted in Terra Dotta after Sunday, July 23. Requests can be submitted via the ISSS Portal starting Friday, August 4.  ISSS will not be able to process any immigration requests for international students between Friday, July 28 and Tuesday, August 1 (3 business days).

All processing requests will be prioritized from Monday, July 23 through Thursday, July 27. It is our goal to process all complete requests by Thursday, July 27.

If ISSS determines that a submitted request is incomplete, ISSS will email the student with a list of action items that need to be completed by no later than Wednesday, July 26.

If the items cannot be completed by Wednesday, July 26, then ISSS will not be able to process the request prior to the launch of the ISSS Portal. The international student will be required to re-submit the request through the ISSS Portal on or after Friday, August 4. If the request includes an academic department recommendation, this required element must be completed again through the ISSS Portal before the request can be fully submitted to ISSS for processing.

Yes. From Friday, July 28 through Tuesday, August 1 (3 business days), ISSS will not be able to access SEVIS or process any immigration requests for international students.

If the timeline of your request requires that it be processed after the Thursday, July 27th deadline, ISSS will not be able to process your Terra Dotta request. As such, you will be required to resubmit your request through the ISSS Portal on or after Friday, August 4th. ISSS will email you separately if this applies to you. 

Examples of requests that likely will need to be resubmitted in the ISSS Portal include the following: 

• H-1B Updates where the H-1B status will be effective on or after Friday, July 28, 2023 
• Transfer-In I-20 and DS-2019 Requests with a SEVIS Transfer Release Date on or after Friday, July 28, 2023 
• STEM OPT validation reporting that cannot be reported in SEVIS until on or after Friday, July 28, 2023 
• Certain academic program information updates that will not be effective until Fall 2023

Virtual Drop-In will be available during the week of July 17 - 21.

Virtual Drop-In will NOT be available from Monday, July 24 – Friday, August 4 due to this software transition.

Virtual Drop-In will resume the week of August 7 - 11.

If you experience a truly emergent immigration situation that you believe ISSS must address during this software transition, then your best option is to send ISSS an email. We will have additional staff members monitoring our email inboxes since Virtual Drop-In will not be available.

• For international student emergencies, please email isss@tamu.edu with the international student’s full name and UIN. 
• For J-1 scholar or student intern emergencies, please email j1scholars@tamu.edu with the exchange visitor’s full name and UIN (if available).

After emailing ISSS, you may also give our office a call to inform us about the emergency. 
During business hours (Monday – Friday, 8am – 12pm and 1pm – 5pm), please call 979-845-1824 to speak to an ISSS staff member. Outside of normal business hours, call 979-845-1824 and press “2” to be transferred to an after-hours call service. If the call service determines that your situation is an emergency, your call will be transferred to a member of the ISSS Leadership Team.

Examples of emergency requests may include:

1. Urgent travel signature requests for those who do not have a valid travel signature and are traveling back to the United States during the software transition period
2. Urgent new arrival check-ins
3. Urgent program extension requests

Examples of non-emergency requests include:

1. New OPT requests for students graduating in Summer 2023
2. Routine OPT employment reporting updates