Spring 2021 OIE Supporting Letter for Visa Appointments and Entry into the U.S.

New or continuing international students who have upcoming visa appointments may wish to carry the attached letter created by OIE to their visa interview and while traveling to the U.S. to present to U.S. State Department or Customs and Border Patrol Officials, should they have questions about Carnegie Mellons’ spring 2021 semester plans.

At this time, we do not anticipate any new guidance for the spring 2021 semester, based on conversations with our Student Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) contact, along with recent remarks in the journal Inside Higher Education by a SEVP spokesperson indicating that the March 2020 guidance would continue.  This means that the guidance issued last spring and which continued through summer and into fall will remain in place. While Carnegie Mellon’s courses will be offered in a variety of modes, new students who arrived in the fall as well as those who arrive for spring are required to take some in person classes.

Please be advised: this letter does not guarantee approval of a visa or entry to the U.S. However, we hope that it is helpful as an additional measure of documentation and support.

Students with questions about the visa process can consult our “Coming to Carnegie Mellon” page. A list of the required documents needed to reenter the U.S. can be found on our Travel Tips & Advice page.