Travel and Visa Delays

The US State Department announced on July 13, 2020 that US consulates will begin a phased re-opening starting July 15 depending on local conditions. Visa applicants should consult with the web sites of their local US consulates to determine if, and when, consular and visa services will resume. Several students have reported limited re-openings at US consulates in Schengen area countries as well as other countries worldwide. Please note however that visa service availability and issuance of a visa does not automatically remove COVID-19 travel restrictions, which are separate.

In addition to the current shutdown in US visa operations, theUS and other countries have imposed travel restrictions on exit and entry, and international airlines continue to limit flight availability in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Because these uncertainties and delays in visa operations are likely to last through much of the summer, any student currently outside the US who does not have a valid visa(*) to enter the US for Fall 2020 should consider making back-up plans, such as taking classes remotely from their home country or taking a leave of absence or deferral.

*Note that Canadian students do not require visas to enter the US, but must have a Form I-20 from Tufts to enter as an F-1 student.

In general, no. You must always have an I-20 from the school you are planning to attend - for example, if you are a student planning to come to the US for the Fall 2020 semester at Tufts, you must have an I-20 from Tufts. However, you can use an F-1 visa you already received for an earlier program, as long as the F-1 visa remains valid and unexpired.

If you are coming to the US to study, you must enter the US on a student visa. However, you can also use another type of visa that also allows you to study on a full-time basis (e.g., a H-4 dependent visa, if your spouse or parents are in H-1B status). However, some visa types do not allow degree study and/or full-time study. For example, you cannot study toward a degree if you come to the US as a visitor (B-1/B-2 visa or ESTA travel). F-2 dependents cannot study full-time if working toward a college or university degree.

We recommend that you go ahead and schedule your visa appointment for the next available date, even if it is after the start of your Fall 2020 program. It is possible that once US visa services reopens, earlier visa appointments will become available. Once that happens, you may be able to work with your local US consulate to get your appointment moved to an earlier date and time.

In addition, even if you defer or delay your arrival at Tufts to Spring 2021, you may still be able to use the visa appointment to secure a visa for the later arrival date.

As a rule, if you are planning to come to Tufts for Fall 2020, you should be prepared to arrive no later than the first or second week of classes. Any further delays may make it extremely difficult for you to start the Fall semester successfully and to get settled - especially if you are new to Tufts and to the Medford / Boston area.

New students should talk to their admissions office and to the International Center about potential delays in arrival and whether it would be advisable to defer attendance to a later semester or year, or start taking classes on-line instead.

Continuing students may have more flexibility about their arrival date, especially if they are advanced graduate students who are doing self-guided research rather than taking classes. However, students should talk to their advisors and departments about accommodations and flexibility for later arrivals.

As a rule, no. Once you start taking classes on-line you should expect to stay in your on-line classes. While schools and departments can make exceptions, in most cases you should expect to remain in the same classes.

New students - please remember that if your Fall 2020 program is entirely on-line and does not require you to be on-campus for the Fall 2020 semester, then you cannot enter the US even if you have a visa. You should plan on staying outside the US while your classes are fully 0n-line.

Notify your undergraduate admissions office or graduate department, as well as the International Center, as soon as possible once it becomes clear that you will not be able to arrive on time. The earlier you notify us, the better, as your class registration, tuition, housing, and other matters may be affected.

In general, if you are not able to arrive in the US you should have the options to:

• switch to on-line / remote classes; or
• request a deferral for a semester or year, depending on your school's deferral policies

It is strongly advisable to keep monitoring your visa and travel situation and to make an assessment before the start of the Fall 2020 semester, so that adjustments to your Fall 2020 plan can be made. Waiting until the semester starts may complicate your ability to switch to online classes and may affect your eligibility for any refunds for which you would normally be entitled, including refunds on tuition payments or deposits. Please consult with studentservices@tufts.edu for more information.

See our Deferral, Gap Year, and Leaves of Absence FAQs for more information about these options.