For International Students

A full-time student visa must be obtained by all international citizens before enrolling in the MSBA program (unless already a U.S. Permanent Resident), which requires all of the following:

• Accept offer via link in admission letter and pay $2,000.00 non-refundable tuition deposit
• Submit Statement of Intent to Register (SIR), available only via the Graduate Admission Checklist link in the admission letter
• Complete additional steps to apply for a student visa, including submission of a Confidential Financial Statement form, via the link supplied by UCLA only after the SIR form has been processed

MSBA students arriving on an F1/J-1 Visa are eligible to enter the country 30 days before the official start of the program. This year that official start date is September 17th, 2024 for our orientation. We recommend that students arrive as early as possible to allow time to find housing and settle into your new routine as a UCLA Anderson MSBA student and resident of Los Angeles.

• After the incoming student submits all required documents and payments to register, MBA Admissions sends the completed dossier to other UCLA offices for processing.
• Starting in March, incoming international students who completed all requirements, including the UCLA Statement of Intent to Register (SIR) form, will be contacted directly by UCLA's student visa office.
• By email, students will receive the links to apply for visa approval (a "Certificate of Eligibility"): Form I-20 for F-1 visas, or Form DS-2019 for J-1 visas. They will submit the required Confidential Financial Statement (CFS).
• With the UCLA I-20 form in hand, students must pay for the SEVIS I-901 fees, schedule a F-1 /J-1 visa appointment at the nearest U.S. Embassy/Consulate to apply for their student visa.
• Canadian citizens do not need to visit a consulate for a visa but should present all documents upon U.S. entry, as explained by the US embassy in Canada.

• About 95% of international MBA students obtain an F-1 visa.
• About 5% of international MBA students obtain a J-1 visa, if they have a corporate or government sponsor paying at least half of the minimum resources required, as shown in a sponsorship letter.
• Most spouses and children obtain an F-2 visa (which does not allow employment), and those accompanying a J-1 student obtain a J-2 visa (which does allow employment authorization).
• Only legally married spouses can get a visa to accompany the student, not unmarried partners (though they can potentially seek their own student visa by enrolling in a certificate program at UCLA Extension:https://www.uclaextension.edu/international-students ).
• Sponsored students have the option of obtaining an F-1 or J-1 as their sponsor permits, and most choose the J-1 visa, especially if they have a spouse who wants to work in the USA.
• Students on a visa may obtain temporary work authorization after their first year of study under the Curricular Practical Training (CPT) program, and for a year after graduation under the Optional Practical Training (OPT) program.
• To work in the U.S. after OPT expires, the employer must sponsor a person for an employment visa such as H-1b.

• Admits currently in the U.S. on a work-related visa such as H-1 or L-1 must convert to a full-time student visa (F-1 or J-1) before enrolling (H-4 visa holders may ask for permission to enroll).
• Admits converting an existing visa must do so through their own attorney, and UCLA enrollment is possible before the change is complete if the student proves the change-of-status request is being processed by the government.
• The U.S. Government prefers that people converting to a student visa go back to their home country to get the actual new visa at a U.S. consulate there.
• The timing of change-of-status requests is critical to maintain proper visa status, and it can also affect a student's eligibility for CPT and other programs, so incoming students must get the latest legal advice from their own attorney.
• Applying for U.S. Permanent Residency is not compatible with a student visa (which is a non-immigrant visa), so those already seeking Permanent Resident status must get advice from their own attorney before applying for any student visa.
• Tourist visas cannot be converted to student visas, so those visiting the U.S. before the student visa becomes valid must leave the country and re-enter to activate their student visa, to be allowed to enroll.

• A CFS proving the availability of enough funding to cover the first year of the MBA program (plus any other pre-MBA programs chosen) is required to get a student visa.
• Admits should submit the CFS to UCLA's Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars only after receiving instructions directly from Dashew Center, which will be sent by email after the SIR form is submitted online.
• Incoming students are expected to show enough liquid funding on the CFS to cover the first-year student budget shown on the MBA Admit Central website (subject to change at any time).
• If F1 / J-1 students have dependent(s) who will be accompanying them to the U.S. at the time of their study, an additional $5,000 in funding for spouse, plus $2,500 for each child, and information on these dependents must be included with the CFS in order for them to secure F-2 / J-2 visas.
• UCLA may change the required minimum funding amount at any time, and I-20 requests cannot be processed until the new minimum required amount is met (so adding extra funds to the initial total is highly recommended).

• Students must remain in compliance with all visa requirements in order to keep their visa and stay enrolled at UCLA. Compliance violations will be recorded on the student's permanent lifetime record with the U.S. Government.
• UCLA is required to inform the U.S. Government of student status on an ongoing basis, and terminating enrollment will result in termination of the student visa (or vice versa).
• Incoming international students with a visa must complete both iSTART @ UCLA as well as Anderson's International Welcome Week in order to have legal student visa status. Failure to attend will result in cancellation of your visa and a violation notice to the U.S. Government, and you will be unable to register for courses or use any campus resources. Mandatory registration information will be sent to incoming students during the summer.
• Other compliance guidelines and workshops are provided to all international students upon arrival, and UCLA's Dashew Center for International Students and Scholars is always available to answer visa questions.