Getting Help from an International Student Advisor

Our Services

In the area of International Student Services at NDSU, we provide advising and guidance for undergraduate and graduate international students. We offer pre-departure advising related to orientation and immigration for prospective and admitted international students, and ongoing advising for matters such as immigration requirements, employment, health and personal issues, and academic problems, and we advise graduated students on matters related to employment and other immigration status matters. Our office also coordinates on-campus programming and activities with an international focus.

For F-1 international students, advising assignments are made alphabetically by last/family name, and all J-1 students are assigned to an advisor based on their J visa status.

Advising Availability

Appointments are offered based on advisor schedule/availability.

Please remember: Often, the information you need is self-service, available 24/7 - and located on our website: https://www.ndsu.edu/international/iss 

Due to limited staffing at this time, we are asking that students who wish to make an appointment email a request to NDSU.iss@ndsu.edu. The email must include information about why you are requesting an appointment. If we determine an appointment is needed, we will contact you directly to schedule a virtual appointment, whether that is an appointment offered by phone or Zoom/Teams, or advising via email.

If you must submit paperwork, please email your documents to us (or complete the appropriate online form from our Forms page).

Document pickup procedures

If an advisor has notified you that a document is ready for you to pick up, please only stop by our office in MU 116 between the hours of 10:00 AM -12:00 noon -OR-  1:00 PM - 3:00 PM.

Email Policy for International Student Advising

  • Each case is important to us. Often, it takes time for us to research an answer to your question.
  • If you email a staff member, please be patient for a reply. 
  • Do not email separate emails to multiple staff members, or send repeated emails copying multiple staff members. This only leads to confusion and multiple people working on the same issue, risking you receiving inaccurate information. Emailling multiple staff members will delay our ability to respond to you.
  • If your case/request is determined to be non-urgent (upon formal evaluation by an office staff member), it may be a few days to a week before you receive a reply.

F-1 Students

Students in F-1 or F-2 status

Email us at: NDSU.iss@ndsu.edu

Only email us once, at this email address, for assistance. Do not copy other staff members or office email addresses, as this will slow us down from assisting you as quickly as possible.
 

J-1 Students

*Graduate* Students in J-1 or J-2 status

Melissia Law
International Student Advisor
Melissia.Law@ndsu.edu 

Undergraduate exchange/affiliate J-1 students

Sara Johnson
Assistant Director of International Student Services
Sara.J.Johnson@ndsu.edu

J-1 Scholars

Please note: J-1 scholars are advised byTabitha Thomas and Amy Knudson, located in Old Main 201B, in the Office of the Provost. 

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