On behalf of the International Student & Scholar Services team (ISSS), I would like to welcome you to Southern Methodist University. You have chosen to attend one of America’s premier comprehensive universities, and we are pleased that you are part of the SMU family. The SMU campus and community provide a variety of resources to ensure that your time here as a student or scholar is productive on both a personal and academic level.
The International Student & Scholar Services team is committed to facilitating and enriching your experience before you arrive on campus and while you are here in the U.S. All members of the ISSS team work diligently to provide the best and most useful resources prior to your arrival through a comprehensive pre-arrival information packet that will assist the visa application process.
Once you arrive on campus, we welcome you with various immigration orientations in order to inform you of the various visa compliance regulations that you must follow as an international student or scholar in order to maintain your visa status.
Our team is responsible for reporting to the federal Government all compliance events relating to our international population through SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System). For this reason it is important that you check your SMU e-mail regularly, since regulations sometimes change.
Once you arrive, it is our desire that you take every opportunity to participate in our programming events. Our office coordinates several events throughout the year in order to celebrate the different cultures and contributions from our international population.
Our staff consists of a group of professionals who are prepared to respond to your unique needs through our excellent immigration advising system. Our staff is also prepared to help you navigate through all the resources that SMU has to offer that will help you achieve your academic goals.
Once again, welcome to SMU. We are happy that you are with us. Please contact any member of the ISSS team if you have any questions or concerns. If we do not know the answers to your questions, we will try to find someone who does.
Best Regards,
Claudia Sotomayor Hart