<p>What exactly do we need to fill out on the iPenn website? It's confusing, because apparently Canadians don't need visas, but everything on iPenn assumes that you want one.</p>
<p>You still need the I-20 which is a document that states you’re a student at Penn. Normally international students would take the I-20 to the embassy to apply for a visa; Canadians just need to bring the I-20, along with some supporting documents, to the border, and you’re issued a visa at the border.</p>
<p>Hmmm, but I got an email from Penn stating:
“You do need to have I-20 or DS-2019 to attend Penn.”</p>
<p>Holy ****, what’s wrong with me. Haha… I DO need one apparently. I can’t believe I read that email wrong. WOW…</p>
<p>Itsinreach, when are you going to apply for the I-20? Are you getting financial aid? If so, are you waiting until you get a finalized letter in spring?</p>
<p>^I was planning on doing it rather soon. Do I need to wait until the spring? Penn sent me an email telling me to get started asap.</p>
<p>^ I got that e-mail, too. But think about it - if you are getting financial aid, then you have to scan and upload the financial aid letter unto iPenn to show how much you’re supposed to prove to be able to pay, right? But if it’s not a finalized financial aid letter, then you’re going to have to reapply for an updated I-20 in spring even if you apply for one right now. This is what ISSS told me when I called them a couple days ago. </p>
<p>Also, the e-mail says to start ASAP for other internationals because they actually need to schedule an interview/wait for the visa to be processed, etc whereas for Canadians, you simply need the I-20 (which according to ISSS takes about 3 weeks during peak season).</p>
<p>I’d just try and get the application in before spring decisions come out (although it’s not that big of a deal if you do it later) just to get it done before ISSS needs to deal with the next wave of people.</p>
<p>Make sure you read through the I-20 carefully when you do get it to make sure everything is correct (for instance, the first copy I got, my birthday was entered incorrectly) and to contact them if anything is wrong.</p>
<p>Thank you guys very much. I was stressing about it but now you’ve enlightened me. One more thing. So should one for sure get an I-20 coming from Canada? What about the DS-2019?</p>
<p>Yep, just the I-20. I Googled DS-2019 and it’s the “Certificate of Eligibility for Exchange Visitor (J-1) Status” so that’s more for post-docs/exchange students. Don’t worry about it.</p>