Moving to the United States as an international student can mean cramming your life into suitcases, visa interviews and saying extended goodbyes even before you get to campus. 

Here’s The Daily’s rundown on navigating your first year here as an international student.

Before you get here: 

For F-1 visa holders, familiarize yourself with the document’s restrictions.

Weinberg junior Antonia Carlsson said one of the biggest differences that came up between her and American friends is the limitations associated with a student visa. 

For example, while U.S. citizens can work at any part-time job or internship they qualify for, international students have to be authorized, Carlsson said. 

“The job that I have now, I applied for it a year in advance,” Carlsson said. “It took me three or four months to actually get the job offer letter to then get the Social Security Number.” 

Other technicalities, Carlsson added, include taking at least three classes per quarter, because becoming a part-time student might complicate an international student’s visa status. 

Looking at those constraints online and are still confused?  

Use on-campus resources like the Office of International Students and Scholar Services to answer your questions.

While it’s good to be prepared, remembering all the legalities around a visa is difficult. OISS is the primary resource for concerns about immigration. Staff members can advise on how to get an SSN or whether that phone call you got from “Immigration and Customs Enforcement” was a scam (it really happens). 

“The OISS staff members are some of the nicest people that you will ever meet,” said Bienen and Weinberg sophomore Dami Akanni. “Definitely utilize these people because all they want to do is help out and make our experience much smoother.” 

Akanni and Carlsson are also on the executive board of International Peer Advisers. Like Peer Advisers in Wildcat Welcome, IPAs are there to give advice from the international student’s perspective. They also lead programming for International Student Orientation. Often, they are new students’ first point of contact in a non-academic sense.

While you’re here:

Don’t worry too much about finding friends immediately. It’s better to choose wisely. 

Akanni said he struggled to relate to topics of conversation during his Wildcat Welcome, which initially made it hard to connect with domestic students. He said he didn’t even know Northwestern was located in the Midwest. 

But after acclimating to his new environment, Akanni said he eventually found his people. Similarly, students are going to find their friend groups “no matter what,” as long as they give it time, he said. 

“You’re going to find people who make the college experience worthwhile, so don’t be very pressed about making friends,” Akanni said. “Because if you do, you’re just going to end up making friends with people who really are not worth your time and energy.”  

Akanni and Carlsson both added that they did not know how to connect with the international community at the beginning of their time here.

Carlsson had International Student Orientation and WW online because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which she said made it difficult to socialize with other international students specifically. 

“I didn’t have any way to really reach out to people who were international,” she said. “I’ve been really bad at making friends with internationals, which is why I decided to be an IPA, because I wanted that outreach.”

If you find yourself wanting to reach out to those with similar experiences, there are affinity spaces like the International Student Association and more specific organizations like the Chinese International Student Association. 

Akanni advised new students not to “shell up,” even if they feel like they don’t belong. 

“Definitely keep striving to express your thoughts even if it seems like… this is not something that (other students) relate to,” Akanni said. “Have that confidence to speak what you want to say and what you want to contribute to that conversation.”

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