Nonimmigrant Applicants

Responsible Office
Graduate School - Admission
Executive
Rodney D. Priestley, Dean of the Graduate School
Policy
  1. Policy Statement

    This policy describes the Graduate School’s policy for nonimmigrant applicants.

  2. Who is Affected by this Policy

    This policy applies to nonimmigrant applicants to the Graduate School.

  3. Definitions

    Alien
    Any person who is not a citizen or national of the United States.

    Nonimmigrant
    An alien who seeks temporary entry to the United States for a specific purpose.

    Permanent Resident
    A noncitizen who has been lawfully granted the privilege of residing and working permanently in the United States.

  4. Policy

    Nonimmigrant students must be lawfully present in the United States as a condition of registration. There are two reasons for this expectation, one financial and the other philosophical.  First, certain funding sources for graduate students, including assistantships in research and assistantships in instruction, require that a student be lawfully present in the U.S. to be paid.  All Ph.D. students at Princeton are fully funded, and many of our master's students receive at least partial funding.  Second, graduate education is viewed by the institution both as a good unto itself but also as a means to a professional end.  We hope and expect that upon completing their graduate degrees our graduate alumni will be placed in careers, inside and outside of the academy. The dean of the Graduate School shall have the authority to grant exceptions to this policy.

  5. Procedures (if applicable)

    An applicant who is not a U.S. citizen or a Permanent Resident should provide an address outside the U.S. as the permanent address. If two U.S. addresses are entered in the application then current visa information along with country of citizenship will be required.

    If “Pending Permanent Residency” is selected as visa type, the applicant is required to provide a (USCIS) number along with country of citizenship on the application. 

    A Permanent Resident is required to provide alien registration number and country of citizenship on the application. 

    A non U.S. citizen is required to upload a copy of his/her passport to the application.

  6. Related Documents/Pages/Forms (if applicable)

    See above.

  7. Roles and Responsibilities

    Dean of the Graduate School
    Oversees Graduate School policies and associated procedures.

    Director of Graduate Admission
    Approves admission materials.

    Student
    Submits required materials.