If you are an International Student and have questions about your visa status and eligibility, we are happy to assist you in any way we can. Feel free to contact Student Services at studentservices@west.cmu.edu.

The Office of International Education at the main campus in Pittsburgh, PA is also a resource. The main office number is (412) 268-5231. More information is available on their website http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/oie/. The liaison for the West Coast campus is Linda Gentile. You may contact her by e-mail lgentile@andrew.cmu.edu.

Visa Status
If you have questions about changing your H4 visa to F or J status, you should know that the process is similar to that for changing H1Bs to F or J. The process is documented at http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/oie/forstu/legal2.pdf. We advise you that it takes 2-3 months to change status – please start the process early.

OPT
Optional Practical Training is available to students on F1 visas. For a detailed description of OPT, please see http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/oie/forstu/jobs.cfm. Please contact Student Services for help filling out the initial paperwork. We will then work with the Office of International for approval and further documentation.