Info for Departments

This section provides a general overview of the support services provided by the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS). This information is especially pertinent for faculty and administrators responsible for advising, hosting, or employing international students, scholars, and faculty.   

The OISS is responsible for monitoring and interpreting changes to immigration regulations that affect Teachers College's international students, scholars and visiting faculty. The OISS also serves as the liaison between Teachers College (TC) and U.S. government agencies, including the departments of Homeland Security and State on all matters concerning non-immigrant student and scholars at TC. Finally, we provide a variety of immigration-related information and resources for international students, scholars, visiting faculty, and their dependents to ensure the TC international community successfully complete their program objectives at TC.

We approach our connection with academic and administrative departments as a collabortative effort to ensure that the members of TC's international community receives the best possible support, guidance, and information while at TC. We strongly encourage departments to review the information on this web site.

In the event of any questions - especially in relation to sponsorship, hiring and employment - departments should contact the Office of International Students and Scholars at tcintl@tc.columbia.edu or x3939 for guidance before proceeding.

General Support and Documentation Services for International Students

The OISS advises students on non-immigrant F and J visas on federal regulations governing full-time study, employment, program extensions, and all matters related to status maintenance. We are responsible for issuing Form I-20 and DS-2019 documentations, granting employment authorizations and facilitating applications for Social Security Numbers for those authorized for employment in the United States.

Along with documentation services, the OISS provides a host of programming and academic support activities for international students, including:

• New International Student Orientation, held every fall and spring semester, to introduce newly-arrived international students to the TC community
• Academic Language and Culture, a series of free workshops for international students who are new to U.S. higher education, providing an introduction to U.S. classroom culture, writing and oral presentation skills, and more
• Visa Orientation Workshops for new international students informing students of status maintenance
• Employment Workshops for F and J international students providing information on employment benefits and application process
• Social-cultural programming offered throughout the academic year, including International Education Week - a week-long series of events celebrating TC's global academic and scholarly work

General Support and Documentation Services for Research Scholars and Visiting Faculty

The OISS also works closely with academic departments on a variety of matters concerning the visit and participation of international research scholars and visiting professors.  More specifically, the OISS reviews Certificate of Eligibility for Form DS-2019 for participation in the US Department of State J-1 Program. 

• Visiting Research Scholars  (J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa)

Departments interested in hosting visiting research scholars should read the TC Visiting Scholar sponsorship policy and refer to the OISS here for more information. 

• Visiting Faculty/Professor  

Departments that intend to hire foreign nationals as international faculty or staff on the H-1 visa, please contact the Office of the General Counsel for TC sponsorship policy:

• Appointments of International Faculty and Staff (H-1 Visas)
• Sponsorship of Permanent Residents

Departments intending to hire foreign nationals as international faculty on the J-1 program should contact the OISS immediately at tcintl@tc.columbia.edu.