ISSS provides several letter categories to our F-1 & J-1 sponsored students:

• full-time immigration status
• social security number (SSN) recommendation
• concurrent enrollment

To submit your letter request, log into your iTerp account and navigate to F-1/J-1 Student Services>Letter Request. ​Once submitted ISSS will contact you when your letter is ready for pick-up at the ISSS office (1126 H.J. Patterson Hall, College Park, MD 20742). Please allow at least 5 business days for processing.  Special letters may require additional processing time.

• Students on OPT/CPT:  
  • Requests for SSN letters should be requested from your employer.​
  • OPT students may not request full time status verification letters.  Your I-20, EAD card, and employment paystubs are all used to confirm your status.

Requests for Invitation Letters

Officials from the U.S. Department of State have stated that B-2 tourist/visitor visa applicants do not need an invitation letter from the school to process a visa application and that the letters are not helpful. As instructed from the travel.state.gov website these letters are not required by the embassy to issue a B-2 visa. Therefore, the ISSS team does not produce letters of invitation to invite students' family members to visit the United States or attend graduation ceremonies.

Rather than invitation letters, government officials stressed visitor visa applicants provide documentation related to their intent and ability to return to their home country after they visit the United States. For a list of required documentation your family members should take with them to their visa interview, please refer to the specific U.S. Embassy website that your family will be going to for their interview.

If you would still like to provide an invitation letter to your visitor(s) to present with their visa application, we suggest that you, yourself write a letter for the visitor(s). The following is a suggestion only, and it is not meant to be taken as legal advice.

Suggested Documentation
The applicant should present tangible and appropriate documentation to establish that she/he will depart the U.S. prior to the expiration of her/his authorized stay in the U.S.

To support the application for a B-2 visa, it is suggested that you provide the applicant with the following:

• A letter from you to your family member (or invited person), in English, inviting him/her for a visit (this is optional)
  • This letter should be sent to the person who will be applying for the visa, and that person should present it to the U.S. consulate along with the application for the tourist (B-2) visa.
• Evidence of your valid student/scholar status
  • Copies of your transcript and/or enrollment verification:
  • You can print out a copy of your upcoming class schedule through Testudo and,
  • If you are graduating, you can also print out a confirmation of your graduation check from testudo
  • A photocopy of your I-20, DS-2019 or I-797, passport, visa, and
• Evidence of financial ability and ties to the home country
  • The applicant should provide proof of their ability to have funds to support themselves during their visit to the US, as well as any additional visiting family members.
  • Evidence of a return flight or funds to pay for a return flight.
  • Evidence of bank statements, mortgage plans, rental lease agreements, or job confirmation letters showing the need to return to their home country.
  • If the invited visitor does not have financial statements or ties, include evidence of your ability to financially support the visitor during their stay.