Traveling Tips: 3 Things To Keep In Mind As An International Student
When you’re studying abroad, your regulations for traveling in and outside the country you’re studying in are more strict than that of the local student. It might seem a bit tedious and at times, you might even forget to keep what you need on hand during your travels. However, if you’re traveling inside the country, no one really notices. In fact, when you’re traveling from one place to another within the country, these tips are mostly safety precautions. It’s often advised to take these measures to avoid any unwanted situations. However, when outside the country, you’ll have to be more strict and mindful because the last thing you want is to get into trouble at the airport. Your saving grace is always documentation. So, to ensure good movement, inside and outside the country of study, here are some documents you’d want to carry.
Your passport is your identification
For international students, your passport is your everything. Losing your passport in a foreign country would mean a world of trouble to get a new one issued again. So, it’s understandable that you’d want to lock your passport in a locker, and never bring it out, for safekeeping. Well, yes, but also no. When you’re a foreigner or international student, you may not have a driver’s license which is often used as a form of identification in countries like America and it’s very unlikely that your own country’s identity card might be accepted as formal identification. So, unfortunately, no matter how reluctant you are to carry your passport, you should. A passport counts as a universal identity document. As an international student, your passport also holds your student visa, which can serve crucial for security purposes off-campus.
When you travel internationally, i.e. back home during breaks, naturally you’ll need your passport at every step. Even during domestic flights, while locals most often use their driver’s license in America for identification, you’ll have to use your passport.
I20 is your proof as a student
The I-20 is perhaps the most crucial document for any international student traveling abroad. Most international offices at colleges will sign off on your departure to authorize you for international travel. So, make sure you get that signature that before any international travel you get in touch with your college’s internal students affairs office.
First of all, the I-20 documents your position as a lawful student in the United States. When you arrive, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents frequently ask for it to make sure you are coming for legal educational reasons. You can experience problems or delays at the port of entry if you don’t have the I-20. Second, the I-20 includes vital details regarding your course of study, such as the start and finish dates. This information may be used by customs officers to verify your eligibility to enter the United States and the length of your authorized stay. Second, the I-20 includes vital details regarding your course of study, such as the start and finish dates. This information may be used by customs officers to verify your eligibility for entry into the United States and the length of your permitted stay.
By the way, your I-20 cannot have a digital signature of the person who signs off on your travels. It has to be in ink and all your information at the bottom of the page has to be filled out in blue ink. Also, take notice of the major that’s listed on your I-20 for your program. During your entry in the States, the customs officer might ask you what your major is and it’ll have to match what’s listed on your I-20 unless you want further complications. I learned this the hard way with a very irritated customs officer trying to keep his composure and pointing these things out to me.
Always carry your university ID card
Identifying people is the main function of an ID card. Having a university ID card helps international students prove their identity in relation to the academic institution. University ID cards are frequently used as access cards for a variety of on- and off-campus facilities. Generally speaking, you can use free transport, link your card to food swipes and make other financial transactions with your university ID. Not to mention, local stores offer discounts for students, for which they might want to see your ID.
Speaking for myself, I’m yet to face a situation where someone asks for my student ID for identification. Since it only contains my photo, name and student ID number (this might be different for other universities), I opt to use my passport instead for proper identification. However, it’s crucial for international students to remember that they may find themselves in unwelcome circumstances where they must provide documentation of their status as a student. In an unknown environment, you never know how people and authorities might respond to you. Therefore, it’s a good idea to carry your university ID card with you at all times, either in a wallet or a secure pouch, as legal proof of identity.
For many of us international students, traveling back home and then back to the country you’re studying is a bit of an emotional journey. It’s easy to get sidetracked in the excitement and sadness, but it’s just as important to make sure your travels are as smooth as possible. As always, documentation is key when you’re a student in a foreign land. Keeping these three things on you at all times might be useful one day. Additionally, if you’re weary to carry hard copies of your documents 24/7 even when you go grocery shopping, the next best thing is to keep digital copies or scanned copies that you can access immediately (i.e. on your phone). All in all, you’ll be fine as long as you have these three papers on you in one way or the other depending on your circumstance.
Safe travels!
Written by Puja Sarkar, Press & Written Media team
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