About ISS

Welcome to the University of Oklahoma! Housed in the David L. Boren College of International Studies (CIS), OU’s Office of International Student Services (ISS) is here to assist the university and its international community. Today we work with more than 2,000 students, representing more than 100 countries, who call OU their home away from home.

ISS should be the first point of contact for international students. We are a federally designated office for creating, extending or terminating visa statuses, and we also respond to federal audits, site visits and requests for information. We maintain the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) compliance for OU, and also register all eligible F-1 and J-1 international students each semester.

F-1 and J-1 visas are issued by US consulates to qualifying students studying in the United States. F-1 visas are issued to students whose primary source of funding for college comes from personal or family funds. Most often these are long-term, degree-seeking students. J-1 visas may be issued to students whose primary funding for school comes from a third party, such as a university, corporation, non-profit or the government.

International students must maintain their lawful visa status in order to pursue and complete their academic programs in the US. It is the student’s responsibility to maintain lawful visa status, and we are here to offer assistance.

F-1 and J-1 students studying at the Norman or Tulsa OU campuses can get assistance from the ISS office in Norman, while F-1 and J-1 students studying at the OU Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) need to visit the HSC Admissions and Records Office for assistance.

Additional services we provide for the OU international community include immigration advising for international students and campus departments, short-term employment authorization advising for qualifying students, extensions of stay, dependent immigration advising, campus outreach programs and more.