Scholar E-Check-in Information Form

This form must be completed by all new international scholars on a non-immigrant visa. International scholars must upload the completed form and the required immigration documents via their OISS Portal account (https://oissportal.rice.edu)

Your J-1 is sponsored by Rice University if your DS-2019 was issued by the Rice OISS. This is not related to the source of your financial support.

To complete your check-in process, we need your current, local address in the U.S. If you are currently staying in a hotel or with a friend, please provide that address here. During the check-in appointment we will give you instructions on how to update your address once you move to your permanent housing.

Please fill in your street number and street name (For example: "1515 Bissonnet Street")
Please fill in your apartment/room number or similar, if applicable (for example: "Apt 5").

If you have an imagineOne (iO) account, please make sure to also update your address there following the same format as above.

If you do not yet have a U.S. phone number, you may leave this field blank. Please make sure to update your phone number in your ESTHER account (if you have one) as soon as possible.

Please make sure to upload immigration documents for each of your dependents in the OISS Portal.

As soon as your dependents arrive in the U.S., please notify OISS so that we may collect copies of their immigration documents. If the plans change and your dependents will no longer be using their dependent status, please notify OISS immediately so that we may cancel their immigration record.

J-1 Exchange Visitor Insurance Information

All J-1 scholars and their J-2 dependents are required to have health insurance for the duration of their program and provide proof of coverage to OISS in order to maintain their valid immigration status.

All requirements can be reviewed here: https://oiss.rice.edu/scholarhealthinsurance.

For new J-1 scholars, proof of health insurance must be submitted before the program start date. Failure to provide proof of insurance will result in cancellation of your DS-2019 and J-1 status.

Please contact your academic department or HR if you need confirmation whether your position is benefits-eligible.

Please upload the following in the OISS Portal under the "Proof of insurance" section:
1) Proof of enrollment to Aetna (if available)
2) BETA for Medical Evacuation & Repatriation (required)

To obtain proof of enrollment in the Rice University Aetna plan:
• Log in benefits.rice.edu
• Click on Enroll in Benefits (Blue square on the right side)
• Log in with your netID and password
• Click Enroll Now (Pink square on the right side)
• Click on Employee Detail Report (on left side under My Doc)

To obtain medical evacuation and repatriation supplemental coverage through BETA, please go to http://www.betins.com/, and submit a copy of page 3 with your information from your "BETA Scholastic Enhanced Certificate of Insurance".

Employees with start date other that the 1st of the month will be able to enroll Aetna the following month and will have to purchase another health insurance for the missing days between their start date and the start day of their Aetna plan.

Please upload the following in the OISS Portal under the "Proof of insurance" section:
1) Proof of enrollment to Aetna (if available)
2) BETA for Medical Evacuation & Repatriation (required)
3) Interim insurance to cover gap between program start date and insurance start date

To obtain proof of enrollment in the Rice University Aetna plan:
• Log in benefits.rice.edu
• Click on Enroll in Benefits (Blue square on the right side)
• Log in with your netID and password
• Click Enroll Now (Pink square on the right side)
• Click on Employee Detail Report (on left side under My Doc)

To obtain medical evacuation and repatriation supplemental coverage through BETA, please go to http://www.betins.com/, and submit a copy of page 3 with your information from your "BETA Scholastic Enhanced Certificate of Insurance".

Please upload a certificate of enrollment to Wellfleet that shows your coverage dates in the OISS Portal under the "Proof of insurance" section.

• Enroll online and pay the premium via credit card (see https://oiss.rice.edu/scholarhealthinsurance for enrollment link)
• Upon successful submission, you will receive a confirmation email

Please upload the following in the OISS Portal under the "Proof of insurance" section:
1) Policy documents
2) Completed and signed Insurance Verification form from your insurance provider

Once you submit this check-in form, you will receive an email with your responses. Please convert the email to a PDF file and upload it to your OISS Portal account together with the following required check-in documents:

• Passport ID page

• Most recent U.S. visa, even if it has already expired (not applicable for Canadian citizens)

• Port of entry stamp form your most recent entry to the U.S. This is the oval shaped stamp that the immigration officer placed in your passport. If it is on the same page with your most recent visa, you may upload one file that has both visible.

• I-94 record – available at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/ after you enter the U.S. If you have changed your status to F-1 inside the U.S. since your last entry, the I-94 is available at the bottom of your I-797A Approval Notice from USCIS.

• OPT/STEM OPT EAD

• Most recent I-20

Once you submit this check-in form, you will receive an email with your responses. Please convert the email to a PDF file and upload it to your OISS Portal account together with the following required check-in documents:

• Passport ID page

• Most recent U.S. visa, even if it has already expired (not applicable for Canadian citizens)

• Port of entry stamp form your most recent entry to the U.S. This is the oval shaped stamp that the immigration officer placed in your passport. If it is on the same page with your most recent visa, you may upload one file that has both visible.

• I-94 record – available at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/ after you enter the U.S. If you have changed your status to F-1 inside the U.S. since your last entry, the I-94 is available at the bottom of your I-797A Approval Notice from USCIS.

• Most recent I-20

Once you submit this check-in form, you will receive an email with your responses. Please convert the email to a PDF file and upload it to your OISS Portal account together with the following required check-in documents:

• Passport ID page

• I-797 Approval Notice from USCIS

If your H-1B was approved as Consular Processing, or if you have traveled internationally since your change of status to H-1B, please also upload the following:

• Most recent U.S. visa, even if it has already expired (not applicable for Canadian citizens)

• Port of entry stamp form your most recent entry to the U.S. This is the oval shaped stamp that the immigration officer placed in your passport. If it is on the same page with your most recent visa, you may upload one file that has both visible.

• I-94 record – available at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/ after you enter the U.S.

Once you submit this check-in form, you will receive an email with your responses. Please convert the email to a PDF file and upload it to your OISS Portal account together with the following required check-in documents:

• Passport ID page

• Most recent U.S. visa, even if it has already expired (not applicable for Canadian citizens)

• Port of entry stamp form your most recent entry to the U.S. This is the oval shaped stamp that the immigration officer placed in your passport. If it is on the same page with your most recent visa, you may upload one file that has both visible.

• I-94 record – available at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/ after you enter the U.S. If you have changed your status to F-1 inside the U.S. since your last entry, the I-94 is available at the bottom of your I-797A Approval Notice from USCIS.

• Most recent DS-2019

Once you submit this check-in form, you will receive an email with your responses. Please convert the email to a PDF file and upload it to your OISS Portal account together with the following required check-in documents:

• Passport ID page

• I-797 Approval Notice from USCIS

If your O-1 was approved as Consular Processing, or if you have traveled internationally since your change of status to O-1, please also upload the following:

• Most recent U.S. visa, even if it has already expired (not applicable for Canadian citizens)

• Port of entry stamp form your most recent entry to the U.S. This is the oval shaped stamp that the immigration officer placed in your passport. If it is on the same page with your most recent visa, you may upload one file that has both visible.

• I-94 record – available at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/ after you enter the U.S.

Once you submit this check-in form, you will receive an email with your responses. Please convert the email to a PDF file and upload it to your OISS Portal account together with the following required check-in documents:

• Passport ID page

• Most recent U.S. visa, even if it has already expired (not applicable for Canadian citizens)

• Port of entry stamp form your most recent entry to the U.S. This is the oval shaped stamp that the immigration officer placed in your passport. If it is on the same page with your most recent visa, you may upload one file that has both visible.

• I-94 record – available at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/ after you enter the U.S. If you have changed your status to F-1 inside the U.S. since your last entry, the I-94 is available at the bottom of your I-797A Approval Notice from USCIS.

Once you submit this check-in form, you will receive an email with your responses. Please convert the email to a PDF file and upload it to your OISS Portal account together with the following required check-in documents:

• Passport ID page

• Most recent U.S. visa, even if it has already expired (not applicable for Canadian citizens)

• Port of entry stamp form your most recent entry to the U.S. This is the oval shaped stamp that the immigration officer placed in your passport. If it is on the same page with your most recent visa, you may upload one file that has both visible.

• I-94 record – available at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/ after you enter the U.S. If you have changed your status to F-1 inside the U.S. since your last entry, the I-94 is available at the bottom of your I-797A Approval Notice from USCIS.

• EAD