International Students and Scholars Office

The ISSO Portal is a central location where international students can review their immigration record, update personal information, upload and download documents, and request immigration benefits.

Some examples of what you can do in the ISSO Portal include:

• Download your most recent Form I-20 (F-1 students only)
• Complete the ISSO Check-In
• Request work authorization (CPT, OPT, STEM OPT, AT)
• Request a Form I-20 Reprint (For a travel signature, update of information, or to replace a lost, stolen or damaged Form)
• Update your address and contact information
• Request a Program Extension
• Request a SEVIS Record Transfer
• Add a dependent to your record

You can access the ISSO Portal from our website. There is an ISSO Portal button on the left navigation bar of most of our website pages.  

ISSO Portal

You can log into you ISSO Portal with your Brandeis credentials (the same as you use for your email)

Once you log into the ISSO Portal , you will see three tabs at the top.

On the Welcome tab you will see important reminders and updates.

On the Personal & Program tab, you can review your personal and program information.

On the Requests & Documents tab, you can submit requests, view any pending or completed requests, and download documents. Different requests are represented by various icons.  Each student's portal is customized to their academic journey.   Request icons will become visible to you at different times depending on where you are in your program. 

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Please let us know if you encounter any errors so we can assist you.

Each student's portal is customized to their particular situation, so you might not see the same icons as on your friend's portal. If you're not able to see an icon it means that it's not relevant to you at this time, but will become available once you are eligible. This process will happen automatically.

When you view your request in the ISSO Portal, they may be in various stages of processing. 

Draft: When a request is in "Draft" status, this means a request has been started but has not been submitted by you yet. We cannot process requests in "Draft" status. If all the information in your request is correct, make sure to click the "submit" button.

Approver Review: When a request is in "Approver Review" status, this means that your Academic/Program Advisor has not reviewed and approved your request yet.  Some requests, such as CPT or OPT, require approval from your Academic/Program Advisor. You will be asked to enter their name and email address as part of the request and they will receive an email from the ISSO once you "submit" your request.  If it's been a while since you submitted your request and the request is still in "Approver Review" status, you may want to politely remind your Academic/Program Advisor to approve your request. If they cannot find or did not receive the email notification from the ISSO, let us know and we can send it again.

Submitted: When a request is in "Submitted" status we will see it in our list of requests that need to be processed. Our normal processing time for most requests is 5-7 business days. An ISSO advisor will be assigned to your request, review it, and process it in a timely manner.  The ISSO Advisor will contact you if they have any questions or require any further information. Please note that the processing ISSO Advisor may be a different alpha-assigned ISSO Advisor. Once you submit your request, you will not be able to edit it. Contact the ISSO if you need to change or add anything (please do not submit a second request).

Clarification Requested: When a request is in "Clarification Requested" status, this means that the ISSO Advisor needs you to clarify and/or make some changes to your request.  You should also receive an email from the ISSO Advisor specifying what changes you need to make. You will be able to edit your request while it is in this status. Do not create a new request, simply make the required edits and click the "submit" button to re-submit the corrected request.