Next Steps for Admitted International Students

When the I-20 Request Link is ready for distribution, admitted students will receive an email invitation with the request link in their new MavMAIL account. The email invitation will provide you with a link to join the KIC's portal and upload your financial documentation for your I-20.

YOUR MAVMAIL (MICROSOFT 365) USERNAME

MavMail/Microsoft 365 Username: <yourStarID>@go.minnstate.edu 

MavMail/Microsoft 365 Password: Your MavMAIL/Microsoft 365 password is the same as your StarID password

Take this step now to prepare:

Activate your MavMAIL (MNSU email account).

Directions to Activate your MavMail

• MavMAIL requires Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) when logging into your account each time. Follow the MFA enrollment instructions on our ITS website.
• If you have problems logging into your MavMAIL, please contact MNSU’s ITS department: ITS Help Center

Gathering financial documentation is typically the most time-consuming portion of the I-20 Request process. Financial documentation that does not meet KIC's requirements will delay the issuance of your I-20.

Take this step now:

Prepare your documentation now, so you are ready to upload it immediately when you receive your invitation email.

• Review the cost of attendance as it will appear on your Form I-20. 
  • Bachelor's Students 
  • Graduate Students
• Review the financial documentation requirements and confirm that your documents meet all requirements.
• Have your sponsor review and complete the Financial Sponsor Letter to upload with your financial documentation.

How you request your Form I-20 depends on whether this is the first initial I-20 or you have ever received an I-20. 

Students must request their Form I-20s by the following deadlines:

I-20 Request for Newly Admitted Students

Is this your first I-20? Then you will follow these directions:

1. After you can access your MavMail and have received the email invite, navigate to internationalportal.mnsu.edu.
2. Click on the “Purple Log In” button in the top right corner.
3. On the "User Login" page, select Log in with Campus ID and log in using your MinnState credentials.
4. Follow the prompts of the I-20 Request in your new KIC portal, including review of all information and videos.  
5. Click submit on the final screen after uploading documentation and confirming your information.

I-20 Request for Deferred Students

PLEASE NOTE: Dates and tuition expenses are not updated in your KIC Portal until you complete all steps of the process below. We do not make those changes in your KIC Portal until they are requested. 

1. You must first defer your admission through the Admissions office. Find more information on that process here.
2. Click on the “Purple Log In” button in the top right corner.
3. On the "User Login" page, select Log in with Campus ID and log in using your MinnState credentials.
4. Once in, review the information and navigate to " TAB 4 - Control Center” and click on the “Defer Attendance Request - Term Change Only”
   1. Information (such as program start and end dates, tuition figures, etc.) in your KIC Portal are not updated until you submit the "Defer Attendance Request - Term Change Only."
   2. Please note that tuition expenses typically increase each term and you will be required to meet new financial requirements listed on the main website. 
5. Complete all questionnaires, upload your updated financial documentation into the request and press submit.

Forms I-20s are processed in the order the requests are received and cannot be expedited. 

Please be mindful of the following:

• Form I-20s take 7-10 days (approximately 1-1.5 weeks) to be processed. 
  • Federal holidays and peak processing times (June/September) may delay processing slightly.
• If your financial documents do not meet financial documentation requirements or you are missing essential information, KIC staff will email you for clarification in your MavMAIL account.
  • Form I-20s will not be processed if there is an outstanding clarification request sent to the student. 
  • Clarification requests must be answered prior to the Form I-20 Request Deadlines.
• Between the time of I-20 issuance and orientation check-in, KIC staff will not update any part of your financial ability to attend (including sponsor names) or major information. Bachelor's students may change their major upon arrival.

• The major you selected on your application for admission is the major listed on your I-20, but is listed on your I-20 under the major's assigned CIP Code (Classification of Instructional Programs Code). This code is predetermined and attached to your major course of study; the Kearney International Center cannot edit the code.

• If you listed a "Pre-Professional" program as your major, it will be changed to an approved area of study. "Pre-Professional" programs are not considered a "major," and must be taken in tandem with a major. 

     

After KIC staff has processed and issued your Form I-20, your KIC Portal will update with important pre-arrival information. 

Step-by-step pre-arrival information is available only AFTER you have an initial I-20 from MSU. This information includes:

• Preparing Evidence of Continuing Ties to Your Home Country
• Paying the I-901 Fee
• Completing your DS-160 & Scheduling your Visa Interview
• Arranging Travel & Housing in Mankato
• Cell Phone, Laptop and Campus Wifi Requirements
• Preparing for International Student Orientation