Terms and Definitions
Definitions
Throughout this site we have tried to spelled out each of the abbreviations for your convenience. Please find below a comprehensive list of the abbreviations and designations that we have used throughout this site.
Government Agency Abbreviations
CBP: Customs and Border Protection
DHS: Department of Homeland Security
ICE: Immigration and Customs Enforcement
USCIS: United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
Other Terminology
Designated School Official (DSO): A person authorized by the USCIS to sign I-20s and give advice concerning F-1 non-immigrant status. There are ten DSOs at Emory: Scott Allen in Emory College Admissions and Tamika Hairston in Graduate Admissions; Stephanie Roberts, Terry Eiesland, Derek Baran, Rick Lane, Angela Guinyard, Kyla King, and James Kamonjoh in ISSS; and Jennifer Knupp and Christine Richardson at Oxford College.
DoS: Department of State. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at DoS has jurisdiction over all J-1 exchange programs.
DS-2019: Certificate of eligibility for J-1 Exchange Visitor status, prepared by the sponsoring agency, which shows program of study, dates of eligibility, financial information, etc. It is not the visa document.
F-1 status: The majority of students at Emory are admitted to the United States in this student status and hold F-1 visa stamps in their passport.
I-20: Certificate of Eligibility for F-1 student status, prepared initially by the Emory College or Laney Graduate School Admission Office, which shows program of study, dates of eligibility, financial information, etc. It is not the visa document.
I-94: Hard copy or electronic record completed for the non-immigrant at the Port of Entry by the CBP inspector. The record will record the port and date of entry, the non-immigrant status in which the person was admitted to the country, and the date of termination of this status (either a specific date or "D/S"). Additional notations may be made.
International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS): This office serves all international visitors to Emory University and is located in Suite 130 of the North Decatur Building.
J-1 status: Status granted to students or scholars who are on a sponsored Exchange Visitor Program, for example, Fulbright awardees; Emory University has been designated with its own Exchange Visitor Program, P-1-00874.
Responsible Officer or Alternate Responsible Officer: A person authorized by the DoS to sign DS-2019s and give advice concerning J-1 non-immigrant status. Lelia Crawford, the Director of ISSS, is the Responsible Officer for Emory; there are seven Alternate Responsible Officers also in the ISSS office: Terry Eiesland, Stephanie Roberts, Angela Guinyard, Derek Baran, Jimmy Kamonjoh, Rick Lane, and Joan Lindsey.
SEVIS: The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, designed by federal agencies to monitor certain aspects of the programs of F-1 students and J-1 Exchange Visitors in the United States.
Visa: The document affixed in a person's passport that allows that person to present him or herself to an immigration inspector at a U.S. port of entry to request the status for which the visa was issued (e.g., "F-1" or "J-1").