American families typically come to drop off their kids on the day of the move-in and leave the same day or the day after. For them, it will seem strange that you would want to spend more than that time for dropping off your kid at college. The typical American kid also has probably been looking forward to be independent and wants the parents to leave after a brief drop.
However, these American families aren’t invited for a 3-day Parents Welcome like international parents are. Even Purdue realises that International Parents need to be put at ease and thus the special welcome. American families typically do their shopping from their home city and thus have little left to do in Lafayette. But international families, with the luggage restrictions, will have quite a bit of local shopping to do. Most international families come from a different culture – and this will probably be the first time their child will be living independently. Also, international parents generally want to get their kids established as well as they can and, unlike American families because they will be not seeing them for maybe a year again, want to spend more quality time with them.
Who will be going? Will you combine it with a holiday?
Is your child travelling alone to Purdue? Are one or both of you parents travelling too? Or will the whole family travel and maybe combine it with a holiday? We decided not to travel as a family as our younger child’s school was due to start in August at the same time too. Also, we did not feel it was wise lugging around our child’s bags full of dorm stuff around with us on holiday. But you may have different views. Maybe you want to meet and stay with a relative in the US prior, and with whom you can keep your bags while you even take a short holiday. All these will depend on individual circumstances and budgets. However, you need to be make these plans based on the time you will require at Purdue and the US F1 visa rules.
However, no matter what you decide, you need to keep in mind that your child’s F-1 student visa has an important visa restriction- they cannot enter into the US earlier than 1 month prior to the start date of the first semester. So if the start date is 21 Aug, then the earliest entry is 21 July. Both these dates are mentioned in the I-20 which was issued by Purdue. Remember the date of grant of visa is not relevant for entry- it is just the day the visa was stamped on the passport.
Also do not plan to take an international trip after entering the US- see below as to why!
Travelling internationally after entering US
Travel after arrival to the U.S., but BEFORE the Program Start Date IS NOT RECOMMENDED. Once an international student enters the U.S. with a F-1, they use up their new/incoming status. Thereafter, every entry back into the US will have to be as a “continuing student” and they must have all the required documentation as a “continuing student”. This becomes even more important when new students enter the U.S., exit the U.S., and the re-enter the U.S. before the program start date listed on their ‘Certificate of Eligibility Form’.
For Example:
- Aditya, an international student, enters the U.S. using their U.S. student immigration (F-1 or J-1) status on August 7th.
- Aditya then exits the U.S. on August 10th to take a “quick trip” to Canada before the program start date listed on the Form I-20/Form DS-2019.
- Aditya wants to return to the U.S. using their U.S. student immigration status on August 19th – he will need to re-enter the U.S. on August 19th as a “Continuing Student”, because they already made their “Initial Entry” into the U.S. on August 7th.
- Regrettably, Aditya cannot meet the requirements for re-entry into the U.S. as a “Continuing Student” because the following two (2) requirements have NOT been met:
- Aditya’s U.S. student immigration status/SEVIS record has been activated and the academic term must have begun (e.g., August 21, 2023).
– AND – - Aditya’s ‘Certificate of Eligibility’ immigration document (F-1 Form I-20 or J-1 Form DS-2019) must be signed for travel by Purdue ISS. Travel signatures may only be given after the academic term has begun and after the student has completed all required arrival steps.
- Aditya’s U.S. student immigration status/SEVIS record has been activated and the academic term must have begun (e.g., August 21, 2023).
Unfortunately, U.S. federal regulations state that actions 1 and 2 listed above can only occur after a student has been officially enrolled in classes for the academic term (i.e., after August 21, 2023, Purdue’s enrolment/registration day). Therefore, entry into the U.S. in their U.S. student immigration status and travel outside the U.S. is possible, but only if Aditya will re-enter the U.S. after the academic term start date has begun (e.g., August 21, 2023), with all their new student arrival requirements/steps completed.
As such, entering the U.S. in F-1 student immigration status, exiting the U.S., and re-entering the U.S. before the program start date listed on a student’s ‘Certificate of Eligibility Form’ (Form I-20 or Form DS-2019), is very problematic and Purdue ISS cannot guarantee a successful re-entry into the U.S. if the above situation occurs. Therefore, if a student must travel outside the U.S. before the program start date listed on a student’s ‘Certificate of Eligibility Form’ (Form I-20 or Form DS-2019), then they must plan on first entering the U.S. in a “Tourist” status which is a separate B2 Visa, exiting the U.S., and then entering the U.S. in their F1 student status before the start of the academic term.
What things do you need to accomplish in your time at Purdue?
Every family will have a different set of needs. Here is a list of things I think you can or should try to aim accomplish while there, some of which may not have occurred to you:
- Clothes shopping- These could be a few critical pieces missing from your child’s wardrobe. See my Things to Pack & Buy! post and assess if you need to spend some time doing this when in the US. Or you can skip this if you have everything you need.
- Winter Wear– Necessary for the freezing Mid-west winters. See my separate post on this.
- Dorm Essentials shopping– This is critical. You will definitely need to get dorm stuff like Bed Linen and storage containers.
- Electronics & computers- Will you be buying a new laptop? or a new cell phone?
- Opening your kid’s Bank account(s)– You will need to visit one (or both) the Banks in Lafayette in order to open their bank accounts.
- Get Vaccinations from PUSH- see my separate post on this. This causes mild to moderate reactions. Some kids may have a headache only while others may need a day for rest.
- Buy a US sim card- and getting online.
- Prepare for 2nd Year housing- Your child is not guaranteed housing from the 2nd year. If you don’t want to be at the mercy of a housing lottery, your kid needs to sign a lease; preferably by mid-October and latest by Thanksgiving. You may want to assist in viewing and shortlist housing options on your visit. See my separate post on this.
- Get a REAL ID- This is a Indiana issued State ID – See my separate post on this.
- Summer Storage– When your kid finishes the first year, all their stuff needs to be stored over the summer. You may want to view and shortlist options. See my separate post on this.
In the following section, the days refer to Full Days in Lafayette. So, for instance, if you depart your home on a Wednesday and land in Chicago on a Thursday and then travel to West Lafayette that same day, spending Fri/Sat/Sun at Purdue before leaving for the airport on Monday morning from Purdue; you will have spent 3 full days in W. Lafayette (just Fri/Sat/Sun)- the days of travel do not count.
Option 1- The “Bare Minimum” Plan (4 days)
BGRi and the International Parents Welcome happens over a full 3 days. The day before BGRi is when you will move in to the dorms. Therefore, based on the BGRi schedule, the bare minimum you need to spend is 4 full days at Purdue. If you chose this, you would be hoping to snatch some time between the BGRi and Parent programs for the kids dorm shopping or other tasks. I would not recommend this unless you are really stretched for time (leave from work/ time spent elsewhere in US before arriving) OR you have already accomplished all your dorm shopping and are not planning to do this in West Lafayette after arriving.
Option 2- The “Just Enough” – but popular- Plan (6 days)
This is a more realistic plan. With this, you arrive 3 days before the BGRi start date and you have a full 2 days before move-in to do all the dorm shopping. If you have a limited agenda of to-do things, then you and your kid will be able to attend all the BGRI/ International Parents Welcome session and not miss out on anything.
However, there is one problem with it. Every year, around 9-10,000 students are admitted to Purdue. Of which around half are from outside the state (international or out-of-state) And most of these parents will chose this plan. In fact, this was the most popular suggested itinerary on a poll I ran on our International Parents WhatsApp group.
This popularity means you will have to deal with crowds at the big stores such as Target and Walmart. There will be long queues at the banks for opening bank accounts. On the last day before BGRi, I visited Walmart and all the deal grab boxes, the school supplies, the micros and fridges and other dorm essentials were either empty or had very limited choices. PUSH appointments may also not be available for immunizations due to the rush.
Two days may also not be enough for all your to-do list items if you plan to accomplish a lot. You need to be OK for your kid to handle some of those things without you around.
Option 3- The “Comfortable” Plan (7-9 days)
This is a plan in which you beat the crowds. You can even apply to move-in a day or two early (at a cost of $35/day) into the dorm to beat the move-in rush. This gives you a full 3-5 days to handle your agenda before the fun begins. It’s particularly useful if you have many items on your to-do list to accomplish- as you can get most, if not all, the items ticked off. I actually spent more than this amount of time there (since my kid was turning 18 after the semester started and I wanted to be with him to celebrate it) and most of the extra info that you now see on this blog comes from those days spent there. I would recommend this plan whole-heartedly!
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