Orientation and Arrival

Attendance is required for ALL new students, international students included. International undergraduate students may opt to participate in a pre-arrival program that would allow for early move-in, but ultimately all students must go through regular new student orientation.

In addition, the Center for Immigration Services & Support will require that all new students complete an Online Immigration Orientation and an In Person and Online Immigration Check in. Both sessions must be completed in ISSDeacs by the last day to add a class for the semester. The required orientation will review pertinent immigration regulations and provide information on settling into Winston-Salem such as getting a driver’s license or state ID card, employment eligibility, and much more.

Details on new student orientation for undergraduate students can be found by visiting the New Students website.

Graduate and professional students will be sent information regarding orientations by their respective schools.

For Graduate & Professional programs beginning in August, the Center for Immigration Services & Support will require that all new students complete an Online Immigration Orientation and an Online and in person Immigration Check in. Both sessions must be completed in ISSDeacs by the last day to add a class for the semester. The required orientation will review pertinent immigration regulations and provide information on settling into Winston-Salem, such as getting a driver’s license or state ID card, employment eligibility, and much more.

The closest airport to Wake Forest University is Greensboro Piedmont Triad Int’l Airport (GSO). It is strongly recommended you use this airport when you are booking flights.

While flights to Charlotte Douglas Int’l Airport (CLT) and Raleigh-Durham Int’l Airport (RDU) may be cheaper, please keep in mind that both of these airports are located approximately 2 hours away from Winston-Salem. Therefore, the transportation costs from these airports may equal or exceed the amount you saved on flights.

*Should you decide to fly into Charlotte or Raleigh instead of Greensboro, you will be responsible for arranging your own transportation and you will also be responsible for the associated costs. Wake Forest University partners with Black Tie Transportation for students needing transfers to/from the Charlotte or and Raleigh airports. Information on this shuttle service and reservation instructions can be found on their website.

You will receive information from Residence Life & Housing related to your move-in date and time.

The ISS team provides assistance to international students to help them settle into life at Wake Forest in your pre-orientation program. Please carefully review the instruction that you receive by email from the Office of Residence Life and Housing so that you know how to obtain your Deacon One Card (WFU ID Card that allows you access to your residence hall) and your keys for your room.

Several first-year residence halls do not have elevators so bear in mind you may have to carry your luggage up multiple flights of stairs.

The residence halls come with a twin extra-long bed, mattress, desk, closet, mini-refrigerator/freezer unit, and dresser. You can get a sense of what the WFU residence halls are like by visiting the following website (https://rlh.wfu.edu/housing/halls/).

However, items such as bedding and towels do not come with your room. It is strongly encouraged that you order your bedding/linens ahead of time from an ordering service such as http://www.rhl.org/wfu or websites of other retailers in the U.S.  Please try to have your packages arrive no more than 10 days in advance of your arrival on campus.

The shipping address to use is:

[YOUR NAME]
1834 Wake Forest Road
Winston-Salem, NC  27106
HOLD FOR ARRIVAL

The Campus Post Office is open during regular business hours, Monday-Friday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Target Shuttles

Please review your communication from ISS as we will offer a shuttle service to a local superstore (Target). The store carries all items including bedding, electronics, school supplies, food, clothing, and much more. A list of recommended items/prohibited items for the on-campus dormitories can be found in the Arrival Guide that you received from ISS.

A packing list suggesting items to pack vs. items to purchase on arrival was included in the Arrival Guide booklet within your ISSDeacs account. Please read through that list to get an idea of what you should consider bringing with you as you’re planning your arrival to WFU.

Meal Information

Campus dining facilities are usually not available during Connect@Wake. Please review the information in the housing portal to confirm when your meal plan will start.

All major meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) during Connect@Wake will be provided by ISS. You may also purchase food to keep in your residence hall room for snacks/additional meals.

More information about Connect@Wake can be found here.

Please review the Global Guidebook, a comprehensive source of information regarding visas, immigration, travel and re-entry, and settling into Winston-Salem and the Wake Forest communities. You can also download the book for easier reading and to print out/transport.

Please note, if you are in town early, before you can proceed to the Division of Motor Vehicles, you must complete the online and in person Immigration Check-in ISS first. After the in person and online Immigration Check-in is completed, ISS will be able to activate your SEVIS record. Once your SEVIS record is activated, you may then proceed to the DMV.

ALL students that begin a new program of study (including those that are returning WFU alumni who will begin a new program of study), must complete the Immigration Check-in process.

Step 1: Gather Documents

• Passport
• F or J Visa Stamp
• Form I-94
  • Go to cbp.gov/i94
  • Click “Get I-94 Number Now” in the top right corner of the page
  • Click “Yes” to agree with the terms and conditions of the website
  • Fill in your passport information
  • Click “Get Most Recent I-94”
  • Print
• Form I-20 or Form DS-2019
• Emergency Contact Information

Step 2: Check-in

Make PDF copies of the above documents to upload to the Check-In portion of your Online Orientation application in your ISSDeacs account. You may also upload photos of these documents from your phone as long as the photos are clear. You will also bring the original documents to in-person check-in.