International Services, Reimagined

One platform to strengthen compliance, improve service, and reduce repetitive work

International offices operate in a high-stakes environment where unclear information, changing regulations, and repetitive questions strain staff capacity and increase risk.

Homebase delivers accurate, consistent guidance at scale—while creating a more supportive, student-centered experience. Students and scholars get clear next steps. Staff gain time for complex cases, risk-based decisions, and meaningful engagement.

With Homebase, you:

  • Create a single source of truth for immigration and policy guidance
  • Automate repetitive workflows (intake, document collection, reminders, and more) to reduce email back‑and‑forth and manual follow-up
  • Deliver student‑friendly, step‑by‑step pathways that improve completion and reduce errors
  • Track engagement and friction points so you can see what students are using, where confusion persists, and what to improve
  • Reinforce student responsibilities with micro-learning, quizzes, and attestations.
  • Provide a flexible, convenient platform that easily updates when regulations change.
  • Provide global, 24/7 access across times zones
Outcome

Clearer guidance. Fewer repeat questions. More time for advising. A stronger compliance posture—delivered through a better student experience.

Pre‑Arrival and Orientation

Start support before arrival—so students and scholars show up prepared, confident, and connected

Pre-arrival is a high-stakes, high-anxiety phase of the international experience. Students and scholars must navigate visas, travel, housing, and campus expectations, often across time zones and with limited access to reliable guidance. When information is fragmented or difficult to find, they turn to informal sources, increasing the risk of missed steps, delays, and preventable compliance issues.

Homebase helps international offices deliver a structured, accessible pre‑arrival and orientation experience that is clear, actionable, and easy to complete. It ensures students and scholars receive the right instructions at the right time—while reducing the volume of repetitive questions that pulls staff away from complex advising.

Key outcomes

  • Fewer repetitive questions through standardized, self-serve guidance
  • More prepared students through clear timelines, required actions, and completion tracking
  • Early campus connection by blending compliance with practical campus onboarding
  • A more welcoming experience that builds confidence, belonging, and trust
  • High completion rates when modules are required and tracked

Features

  • Interactive modules, checklists, and short videos that convert confusion into clear next actions
  • Targeted messaging by population (F-1, J-1, students, scholars, departments)
  • Completion tracking and automated reminders so staff intervene only when needed
  • Scalable content across programs and terms
  • Global access so students can prepare confidently from anywhere, at any time

CPT & OPT

Students meet deadlines, ask fewer repeat questions, and follow the right steps, leading to stronger compliance outcomes and more meaningful advising experiences.

CPT and OPT are complex, time-sensitive, and high-consequence. When guidance is unclear or scattered, offices face repeat questions, last-minute emergencies, and avoidable errors.
With Homebase, institutions provide clear, consistent CPT/OPT guidance at scale so students know what to do and when, and staff can focus on individualized, high-impact advising.

Homebase helps:

  • Deliver timely guidance before deadlines, not after problems arise
  • Provide step‑by‑step CPT/OPT workflows that reduce errors, incomplete submissions, and avoidable rework
  • Support better documentation and consistency by standardizing instructions, expectations, and decision points across staff
  • Create clear handoffs to advising appointments when a student’s case requires individualized review or risk-based guidance
  • Build student ownership of the process by preparing them to confidently navigate USCIS systems and understand what they are submitting, reducing uncertainty and last‑minute escalations
Outcome

More informed students. Fewer urgent emails. Cleaner applications. Stronger compliance. Improved staff retention.

Scholars and Department Staff

Prepare departments and scholars for a smoother, more compliant J-1 experience

Departments play a critical role in J-1 scholar onboarding and ongoing compliance. Without a shared, centralized approach, even strong efforts can lead to extra back-and-forth, time-consuming 1-1 training, uneven experiences, and avoidable delays for them AND the scholars they host.
Homebase helps international offices standardize J-1 processes and provide departments with clear, role-based guidance that is easy to follow and simple to maintain. Early preparation for departments and scholars, including pre-arrival orientation, reduces workload across teams and improves the overall scholar experience.

Homebase helps:

  • Department-facing J‑1 onboarding and compliance training: Role-based modules that clarify responsibilities, timelines, and what happens next so departments can confidently support scholars without relying on ad hoc emails.
  • Pre-arrival scholar orientation reduces issues: Plain-language guidance that prepares scholars every step of the way, reducing confusion and preventable delays.
  • Centralized hosting department instructions: One reliable hub for required documents, funding rules, timelines, and internal handoffs that is easy to update when policies change.
  • Milestone reminders and checklists: Automated prompts and checklists for key moments (pre‑arrival, check‑in, address updates, extensions, travel, departure/end-of-program).
  • Consistency across units: Standard templates and guidance that reduce uneven practices across departments and improve the scholar experience.
Outcome

Prepared scholars. Empowered departments. Fewer surprises. Stronger compliance.

Accepting Payments

Collect required fees smoothly—so staff aren’t chasing payments and cases don’t stall

International offices often manage time‑sensitive processes that can’t move forward until a fee is paid—document processing, orientation charges, replacement documents, premium services, workshops, or OPT/CPT-related fees. When payment steps are unclear or tracked manually, it creates delays, extra email volume, and unnecessary reconciliation work.
Homebase streamlines fee collection so payments are easy for students and scholars to complete and easy for staff to track—helping your office maintain momentum during peak seasons and high‑volume periods.

Benefits

  • Clear, student‑friendly payment instructions embedded directly in the workflow—reducing confusion and incomplete submissions
  • Automated confirmations and status updates so students know payment is received and staff don’t have to respond to “Did you get it?”
  • Reduced manual reconciliation through centralized tracking and fewer one-off exceptions
  • Better visibility for internal handoffs (who paid, what’s pending, what can move forward) so cases progress consistently
  • A smoother experience during time‑sensitive processes like pre‑arrival, I‑20/DS‑2019 workflows, and OPT/CPT support—reducing stress for students and staff
Outcome

Fewer follow-ups. Faster processing. Cleaner records. Better service, without added workload.

I-20 Issuance: Automated Document Review

Accelerate I-20 and DS-2019 processing with a centralized intake workflow and automated document review. Reduce Resubmissions. Issue Faster.

I-20 processing is one of the most time-sensitive workflows international offices manage, especially when students are trying to schedule visa appointments and finalize travel. Delays often happen not because staff aren’t working hard, but because required information arrives incomplete, inconsistent, or spread across emails, portals, and attachments.

Homebase turns I-20 and DS-2019 issuance into a clear, trackable workflow while also automating one of the most manual bottlenecks: financial document review. With intelligent document processing, Homebase extracts key data providing instant feedback to students, converts currencies, and provides real-time feedback so students submit correct documentation the first time and in a single location.

How Homebase improves the process

  • Standardized intake and guided document submission: Collect required information in a consistent format with step-by-step instructions and checklists, reducing incomplete cases and student confusion.
  • Automated financial document verification: Extract key details (account holder name, balance, issue date, and guarantee form requirements) and flag issues immediately, reducing manual review time and eliminating back-and-forth emails.
  • Automatic currency conversion and funding totals: Convert currencies and calculate totals automatically so students can see whether they meet requirements without staff intervention.
  • Fraud detection before review: Analyze metadata and formatting inconsistencies to detect tampering, editing history, and suspicious patterns helping staff review documents faster and with more confidence.
  • Clear visibility into submission completeness: Ensure staff can quickly see what financial documentation has been submitted and what’s missing, reducing follow-ups and speeding up case review.
  • Automated follow-ups and consistent messaging: Trigger rejection notices and follow-up instructions automatically, ensuring students receive consistent guidance and faster corrections.
Outcome

Faster document issuance, fewer resubmissions, reduced staff workload, and stronger fraud prevention.