A practitioner case study which highlights how one of our members, Adwoa Arhin, led a business analysis–driven redesign of the visa processing (I-20) for undergraduate international students at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
How Process Redesign Reduced I-20 Visa Turnaround Time at UNCG
By Adwoa Arhin, CBAP, Business Analyst, University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG)
When international students are admitted to a U.S. university, one of the most important next steps is receiving the Form I-20 (the school-issued document used for the student visa process). If that step is delayed, everything else can be delayed too—visa appointments, travel planning, and enrollment readiness.
At UNCG, I led a workflow redesign initiative within Global Engagement’s International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) unit to improve how financial documents are collected and reviewed for I-20 processing. The work included implementing the Terra Dotta System (TDS), but the most important results came from redesigning the process itself.
The outcome: under the previous process, I-20 turnaround time was typically 7 to 10 days. With the redesigned TDS process, turnaround improved to 1 to 3 days.
This article shares what changed, what made the difference, and what business analysts can learn from this kind of compliance-driven process improvement.
Why This Project Mattered
In international student services, speed and clarity matter. A slow I-20 process does not just create internal workload pressure—it directly affects students.
Before the redesign, the process involved multiple systems, manual tracking, and several handoffs across teams. Staff were doing a lot of work just to keep cases moving and visible. In practice, this meant:
manual tracking in spreadsheets
delays caused by system dependencies
extra effort to move documents across systems
limited visibility into where a case was stuck
The result was a process that worked, but required too much manual effort and took longer than it should.
What the Previous Process Looked Like
The earlier workflow depended on several systems and manual coordination.
Students submitted documents through an earlier process, and staff relied on reports and spreadsheets to track submissions and progress. Graduate Assistants and staff also had to manually move documents between systems and keep status records updated.
A few hidden issues caused recurring delays:
some steps depended on system synchronization timing
some records had to be set up one at a time
some progress depended on student actions in another part of the process
Because those dependencies were not always visible, delays often looked like routine “system lag” when they were really process design problems. That was the turning point for the analysis: the process needed redesign, not just faster follow-up.
The Business Analysis Approach
I approached the project as a business analysis and workflow redesign effort, not only a system implementation.
The first step was mapping the full process from admission through document collection, review, and I-20 issuance. That helped surface the parts of the workflow that had become overly manual or dependent on hidden conditions.
From there, the redesign focused on three priorities:
1. Remove avoidable delays. If a step was blocked by an unnecessary dependency, we redesigned it.
2. Clarify ownership. Teams needed clear responsibility at each stage so work could move consistently.
3. Improve visibility. Reporting needed to support real-time decision-making, not manual reconciliation after the fact.
This made it possible to improve the process in a way that supported both operational efficiency and compliance.
What Changed with the TDS Process
The redesigned workflow moved financial document collection directly into the Terra Dotta System (TDS). That change simplified the process and reduced manual handling.
Key improvements included:
Direct student uploads in TDS. Students now upload financial documents directly into the system used for review and processing.
Reduced manual document handling. Staff and Graduate Assistants no longer needed to manually move documents across systems.
Clearer workflow statuses. Request status and ownership became more visible, making handoffs easier to manage.
Built-in reporting. Teams could track progress inside the system instead of relying on spreadsheets.
One important lesson from this phase was that process clarity had to come first. The system worked best after roles, workflow steps, and request flow were clearly defined.
Results and Impact
The biggest improvement was turnaround time:
Old process: I-20 turnaround was typically 7 to 10 days
New TDS process: I-20 turnaround improved to 1 to 3 days
That is a meaningful improvement for both students and staff.
The redesigned process also improved operational visibility, consistency in case tracking, and staff efficiency during high-volume periods. Most importantly, the gains came from removing hidden delays and simplifying the workflow—not from adding staff.
Why This Matters for Business Analysts
This project is a good example of where business analysis adds value in a regulated environment.
The challenge was not just system setup. It was understanding how the work actually moved across teams, where the delays were coming from, and which steps were creating friction without adding value.
For business analysts, the key takeaway is this: process mapping and dependency analysis can unlock major improvements even in highly structured, compliance-driven workflows.
What Comes Next
The redesigned TDS process is currently supporting undergraduate international student financial document collection and I-20 processing. The approach was built to scale, and the next step is expanding access to additional populations, including graduate students.
That expansion is important because it turns one successful process improvement into a repeatable model.
Final Reflection
This work reinforced something I have seen across both higher education and telecom operations: process delays often come from hidden dependencies, not just workload.
Once those dependencies are identified and redesigned, teams can move faster, work more consistently, and see the process more clearly.
In this case, redesigning the workflow helped reduce I-20 turnaround from 7–10 days to 1–3 days and created a stronger foundation for future expansion.
About the Author
Adwoa Arhin is a Business Analyst in the Global Engagement Office at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she supports systems and process improvement initiatives in international student services. She is an IIBA Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP), with prior experience as a CRM Business Analyst in the telecommunications sector. Her work focuses on workflow optimization, business architecture, and digital transformation in complex, compliance-driven environments.
