ISS Lunch & Learn: Series for Campus Community

View the Lunch & Learn here

View the training recording here

View the training recording here

This final session was canceled. 3 questions were received before the scheduled Lunch & Learn and are answered below.

 1. If a student needs a program extension for one semester after a Spring term, do we approve it for the end of the next Fall semester since Summers are considered optional?

You are correct that per F1 immigration compliance summers are an optional semester. This could be a great conversation to have with your student- what are their goals, would they like to end in the summer or fall? Keeping in mind that if they complete their program in summer, there are different enrollment requirements.

If there is not an academic department standard that students must finish in the summer and the student is not interested in taking summer classes  then extending to Fall is absolutely fine.

The standard end date for student’s I-20s who are graduating in Fall 2024 is 12/26/2024

 2. Can you talk a little bit about what happens when a student is dropped from their F-1/J-1 status and how to resolve that?

Students can fall out of status in a number of ways; but the reason a student falls out of status,

 and how long they have been out of status can have an impact on their options for how to correct their status. 

J-1 and F-1 students have slightly different options for how they can correct their status with the federal government but all students start with the same step and they work very closely with ISS throughout the whole process. They start by having a meeting with either an ISS advisor (J-1 students would meet with Ally Opps)  or the ISS Assistant Director of Compliance (Barb Kluesner) and then complete the Correction of Status request in Terra Dotta. Often a correction of status results in a new I-20/DS-2019 so in the Terra Dotta request students are asked to send a verification to their academic advisor to answer some information about their expected graduation date and other academic program related questions.

If you are speaking with a student and they are not sure if they are in visa compliance, or a student is asking about a retroactive drop from classes please refer them to ISS to discuss the impacts of their visa status in more detail. 

If a student is academically dropped, ISS should be notified as soon as possible so we can contact the student to discuss the impact to their visa status and their options. If they are academically dropped, action must be taken on their I-20/DS-2019 as soon as possible.

 3. I’ve had a few PhD students go back to their home country to renew their F-1 visa during their program. What can students and graduate coordinators do to make this process go as smooth as possible?

ISS has a page on our website about visa renewals, we always encourage students to review our website and consider timing when applying to renew their visa. It is important to note that students may remain in the U.S. with an expired F/J visa, as long as their passport, I-20 (or EAD card) or DS-2019, and I-94 are valid and they are maintaining their visa status.

Visa appointment availability and method (whether or not an in-person appointment can be waived) varies by US Embassy and Consulate. ISS encourages students to plan ahead and give themselves extra time in case, after submitting their visa renewal request, the Embassy/Consulate takes additional time to review their information. This is called administrative processing. There are many reasons a student can be placed in administrative processing, including (but not limited to) country of origin and program of study. 

Academic advisors and students can develop a backup plan in case, for example, a visa renewal takes longer than expected over winter break and a student is unable to return to the US for spring semester. Depending on the situation, if the student is not able to return to the U.S. for the semester, they may not be able to keep their F/J visa status active. This does not prevent them from enrolling in online classes, but they will need to work with ISS when they are ready to return to the U.S.

Sometimes students will be asked to provide CVs or additional information about the professors they are working with or more information about research or a lab they are working in. This can vary on a case-by-case basis, but support from the department in helping the student gather the required information to then provide to the Embassy/Consulate official can help the visa renewal process move forward. 

Students who are stuck in administrative processing can also reach out to ISS for additional problem solving. It is important to point out that ISS does not control, nor has any influence on whether or not a student’s visa renewal request is approved.

Presentation slides