Important Announcements
 

1. Beginning September 1, 2004, a new United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) rule goes into effect.  This rule requires F-1 and J-1 visa applicants to pay a one-time fee of $100 to supplement the administration and maintenance costs of the Student and Exchange Information System (SEVIS). The following information specifically addresses fee issues for F-1 students.
 Who pays the SEVIS fee?
·        Prospective students with “initial attendance” I-20s dated on or after 9/1/2004 who are applying for an “initial ” F-1 visa from outside the US
·        Prospective students with “initial attendance” I-20s dated on or after 9/1/2004  who are applying for a change to F-1 status from another visa category
·        Current F-1 students in the US filing for reinstatement after being out of status more than 5 months, and who are issued an I-20 issued for reinstatement that is dated on or after 9/1/04.

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2. National Security Entry-Exit Registration System (NSEERS) Registration was suspended by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement on December 2, 2003. Those who were previously required to report annually or after 30 days to local Immigration offices are no longer required to do so. Formerly registered individuals are still restricted to departing from the US only through designated airports and are still required to report to Immigration at the designated airport prior to departure. Also, you are no longer required to complete special change of address forms for Immigration. However, you ARE required to report changes of address to the International Office so that we can update Immigration's system.

3. Change of Address
    Immigration requires that you report any change of your address to the International Office within 10 days of your moving so that we can update your information in Immigration's database.

 

4. Carrying Your Documents
    You should always carry a photo copy of your passport, I-94 and I-20 with you. However if you are traveling out of town you should carry the originals. Also, in the past if you were trying to reenter the US and did not have your I-20 with you the the immigration officer had the discretion of allowing you to enter for 30 days and appear at a local INS office with the missing documents. This is NO LONGER allowed. You must have all of your documents to reenter the US!