GENERAL UPDATES & REMINDERS

27 August 2007

Reduced Courseload Request for F-1 or J-1 Visa Holders:  If you are an undergraduate student with less than 12 credits or a graduate student with less than 9 credits, you MUST submit and receive ISSS approval for your reduced courseload.  Request forms should be read and filled out carefully, and be in ISSS by Tuesday, 4 September (but earlier is better).  An e-mail will be sent as soon as possible to your student e-mail account to let you know if the courseload has been approved...SAVE THAT E-MAIL!  

Have You or Your Family Overseas Moved to a New Address?:  If so and you are and F or J visa holder, be sure to go to our Forms page to update your addresses; this will ensure that you are compliant with Immigration regulations.  Address updates should be done within five days of your move.

Orientation Presentations Online:  Presentations from International Student Orientation Fall 2007 are being posted for your reference.  To find them, go to the ISSS web site and click on the link in the Announcements box.

Curricular Practical Training (CPT) & Optional Practical Training (OPT) for F-1 Visa Holders:  New CPT and OPT workshop dates have been posted on our site.  Remember that you are eligible to attend the workshop only after being in full-time University classes for six months.  REMEMBER:  You must allow 10 business days for processing complete CPT applications; NO EXCEPTIONS can be made.  Internship offer letters should accurately reflect this necessary processing time.  If incorrect, a new one will be requested, increasing the time needed for processing.

I-9 Employment Paperwork:  Starting today, I-9 hours will be back to the regularly scheduled times on the ISSS web site.  During these times, you should come to ISSS with all of the required documentation after you have been offered an on-campus job.

Paperwork/Request Processing Times:  Please keep in mind that things are quite hectic right now and that we are processing your paperwork requests--including CPT, insurance holds, RCLs, etc.--as quickly as possible.  To speed up the processing of your paperwork, please be sure to read instructions carefully and submit all required paperwork.  To better help you plan, ISSS Processing Times are posted on our web site.

Appointments with ISSS Advisors:  The ISSS online appointment system will be active again on Thursday, 6 September.  There has been a re-configuration of advisors and the students they primarily work with:
Sara:  A-L and all J-1 Students
Freida:  M-Z and all Practical Training applications
Robbin:  general student advising as needed, will focus on advising mostly faculty on J-1s, H-1Bs and green cards
This alphabetical distribution helps our office staff know how to direct incoming paperwork.  If you come to the office and speak with an advisor different than your own, that advisor will update your regular advisor about the situation/question so that she can continue with assisting you.  However, if you feel more comfortable with one advisor over another, please feel free to work with that advisor, and specify your wish to do so.

ISSS WISHES YOU SUCCESS THIS SEMESTER!!!