Employment
Transfers
Initial Attendance
SEVIS vs Regulation
Miscellaneous
100
A PhD student’s I-20 expires on August 31, 2013. She plans to defend her dissertation on September 5, and she doesn’t have the financial support to extend her I-20 for a semester. Do you allow her to defend her dissertation and apply for OPT in grace period?
8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(A)(3) • SEVP Policy Guidance, April 2010, 6.7 Regulations say a student may apply for OPT after completion of all course requirements (excluding thesis or equivalent). SEVP OPT Policy Guidance states that a student can apply for OPT while completing thesis or dissertation.
100
A student is issued an I-20 for School A and uses it to apply for an F-1 Visa. The student is then issued an I-20 for School B (your school) and decides they want to attend your school instead of School A. The student already has their flight arranged and school starts in 2 weeks, but has not entered the US yet. What do you advise the student?
8 CFR 214.2(f)(1)(i)(C) • SEVP Transfer FAQ, item 2.1
100
A student has been fully admitted to your university. They have turned in a copy of their passport and financial documents in order to receive an Initial I-20 from your office and apply for their visa. Their financial documents meet the required amount, however they are old documents and in the currency of a country with a currency that is consistently decreasing in value. Do you accept the documents?
8 CFR 214.2 (f)(1)(i)(B) • 9 FAM 41.61 N6.1-1 • The regulations are not specific with requirements for financial documents. The DSO should use their best discretion when issuing an initial I-20 and set specific policies to protect the institution and potential students.
100
A student turns in a request for CPT with a start date that passed 1 week ago. SEVIS allows the functionality to back date CPT employment. Do you back date it? Any difference if it’s paid/unpaid?
8 C.F.R. 214.2(f)(10)(i)
100
You receive a note from a student’s doctor that simply says “The student is receiving treatment from my clinic and will not attend school this semester.” Do you accept the note and authorize a reduced course load? Do you need more documentation?
8 C.F.R. § 214.2(f)(6)(iii)(B)
200
A student comes to your office on Sept. 12 to ask about getting CPT authorization. He is a social work student who is required to do internship hours for graduation. He tells you that he began an internship on August 28 and they want to pay him $1,000 at the end of the semester. He asks what he should do to get authorization. He is graduating in December.
8 C.F.R. 214.2(f)(10)(i)
200
A student is issued an I-20 for School A (your school) and uses it to apply for an F-1 Visa. The student is then issued an I-20 for School B and decides they want to attend School B instead of your school. The student already has their flight arranged and school starts in 2 weeks, but they have not entered the US yet. What do you advise the student?
8 CFR 214.2(f)(1)(i)(C) • SEVP Transfer FAQ, item 2.1
200
A student applies and is admitted to a graduate certificate program in music that also offers simultaneous English courses. The student has never taken an English Proficiency exam and is not an English-Speaking Country National. Do you issue the Initial I-20 without proof of English Proficiency?
22 CFR 41.61(b)(1)(iii)
200
A student misses their I-20 extension deadline by 1 day and turns in all the necessary documentation. SEVIS will allow the PDSO to make a correction to the student’s record even though the I-20 end date has passed. Should the PDSO extend the I-20 or terminate student’s SEVIS record for failure to extend?
8 CFR 214.2(f)(7)(iii) • The Extend Program correction may be used only if the student timely applied to the PDSO or DSO before the I-20 program end date. If the student failed to apply to the PDSO or DSO for an extension before the I-20 program end date (even by 1 day), then the student is considered out of status, and is not eligible for an extension and is not eligible to have the SEVIS record corrected by the PDSO. A DSO may not grant an extension if the student did not apply for an extension until after the program end date noted on the Form I-20.
200
A student comes to you and says that they can graduate in May 2014. However, she is studying for her medical boards and needs more time to prepare. She wants to know if she can extend her I-20 and maintain her F-1 status until December 2014. She asks if she can pick up a minor and take classes for that in the fall. How do you advise?
8 CFR 214.2(f)(7)(iii) • Is this a delay caused by compelling academic or medical reasons, such as changes of major or research topics, unexpected research problems, or documented illnesses?
300
A student who works on campus for 20 hours a week, tells you she has been "volunteering" for a department on campus in her spare time. You find out the department has not documented her time (entered a time sheet) but have told her they will make up for it once the semester is over and she is no longer working 20 hours a week for her primary job.
8 CFR 214.2(f)(9)(i) • SEVP On-Campus Employment FAQ 1.12
300
A student uses School A’s I-20 to obtain an F-1 visa and to make an initial entry to the United States, but has been accepted by and wishes to transfer to School B shortly after entering the United States, before enrolling at School A.
Student must "report in" to school and then: 8 CFR 214.2(f)(1)(i)(C) • 8 CFR 214.2(f)(8)(i) • SEVP Transfer FAQ, item 2.4 • Schools must define what "report-in" means to them and how the students will report in before transferring.
300
A student is applying for an Initial I-20 and gives you a passport copy with only one name in the "Given Name" field. Where do you put this information in SEVIS?
It is in the best interest of the University to establish a procedure regarding such circumstances to maintain data integrity and continuity. 2010 SEVP guidance says to use FNU, but undated SEVP FAQs say to not use FNU.
300
A student comes to you with the desire to leave the country and stop studying during a required registration period. The student plans to return to the U.S. and enroll full-time for the following required registration period and will not be outside of the U.S. for more than 5 months. Is this permissible? Do you report it in SEVIS? If so, how?"
8 CFR 214.2 (f)(4) • DSO should terminate student for AEW with the notation for Leave of Absence. When student is ready to return, DSO should request a correction to student status through SEVIS and be prepared to show evidence that the student is returning (i.e. copy of plane tickets).
300
A J-1 Research Scholar has a family emergency and must return to his home country for a sick relative. He is not sure when he will return, but he intends on returning to complete his current EV program. How long do you keep his record active after he has left the United States? Can you use the Out of Country Functionality?
Sponsors will have to decide under what circumstances a record will be kept in Active status when the exchange participant's activities in the United States are intermittent. No specific regulation on how long an EV can remain outside of the US for travel. Consider these points: engaging in program activity, maintenance of insurance while in Active status, monitoring the exchange visitor. Out of Country may be appropriate if the EV can continue program objective outside of the US.
400
An Engineering Master's student is working 20 hours a week in the dining hall on campus and has submitted a request for unpaid CPT with a local company for 20 hours a week during the same registration period. The student does not want to quit their on campus job and lose that income. Is the CPT granted despite continued on-campus employment?
8 CFR 214.2 (f)(9)(i) • 8 CFR 214.2 (f)(9)(ii)(A) • SEVP On-Campus Employment FAQ 1.13
400
Student transfers their SEVIS record from School A to School B, but does not turn in all necessary documents to issue the I-20 at School B before school starts. The student is required to contact DSO at the transfer-in school within 15 days of the program start date listed on the SEVIS Form I-20. If the student has not been issued a Form I-20 due to lack of documentation at the transfer-in school (financial funding), what is considered the program start date since you cannot back date the program start date on the I-20 in SEVIS? When do you terminate the record?
8 CFR 214.2(f)(8)(ii)(C)
400
An F-2 visa holder would like to apply for Change of Status to F-1 after being admitted to your university for the next available semester. The principal visa holder was recently terminated for unauthorized drop below full course load. Can you issue the Change of Status I-20 for the F-2 visa holder?"
In order to be eligible for Change of Status inside the U.S., the applicant must be in status. If the applicant is not in status at time of the application, they will need to receive an Initial I-20 and leave the U.S. to apply for an F-1 visa before returning and attending classes.
400
A student currently in H4 status has applied for a Change of Status to F1 with your office. The student is currently enrolled for full time hours at your institution and you are completing SEVIS registration for the current semester. The student's application has not been adjudicated by USCIS yet. How do you handle this student's SEVIS record for the current term (Register, Defer Attendance, nothing, etc)?
No official regulation addresses this scenario. • SEVIS records will automatically be canceled by SEVIS 60 days after student's program start date, even though COS is still pending. To avoid this unintended consequence, SEVP has stated that a DSO should use the Defer Attendance function to set a new Program Start Date.
400
You are notified that a student changed his major and send him emails to come to the office and get a change of major I-20. You email him for three months, and he still hasn’t come in to get his new I-20. Is it the student’s responsibility to complete their change of major, or should the DSO issue the I-20 without the student coming in to the office? Is the student out of status?
8 CFR 214.3(g)(2)(ii) • 8 CFR 214.3(g)(1) • • 8 CFR 214.3(g)(1)(iv) • It sounds like the burden of reporting is on the school, so a DSO should go ahead and issue the I-20.
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