ISSS Orientation

2015
An overview of F-1 & J-1 student
immigration documents, how to
maintain status, on- and off- campus
work, and other international student
issues

International Student &

Scholar
Services
Staf
Doris Clausen, Associate Dean (dclausen@stevens.edu)
Elizabeth Gill, Associate Director (egill@stevens.edu)
Caitlin Chavarria, Advisor (cross@stevens.edu)
Karine Nanagoulian, Incoming International Student
Advisor (knanagou@stevens.edu)
Jean Lee, Advisor (hlee4@stevens.edu)
Trinh Nguyen, Coordinator (tnguyen4@stevens.edu)
Student Workers
Shilpi Talukdar
Sushmita De
Location & Ofice Hours
Howe Center, 5th Floor
Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM
Open office hours: Mon. & Thurs. 1:30-3 PM
Tues. 1:30-4:30 PM

Points-of-Contact
Ms. Elizabeth Gill (egill@stevens.edu), Associate Director:
Graduate students in the Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of
Engineering & Science
Excluding the following departments: Chemical Engineering &
Materials Science, Mathematical Sciences
Ms. Jean Lee (hlee4@stevens.edu), Advisor:
All J-1 students and scholars
All students in the School of Systems & Enterprises (SSE)
All students in the Department of Mathematical Sciences
Ms. Trinh Nguyen (tnguyen4@stevens.edu), Coordinator:
All undergraduate students (excluding students in the SSE and
Mathematical Sciences)
All students in the School of Business
All students in the Department of Chemical Engineering &
Materials Science
All students in the College of Arts and Letters

Check In!
MOST IMPORTANT:
You must have checked in
with our offices during the
check-in session OR in our office
before today. For anyone who
missed check-in (tell your
friends!), you must check in at
our offices on the 5th floor of the
Howe Center no later than
August 31, 2015!

Immigration Whos Who

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
consists of three main immigration-related agencies:
USCIS, ICE, and CBP
Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
manages arrivals to and departures from the U.S.
United States Citizenship and Immigration
Services (USCIS) grants immigration benefits
(such as work authorization) in the U.S.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
(ICE) handles immigration enforcement
ICE is in charge of the Student and
Exchange Visitor Information System
(SEVIS), an online database that stores all
information on individuals with F, J, or M status
Stevens is required to report on all F and J
students and scholars in SEVIS

Maintaining Immigration
Documents
Visa

Key to enter the U.S. to study

Multiple entries (M) or limited entries (1 or 2)
Can leave and reenter up to the expiration date
Ok if it expires while you are in the U.S.; not
necessary to
renew it unless traveling outside U.S. and
returning
We recommend you renew your visa in your
home country
If you changed your status to F-1 or J-1 while in
the U.S., you

Visa (contd)
Give time for the visa renewal; dont do it during
spring break! We recommend you renew your visa
at least one month before you plan to return to the
U.S.
Guidance for renewing your visa is on our website
here: http://stevens.edu/sit/isss/travel.

Passport
For most students, passport must be valid
six months
into the future at all times, so make sure to
renew it early!
Can renew at your countrys embassy or
consulate in
NYC or D.C.
After renewing your passport, you must
continue to
carry the old passport that contains your F1/J-1 visa.
A valid visa in an expired passport is still
useable!

I-94
Says why you are here (F-1 or J-1) and how long you
can stay:
D/S (duration of status; you can stay in the U.S. for as
long as you are
engaged in full-time study or authorized work)
Always check I-94 stamp before leaving the Port of
Entry (airport or
U.S. border). If anything is incorrect, get it fixed
before you leave the
airport.
Some institutions (like DMV, SSA, USCIS) may
require a printout of
your electronic I-94 information; you can make the
printout here:
www.cbp.gov/i94.

I-20/DS-2019
Agreement with the U.S. government regarding
your F-1/J-1 status
Tells where you are studying, what your
educational objective is,
how long it will take you to complete that
objective, and how you
are supporting the costs of studying and living
here.

Any document that

changes must be
photocopied for ISSS files.
You should carry copies of
your immigration
documents or the
originals with you at all
times!

Maintaining Status: Full Course

of Study

Required credits for fall & spring for each

program
(summer is not a required term)
12 per semester for undergraduates
9 per semester for graduates
6 per semester for graduate certificate program
Students must register for the required credits
listed above EVERY fall and spring semester.
Full course of study equivalencies (with
permission from ISSS)
Final semester of undergraduate/graduate study
(must take all
remaining courses)
Only thesis or dissertation remaining (must
register for D-999)
Other reasons listed on the Reduced Course
Load Request form
Web Courses (online)

Full Course of Study

(contd)
Class registration is assessed at end of
drop/add period
If registered for the correct number of
credits, student is registered in SEVIS.
If not, student will be contacted; failure
to register
full-time will result in termination of F-1
record.
Final grade evaluation
After final grades have been submitted to
Registrar
Any student who drops below full-time
can be
terminated for non-attendance.
If only one class is remaining in
final semester, it

Reduced Course Load

All reduced course loads (even during
thesis/
dissertation work, etc.) must be
authorized by a
Designated School Official (ISSS staff)
Only for a very specific list of academic
issues
For medical conditions with
documentation from a
medical doctor, clinical psychologist, or
doctor of
osteopathy
A student who reduces his/her course
load without

Changes to the I-20/DS2019/SEVIS Record

Types
Change of address:
You MUST change your
address in your My Stevens
account
Change of name (must provide proof)
Change of financial
support/sponsorship
Change of major
Addition of minor or second major
Report change within 10 days of its
occurrence
Most changes should also be
reported to

Travel
Within the U.S.
Take your passport, student ID card, and
Form I-20/DS-2019. Make sure all your
immigration documents are always in a safe
place.

Outside the U.S.

Passport valid for at least 6 months into the
future from date of entry
A valid F-1/J-1 visa (unexpired if expired, you
will
need to anticipate additional time for visa
renewal)
Form I-20/DS-2019 with a valid travel
signature from ISSS

I-20: The travel signature (2nd or 3rd page of I-20) is

valid for one year, so you will need one the first time
you travel and a new one whenever it expires.
DS-2019: The travel signature (1st page) is valid for
either 1 year or the duration of your program,

Concurrent Enrollment
F-1 students are permitted to take
courses at other SEVIS-approved
schools
Consult with the ISSS and your
academic
adviser BEFORE registering for
a
course(s) at another school; you
must
submit an application to ISSS to

Leave of Absence & School

Transfer

Leaves of absence and school

transfers have specific deadlines
and procedures in the SEVIS
system. If you need to take a leave
or wish to transfer to another
school, please contact ISSS before
moving forward with either of
these processes so that we can
properly assist you.

Program End Date

If you decide to leave before your program end
date, you must
apply for Authorized Early Withdrawal
(contact us!)
If you need more time to complete your
program (i.e., you
changed your major or added a second major),
you must apply
for a Program Extension. You should apply
for an extension
if you think you will not graduate; you cannot
extend your
I-20 or DS-2019 after your program end
date.
If you will graduate early, you must request
that your I-20/DS-

Program End Date

(contd)

ONLY options in the 60-day grace

period
(F-1 students) or 30-day grace period
(J-1 students) after your program end
date:

Depart the U.S.

Transfer to another school
Change education level or program
Start post-completion OPT or
Academic Training

Violations of Status
What are some examples of violations of
status?
Not pursuing a full course of study or
not
getting permission to reduce course
load
Working without permission or
exceeding the
limitations of your authorized work
Not complying with immigrations
procedures
for transferring schools, changing levels,
extending
the time you need to complete a program
of study,

Deadline Overview

Please see our Deadline

Overview handout
here
for a helpful guide to the
various timelines you
must follow in order to
maintain
your F-1/J-1 status!:
http://www.stevens.edu/sit/iss
s/forms

On-Campus Work
20 hours per week
During fall and spring semesters
Total among all departments, including
R.A./R.D. positions, assistantships, etc.
Full-time work
During official school breaks included in the
program (Includes winter holiday, spring break,
and summer break)
Organizations that operate within the
college to serve
students, such as the cafeteria, are counted
as on-campus.
Volunteer Positions (such as orientation
leaders) not counted,
but please check to make sure you are allowed to
volunteer.
F-1/J-1 students in their first semester

Of-Campus Work
F-1:
Optional Practical Training (OPT)
Curricular Practical Training (CPT)
Employment with an International Organization
Economic Hardship Employment
Information and online workshops for OPT and CPT are
located here:
CPT: http://www.stevens.edu/sit/isss/f1-students#cpt
OPT: http://www.stevens.edu/sit/isss/f1-students#opt
J-1:
Academic Training
Economic Hardship Employment

Both paid and unpaid work/internships require

work authorization!

J-1-Specific Issues
Health Insurance
All J-1 students, including any J-2 dependents,
are required to have health insurance that
meets certain standards of coverage for
sickness, accident, medical evacuation, and
repatriation of remains throughout the duration
of their program. Please contact Caitlin
Chavarria if you have any questions about this
requirement.

On Campus Employment
Any on-campus employment, including
assistantships, fellowships, and work in
conjunction with scholarships, must be
authorized by the ISSS/program sponsor in the

Social Security
You must have a job to receive a
Social Security #.
Social Security number is required to get
paid for
employment but not to start working.
You can get an SSN letter (for your oncampus
employer to sign) and information about
applying for
the SSN from our website:
http://
www.stevens.edu/sit/isss/life-in-the-us.

Drivers Licenses
Commonly used as a form of U.S. ID
Information located on our website:
http://stevens.edu/sit/isss/life-in-the-us
You can also contact the Department of Motor
Vehicles:
1-888-486-3339 or http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/
If you are living in NY and attending Stevens,
you will probably not be eligible for a drivers license
in either NY or NJ, but you are welcome to try.
Important: To apply for an SSN or drivers license,
your F-1/J1 record must be registered in SEVIS (made active).
New
students F-1 records will not become active until
~9/29/2015.

IRS Reporting
Information about filing your taxes
is located here:
http://
www.stevens.edu/sit/isss/life-in-the-us
Form 8843 (for all F1/J1 students)
Required by U.S. law to be completed
by students every year
Deadline to file: June 15 (postmark)
Form 1040 NR/NR-EZ (for students who
worked)
For a non-resident (NR) who had
any U.S. source of income
Deadline to file: April 15
We will e-mail more information

Helpful Resources & Best

Wishes
Resources:
ISSS Website: http://stevens.edu/sit/isss
Facebook Page (Stevens Institute of
Technology
International Student & Scholar Services)

www.one-to-world.org

Conversation beyond Borders

Phone- 201-216-5189
We wish you the best of luck in your
studies here, and were happy to answer
any of your questions to help you
maintain your immigration status!