Immigration News May 2021

Time Sensitive Announcements

Not Graduating in Spring 2021?

If you applied for graduation this Spring, but find that you will not be eligible for graduation, notify the ISSO before May 15, 2021 and request an extension of your I-20. Failure to notify the ISSO in time may result in being ineligible for an extension and loss of your F-1 status. Submit your complete program extension request to ISSODocuments@utdallas.edu as soon as you know you will not graduate.

If you have already applied for Optional Practical Training and you find that you will not graduate this semester, you must notify the ISSO as soon as possible. Failure to notify the ISSO before your program end date on your I-20 could negatively affect your F-1 status.

Summer Enrollment Requirements

Enrolling in summer classes is optional unless you meet one or more of the criteria below:

• It is your first semester at UT Dallas, or your first semester in F-1 status (Example: After being approved for a change of status to F-1, or after arrival in the U.S.), or your first semester with an I-20 for your current degree program (Example: After receiving a change of level I-20).
• It is your final semester at UT Dallas in F-1 or J-1 status (Example: You have filed for graduation for the summer semester). File for graduation by the Graduation Application deadline.

For more information visit the International Student Enrollment webpage. 

Change of Level 

Students who will complete an academic program or end OPT in Spring 2021 and who will continue or begin another degree program in the Summer or Fall 2021 semester, must obtain a Change of Level I-20 to maintain their F-1 status. You must request for your Change of Level I-20 in a timely fashion in order to maintain your F-1 status. See the ISSO Change of Level webpage for more details.

Travel from India

On April 30, 2021, President Biden signed a Proclamation suspending the entry of certain nonimmigrant travelers who have been physically present in India, which went into effect on Tuesday, May 4, 2021. This proclamation suspends the entry into the United States of nonimmigrants who were physically present within the Republic of India during the 14‑day period preceding their entry or attempted entry into the United States.

Students subject to these geographic COVID proclamations due to their presence in India, China, Iran, Brazil, South Africa, the Schengen Area countries, the United Kingdom or Ireland may qualify for a National Interest Exception (NIE). The NIE allows F-1 new and continuing F-1 students to enter the U.S. up to 30 days before the fall semester start date (8/23/2021). F-1 students, including those on OPT, with a current, valid visa do not need to apply for the NIE – they are automatically eligible. Students without a current visa will automatically be considered for the NIE when applying for a visa.

F-1 OPT students should keep in mind that these restrictions will affect summer travel. F-1 OPT students can travel directly from the affect countries to the U.S. on or after August 1, 2021. If an F-1 OPT student needs to enter the U.S. before August 1, 2021, they would need quarantine in a third country for at least 14 days before attempting to enter the U.S.

Report International Travel

The Office of Emergency Management & Continuity Planning is asking all students, faculty, and staff to report their international travel. Students should complete the International Travel Reporting Form to report their international travel prior to beginning their trip. Once submitted, they will be sent an automatic email with current CDC guidance regarding testing/quarantine information. Please note that this is not an approval form. The appropriate steps should still be taken to request and report travel to the university.

Comet Giving Day

Due to the generosity of campus partners, community members, alumni and current students like you, the ISSO was able to distribute much needed emergency funds to students since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. These funds are now mostly exhausted. Please consider giving to the International Student Emergency Fund this Comet Giving Day, and any day. All funds are disbursed to international students.

Fall will be Face-to-Face

UT Dallas plans to resume face-to-face classes in fall 2021. For the past year, classes have been offered in online formats and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has provided temporary enrollment requirements that allow F-1 students to meet enrollment requirements with online classes. UT Dallas’ return to in-person modalities means that F-1 students will likely not be able to meet full-time enrollment requirements with solely online classes in the fall. Current students outside of the Dallas area should plan to return to Dallas for the fall semester.

SEVP Announces Enrollment Requirements

The Student and Exchange Visitor Program has announced that the temporary enrollment requirements will continue for the 2021 – 2022 academic year. While the standard enrollment regulations only allow one online or hybrid course to count towards a student’s enrollment requirements, the temporary SEVP guidance allows more than one course to apply towards a student’s enrollment requirements.

If you were in active F-1 status on March 9, 2020 and have continually maintained your status, you may enroll in completely online courses (if available). Regardless of whether online courses are offered for your program of study, you must enroll in at least 9 credit hours as a graduate student or 12 credit hours as an undergraduate unless approved by ISSO for a reduced course load.

If you gained F-1 status after March 9, 2020, you are required to enroll in at least one course with in-person components and you should be prepared to participate in the in-person components. You must enroll in at least 9 credit hours as a graduate student or 12 credit hours as an undergraduate unless approved by ISSO for a reduced course load.

File for OPT Online

On April 12, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that F-1 students seeking optional practical training (OPT) can now file Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, online. To file the I-765 for OPT online, you must first create a USCIS online account at https://myaccount.uscis.gov/. See USCIS’s step-by-step guide to setting up your account. There are many benefits to filing online and the ISSO strongly recommends submitting your OPT application through the online portal. If you have already applied with a paper submission, you can link your paper submission to your online account using your I-797 Receipt Number. If you have questions about the online filing process, refer to the USCIS website or contact USCIS for more information.

H-1B Cap Gap

Employers must complete an electronic registration process as a part of the H-1B petition process. Registration opened in March. H-1B registration DOES NOT provide Cap Gap Extension eligibility. Any Cap Gap Extension is based on the filing date (when the full application is sent to USCIS), not the registration date. You will receive both a registration notice after electronic registration and a receipt notice after filing the application. Only the receipt notice can be used for Cap Gap Extension benefits.

Summer 2021 Student Health Insurance

If you are an international student enrolled in Summer 2021 classes, you are automatically assessed a student health insurance fee to cover the cost of the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP).  If you choose to obtain alternative insurance you must request a waiver of the student health insurance fee if you want a waiver of the SHIP coverage. If you will be taken classes at UTD this summer while NOT residing in the United States, please email stuhealthinsurance@utdallas.edu for more information about health insurance requirements.

The waiver requests must be submitted online each semester. If you are not enrolled in summer classes, then you are not automatically enrolled in the SHIP. However, the Student Health Center recommends that you maintain health insurance coverage continuously while in the U.S. If you have any questions about the waiver or purchasing summer insurance coverage, email stuhealthinsurance@utdallas.edu, or visit the Student Health Center website.

Ensure your Home Address in Galaxy is up to date for Summer 2021

Check your Galaxy account to make sure your current physical address is listed as your home address. If you will be outside the U.S. during the summer, please ensure that within 10 days Galaxy reflects the accurate home address of where you will reside abroad. When you return to the U.S., update Galaxy again within 10 days of your arrival.

Submit Processing Requests to ISSO Early

ISSO receives a high volume of student and alumni requests. Don’t wait until the last minute! Submit requests to ISSO 3-4 weeks in advance of when you need them.

Scam Alert

The ISSO has received reports of scammers calling and emailing students, pretending to be U.S. government officials and threatening deportation. The scammers tell the student that they failed to fill out the AR-11 form and may mention that the student needs to complete a background check. This is a scam. F-1 students do not need to complete the AR-11 form, and U.S. government agencies do not call, text, or email. If you have any questions about a potential contact or scam, call the UT Dallas Police at 972-883-2222. You may also report potential scams to covid19fraud@dhs.gov.

Official communications from UT Dallas about COVID-19 will continue to be provided via UT Dallas email addresses and the UT Dallas website, utdallas.edu/coronavirus/. If you are uncertain about the source of communications you receive, please validate legitimacy. You may also contact the UT Dallas Information Security Office  infosecurity@utdallas.edu.

Advising Services

ISSO Live Chats

The ISSO advisors will be available to chat online during regular advising hours. To chat, visit isso.utdallas.edu/advising during advising hours. This chat is for general questions only. Do not share your ID number or other private information, as the live chat is not encrypted.

• Mondays 10am – 11:45am and 3pm – 4:45pm CST
• Tuesdays 10am – 11:45am and 3pm – 4:45pm CST
• Wednesdays 5pm – 6:45pm CST
• Thursdays 10am – 11:45am and 3pm – 4:45pm CST
• Fridays 3pm – 4:45pm CST

Contact an advisor

Advisors are working remotely and can answer your immigration questions in a scheduled appointment or through the Ask an Advisor eForm in iComet (http://utd.edu/t/6085). If you have access to your iComet Portal, you should submit questions through iComet – do not send advising questions by email. You will be able to see responses to your questions in your iComet portal.

Advising appointments are available up to 7 days in advance. Appointments more than 7 days in the future will show as “unavailable.” If you do not see any available appointments, try checking back again the next day.

ISSO Office Phone Lines

You can call the ISSO! Our welcome desk staff will answer phone calls to our main office line 972-882-4189 between 9 am – 3 pm. The welcome desk staff are not advisors and cannot offer immigration advising.

Workshops

The mandatory CPT and OPT workshops are available online through iComet. In-person workshops are cancelled until further notice.

Welcome Desk Services

You are welcome to call the ISSO for assistance, but keep in mind that the people you see at ISSO welcome desks/ who answer any incoming calls are not immigration advisors. They are staff and student workers that can help you with general inquires. The types of assistance you can expect to receive from our welcome desk include: information on how to navigate through our iComet portal or our website, information on advising services, information on estimated processing times, information on how to collect your original documents, and information on how you can submit requests to our office.