[Faculty] Fwd: International graduate students

[Garoma, Temesgen]

Dear Colleagues,

I am forwarding an email from the Graduate and Research Affairs. The email
contains useful information regarding international students (admitted this
cycle) and issues related to F-1 visa.

Thank you,
Garoma
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Ed Balsdon <ebalsdon at sdsu.edu>
Date: Fri, May 22, 2020 at 3:02 PM
Subject: International graduate students
To: GRA Advisor <GRA.Advisor at sdsu.edu>, GRA Doctoral Program Advisors <
GRA.DocAdvisor at sdsu.edu>, Andrew Bohonak <AsstDeanGRA at sdsu.edu>


Dear Colleagues,

Many of you have questions about how to help SDSU’s international graduate
students navigate this crisis. We learned some useful information this week
related to graduate students with (or currently seeking) an F-1 visa
<https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/study/student-visa.html>,
which I have summarized below. (Many thanks to Noah Hansen, Margarita
Pina-Harlow, Thom Harpole, and others.) Please consider this information
when advising your international students and recruits. I encourage you to
reach out to them proactively.


   -

   US embassies worldwide are not issuing F-1 visas at this current time.
   Even if they resume issuing visas this summer, it will be difficult for new
   recruits planning an overseas move to San Diego to do so in time for the
   Fall semester. Continuing graduate students (or new recruits already
   residing in the US) who hold visas are currently able to remain in their
   F-1 status.
   -

   If a Fall 2020 international recruit inquires about deferring admission
   to Spring 2021, it is possible to arrange a deferral with minimum fuss by
   contacting Margarita Pina-Harlow in Graduate Admissions. First consider
   whether a Spring start works with the design of your program. It may be
   that a deferral is possible, yet not a productive route to advise recruits
   to take, e.g., Spring course offerings are the second half of a clear
   sequence. Admission deferrals for a full year, to Fall 2021, are not
   currently available without requiring the student to re-submit an
   application to the university next year. If that changes, I will update
   this information.
   -

   F-1 visas are not historically granted for enrollment in graduate
   programs designed predominantly for distance learning. However, current
   federal guidance is that visa holders may enroll in programs compelled
   into distance or hybrid modality by the current crisis. The “flex” hybrid
   plan for instruction in Fall 2020 will not violate the terms of an F-1 visa.
   -

   A Fall 2020 international recruit unable to obtain a visa for Fall 2020
   may in principle begin a program by enrolling in distance coursework from
   their home country. Please consider whether that option is consistent with
   your emerging plans for instruction in the Fall. A student enrolling in
   this manner will be prohibited from employment in any campus (TA, GA, ISA)
   or SDSURF position.


For other information on Covid-19 changes affecting SDSU graduate students,
visit https://grad.sdsu.edu/current_grad_students/coronavirus.

This list does not cover all contingencies, and many important unknowns
remain about the road ahead. I invite you to contact me directly with
questions about these and other matters; we will do our best to track down
the best information available. Thank you again for your tireless efforts,
and best wishes for the holiday weekend.

Ed

-- 
Edmund M. Balsdon
Associate Dean
Graduate & Research Affairs
San Diego State University
(619) 594 - 2309
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://engineering.sdsu.edu/pipermail/faculty/attachments/20200522/29de1021/attachment.html>