Important Announcement
for Current International Students
Release Date: July 7, 2020
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) has released guidance for the Fall 2020 term. This guidance is different than previous guidance for Spring and Summer 2020.
- For universities that will only be offering online classes for fall (such as many colleges and universities on the coasts), students will be required to leave the U.S. or transfer to another university which does not provide fully online instruction.
- Students at universities with a hybrid model, such as WSU, will be permitted to remain in the U.S. as long as our office certifies that each student is not enrolled entirely online and the student is taking the minimum number of online classes required to make progress toward their degree. To do this, we must reissue new I-20s to all of our international students and notate this information in the remarks area of the I-20.
- Students at universities offering hybrid classes (such as WSU) will not be allowed to maintain an active SEVIS record if they will remain outside of the U.S. for the Fall 2020 term. Instead, we must terminate the SEVIS record for Authorized Early Withdrawal. Students can still continue to enroll in as many online classes as they want at WSU – they will simply need a new I-20 when they return to the U.S. in a future term. Please note that in order to issue a new I-20, a new financial statement may be required. You may also have to pay the I-901 SEVIS fee again (currently $350) and your practical training eligibility may reset (meaning you will have to study for one full academic year before you can do CPT or OPT).
We are still developing a system by which students will need to report to OIE their future plans. In the meantime, it is important that students who will remain in the U.S. for the Fall 2020 or, if currently abroad, return to the U.S. for Fall 2020, enroll in a full course of study that is not all online or hybrid without a physical presence component. Students who have no physical presence requirement for any of their Fall 2020 courses will be required to leave the U.S.
We understand that students have many questions regarding their Fall plans and we are working diligently to develop an FAQ section that should be published on our website in the next few days. We appreciate your patience.