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Notice: No Advising April 11
 
Students may pick up and drop off documents but there will be no advisors in the office.
 
Enrollment Requirements
 
Registration for summer and fall begins: March 25th, 2019.
 
Students holding student (F-1/J-1) visas are required to be full-time students and maintain "full-time status" while they are in the United States.

Undergraduate students
must be enrolled for a minimum of 12 credit hours during the fall and spring semesters to be considered full-time students.

Graduate students must be enrolled for a minimum of 9 credit hours during the fall and spring semester to be considered full-time students. Some graduate programs may require more than 9 credit hours of enrollment to be considered full-time (e.g. Law and MBA programs).

ELI students must be enrolled in 18 clock hours per week of core classes (if you are unsure of your visa status or of how many classes you should take, please ask in the ELI office).

 
For more information regarding enrollment requirements and exceptions please refer to our website (http://international.ua.edu/isss/currentstudents/full-time-enrollment-requirement/)
On-Campus Employment Reminders
 
Students on F-1 and J-1 student visas, here are a few quick reminders about what employment is allowed under the student visa.

On-Campus Employment is allowed up to a maximum of 20 hours per week during the fall and spring semesters.  On-Campus Employment means that the employment takes place on the UA campus and also serves UA students, faculty, and staff.  Employment can be for a UA department or for an employer such as Bama Dining which is located on the UA Campus.
On-Campus Employment may exceed 20 hours per week during official university breaks (Summer break, Winter break, and Spring break).  This means that students can work more than 20 hours per week on-campus after exam week. 

To be clear, as an international student visa holder, there are a number of restrictions against employment. Some common employment that is NOT ALLOWED without special authorization by ISSS and the Department of Homeland Security:
  1. Freelancing for non-UA entities;
  2. Tutoring for anyone other than UA for pay;
  3. Gig economy jobs such as driving for UBER, LYFT or delivery for SHIPT or other online companies (these are jobs, and count as employment, even if you are not an employee in the traditional sense);
  4. Waiting tables at a restaurant off-campus, even if only for tips.
http://international.ua.edu/isss/currentstudents/student-employment/ 
If you have any doubts or questions about whether or not something counts as on-campus work or not, please see an advisor in International Student & Scholar Services.
 

Graduating in May? Apply for work authorization NOW.
Certain students graduating in August may also apply.

 

The earliest date to file for OPT for F-1 students graduating in May 2019 is February 3, 2019. If you are graduating this spring semester, you may apply for Optional Practical Training now. USCIS takes 3 - 5 months to process OPT applications. Therefore, ISSS highly recommend students who plan to work in the U.S. after graduation apply for OPT as early as possible. 

 

Certain graduate students may also apply for their work authorization now:
If you are a PhD student completing your dissertation and are submitting your final dissertation by May 7, 2019, you are not required to enroll in the summer semester.
Thesis master students who submit their thesis by June 1, 2019 are also not required to enroll in the summer.
Even though you may not attend your graduation ceremony and receive you diploma until August 4, 2019, your I-20 is considered to end at the end of this spring semester (05/04/2019).
In short, if you are a doctoral students or thesis master student graduating in August but will not enroll in summer 2019, you are now in the filing window for OPT work authorization. More information about I-20 end date and minimum registration hours could be found here.

 
Students who wish to apply for OPT or Academic Training must gather their documents and secure an appointment with an ISSS advisor. OPT Packet can be found on the ISSS website here. The Academic Training Packet  is here
 

OPT, CPT, and AT processing appointments are held every Tuesday and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Please schedule an appointment by calling 205-348-5402, emailing international@ua.edu or going online http://sarsweb.ua-net.ua.edu/eSARS/CINTL_IS/eSARS.asp

 

 
Scam Warning
 
Please be aware that there are a high volume of tax and immigration scams this time of year.  Most of these types of scams will spoof a government agency phone number or email address in order to look official.
Please note: the IRS, DHS, and other government agencies will never contact you by phone or email.
 
Signs of a Scam Phone Call:
  1. Caller requests you to pay a fine using Western Union, PayPal, Green Dot, MoneyGram or some other wire transfer service
  2. Caller threatens your arrest or deportation for failure to act within a very short period of time.
  3. Caller will try to prevent you from hanging up, asking you to visit a retail store to transfer funds while remaining on the phone.
Scam Resources:
•  For more information on immigration scams: http://www.uscis.gov/avoidscams.    
•  For more information on tax/IRS scams: http://www.irs.gov/uac/Report-Phishing and http://www.irs.gov/uac/Tax-Scams-Consumer-Alerts.  
•  For more information on money transfer and check scams: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0090-using-money-transfer-services.   
•  In addition to the USCIS, IRS, and Consumer FTC Sites, scams can be reported here: https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx.

 
 
 

If you have a TIF family, then join us for the TIF Picnic on April 7 from 3-6pm at Camp Tuscoba (2900 Camp Tuscoba Rd., Northport, AL 35402) off of Union Chapel Road between Hwy 69 and Hwy 43.

There will be outdoor activities including paddle boating, basketball, and tug–of-war, but feel free to bring a ball or other outdoor activities with you. We will grill out hamburgers and hotdogs, as well as a number of other delicious American dishes for dinner.

We hope you will join us in celebrating the end of the semester with TIF at the TIF Picnic!

Sign up in 105 BB Comer for a ride if you do not have transportation to come.

 
 
 

No Coffee Hour on Friday, April 5th (Honors Day / Classes Dismissed)
Nepalese New Year

Join the Nepalese Student Association for Nepali New Year on April 14th. All are welcome! www.bit.ly/ncn2019
The Wave

Experience Caribbean culture at The Caribbean Students' Association's The Wave! There will be food, games, music and fun at the Intercultural Diversity Center. 

The Wave will be held on April 22nd at 6 p.m. Central Standard Time.

Everyone is welcome!
DESIGN FOR AMERICA

All International Students! Design for America has been working on a project to help improve the International Student experience on campus. Help us out!! Please take time to fill out this survey and tell us the change YOU want to see on campus! Go to dfaua.org for more information on Design for America!

Here is the link to the survey: 

https://universityofalabama.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1MKQ0seMNmg6yc5

 

 
 
 
UA students and community members share traditions and cultures, learn about local opportunities, and meet new friends at Global Café.

Take part in the Language Partnership Program and join us for our Concluding Celebration on April 9th for refreshments, tutor recognition, photos with language partners, and a group photo with Big Al!

http://ccbp.ua.edu/global-cafe-spring-2019-calendar/
 Academic Calendar

March 25th, 2019: Registration for Summer and Fall 2019 begins
April 5th, 2019: Honors Day (classes dismissed)
April 11th, 2019: No Advising
April 26th, 2019: Classes End
April 29th-May 3rd, 2019: Final Exams
Copyright © 2019 International Student & Scholar Services, All rights reserved.


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