New Public Hours for ISSS
Beginning, Monday, August 17 UA International Student & Scholar Services will resume on-campus operations.
NEW PUBLIC HOURS: Monday – Friday, 9 am – 12 noon and 1 – 3 pm CST (by appointment only).
APPOINTMENTS REQUIRED FOR IN-PERSON MEETINGS
During this time, UA International Student & Scholar Services will be open for appointments only.
To make an appointment, please email international@ua.edu or call 205-348-5402.
Whether contacting us by phone or email, please be sure to include your name and CWID (if known) with your inquiry.
Specific Inquiries and Requests
For students and scholars who have specific requests for information, advisement, or virtual appointments, please direct your inquiries to UA ISSS Staff as follows:
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Virtual Advising
If you have immigration questions, our staff is holding virtual advising Monday - Friday from 11am-4:45pm.
When seeking advising via Zoom, students and scholars will be connected with one of the UA ISSS Staff. If there are multiple students and scholars in the queue, you will be placed directly into a waiting room.
Please note, virtual advising is meant for shorter inquiries, and in order to serve all students and scholars, we ask that advising be limited to 5 minutes.
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DEADLINE:
August 26th is the last day to add/drop classes
You need to be fully enrolled by the end of the day on August 26th and it is your last day to drop a course without a grade of "W" for the Fall semester.
More information on full-time enrollment below.
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STUDENT VISA STATUS
FALL 2020 GUIDANCE UPDATED JULY 24
International Student & Scholar Services has received guidance from the Department of Homeland Security (updated July 24, 2020) and separately from the Department of State that F-1 and J-1 students’ visa status will not be affected by UA’s Fall 2020 plans to offer a mixture of in-person, hybrid, and online courses.
Please note that F-1 and J-1 students must continue to maintain full-time enrollment (generally, 12 credit hours for undergraduate students and 9 credit hours for graduate students) during the Fall Semester to maintain visa status.
Exceptions to the full-time enrollment requirement are still allowed for students with authorized reduced course loads, those who are in the final semester of study, and graduate students who are in their dissertation or thesis research phase of study.
FOR NEW STUDENTS (those with new initial I-20s and DS-2019s), you must enroll in at least one on-campus class as an in-person or hybrid course to be eligible for an F-1 or J-1 visa or to enter the United States in F-1 or J-1 status. Those on initial I-20s and DS-2019s cannot enroll fully online in Fall 2020.
FOR CONTINUING STUDENTS (those who are continuing studies on active I-20s and DS-2019s), this means that any combination of enrollment of in-person, hybrid, and online courses (even 100% online) will satisfy the full-time enrollment requirements for F-1 and J-1 status.
Remember that this change in instructional method allowance is temporary, and the suspension of rules will change back to standard enrollment regulations as soon as the COVID-19 Emergency ends.
At this time, there is no anticipation of any change to UA’s plans for on-campus instruction this Fall 2020, but under the July 24 guidance, if UA were to return to 100% remote learning at any point in the Fall 2020 semester in response to COVID-19, all active F-1 and J-1 students would remain in valid immigration status and be able to remain in the U.S.
SPECIAL NOTE FOR J-1 STUDENTS: Per the U.S. State Department, “The purpose of the Exchange Visitor Program is to facilitate in-person exchanges.” Continuing and initial J-1 students are encouraged to enroll in as many on-campus courses offered in an in-person or hybrid format as possible to satisfy the full-time requirements.
FOR STUDENTS RETURNING FROM ABROAD, the notice here suspends the 5-month rule for absences from the United States. So, for those students who are returning to the U.S. and have been outside of the U.S. since Spring Semester 2020, your I-20/DS-2019 and F-1/J-1 student status are valid for return. Please refer to the “RETURNING TO THE UNITED STATES“ section of this page for more information regarding what documents to carry with you.
Please be aware that travel may be challenging at the moment. Many other countries have introduced restrictions on transit and entry. We recommend that you monitor conditions through your home country’s Embassy page and through resources such as the IATA Travel Page.
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DEADLINE:
Health insurance waiver for Fall 2020
September 18th 2020
If you already have medical insurance that meets or exceeds the University of Alabama guidelines (http://international.ua.edu/isss/insurance-medical-care/), you may request a waiver of UA insurance charges.
A waiver form is available here: https://shc.sa.ua.edu/university-sponsored-health-insurance/.
The waiver form must be completed by you as well as your insurance provider and submitted to UA’s Student Health Center.
Without processing a waiver, you will be automatically charged for the University-sponsored insurance policy; so, be sure to submit the waiver in order to avoid paying for two separate insurance policies.
INSURANCE WAIVER FOR FALL 2020 OUT-OF-COUNTRY STUDENTS
If you are enrolled in UA insurance for the Fall 2020 semester but will remain out-of-country for the semester, it is possible to waive out of the UA insurance policy for Fall 2020.
To be eligible for the waiver, you must submit an Out-of-Country Waiver Form with evidence that you are not inside the United States and agree that you
- will not return to the United States prior to January 1, 2021,
- will not be eligible for health insurance coverage through UA’s Insurance Plan until January 1, 2021, and
- will be responsible for any and all personal medical expenses incurred between August 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020.
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F-1 & J-1 Students: Graduating in August 2020?
Apply for OPT/Academic Training NOW!!!
If you are an F-1 or J-1 students graduated in August 2020 OR graduating in December 2020 but won’t enroll in Fall 2020, and plan to work in the U.S, you may file for OPT work authorization now.
Processing time at USCIS for OPT ranges from 3-5 months. You can give your application a head start by putting your file together now.
USCIS must receive your OPT application by October 1, 2020. J-1 students must apply before September 1, 2020.
Please note: F-1 students do not need to have a job offer in hand before applying for OPT. You may apply as long as you are eligible for OPT and INTEND to work in the U.S. J-1 students, however, need to obtain job offer prior to apply for academic training.
If you have questions while filling out forms, please contact one of our international advisers during virtual advising hours via Zoom. Trang Nguyen is doing Virtual advising on Mondays 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM, Tuesdays 3:00PM -4:45 PM, and Fridays 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM.
Special appointments outside those hours can be made by emailing trang.t.nguyen@ua.edu.
As we follow preventive health strategies related to COVID-19, ISSS operations have now moved online. OPT applications will still be processed as usual, only not in person during this time.
To apply for OPT, please scan all of the documents in one (1) single PDF file to international@ua.edu or trang.t.nguyen@ua.edu . Due to the limitation of our database, please limit your file size to 4MB or less if possible. To ensure quick processing, only scan an application when all forms are completed and properly signed. Electronic signatures are acceptable on certain forms. We highly recommend that Form I-765 (for OPT applications) still contain “wet” signature.
More information about student employment can be found here. OPT Packet can be accessed on ISSS website here. The Academic Training Packet is available here.
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International Coffee Hour is Back!!!
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Success and Growth in the US Workshop
Dr Doh would like to invite you to her Success and Growth in the US Workshop.
This workshop will help you adjust better in the US and provide you with opportunities to share your experiences with fellow international students. It will benefit anyone who wants to explore and understand self in the US and is interested in striving for personal growth.
It will take place every Wednesday from 4:00 to 5:00 for 11 weeks starting on September 9th, 2020 (see the weekly schedule below)
If you are interested in this workshop, please contact ISSS (international.ua.edu) to request an application. Once you have returned your application, Dr Doh will call you to schedule a short meeting prior to the workshop.
Applications must be returned by September 6th.
Those of you who have attended this workshop previously can also join the workshop again.
Dr Doh will only accept up to 8 students this semester, so fill in your application ASAP please!!! (we will have a waitlist if we have more than 8 requests).
| week |
Topic |
Activities |
1
(9/9) |
Introduction |
Program orientation
Getting to know each other |
2
(9/16) |
Leaving home
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My culture and me
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3
(9/23) |
Surviving in the US 1 |
In town and campus resources
self-care
Sleep hygiene |
4
(9/30) |
Surviving in the US 2 |
American Culture |
5
(10/7 ) |
Surviving in the US |
Stress management |
6
(10/14) |
Studying in the US |
Multiple intelligence
Effective study strategies
Test anxiety |
7
(10/21) |
Studying in the US |
Time management techniques
Procrastination |
8
(10/28) |
Relationship building
in the US |
Challenging relationship situations in the US
Four communication styles |
9
(11/4)
|
Relationship maintaining with home |
Interpersonal style and expectations across culture
Remembering significant relationships back home |
10
(11/11)
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Growing in the US-1 |
Acculturation model
Social, cultural, and personal
Potential psychological challenges |
12
(11/18) |
Growing in the US-2 |
My developmental tasks
Value exploration |
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African Students Association
The African Students Association is inviting all African students to join their organization and become part of the African community at the university of Alabama.
The Association aims to welcome the African students to the UA community, support them throughout their years at the university, and help them adjust to life in Tuscaloosa.
Please click on the link below to join the Association:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oxuK1sL4X2BwUBABBVrT7hOyFM6kYKRTJ5bF1qSvJPY/edit#gid=0
You will be contacted by the ASA after you complete the form.
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The Plank Center's "Elevating Black Voices" panel series continues one week from today, Thursday 8/27 at 4 p.m. CDT, discussing DEI among emerging PR leaders.
Panelists include:
—Cedric Brown, D&I Explained Columnist at PRSA's Strategies & Tactics
—Carmella Glover, Executive Director of Diversity Action Alliance
—Denvol Haye, Account Supervisor at Prosek Partners
—Leah Seay, Crisis and Issues Media Spokesperson at Amazon
Make sure to tune in here on Facebook Live: facebook.com/plankcenterpr/live
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ELI is looking for international students who would be willing to engage in conversation on various topics one day a week from August 26th- September 30th.
Time slots where students are needed: 11:00-11:50am on Mondays, 2:00-2:50pm on Mondays, 11:00-11:50am on Wednesdays, 2:00-2:50pm on Wednesdays.
If you are interested in volunteering, or want more information, contact Kelly McPherson at kellym@eli.ua.edu.
(Please note these pictures were taken pre-pandemic)
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The Navigators
International Students
Join The Navigators International Students for opportunities to make friends and have fun!!
They have weekly meetings and special events throughout the year.
Follow them on Instagram @uanavs_intl for more details!
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August 26th, 2020
September 7th, 2020
September 18th, 2020
October 28th, 2020
November 20th, 2020
November 20th,2020
November 21st-29th, 2020
November 26th-27th, 2020
December 4th, 2020
December 4th, 2020
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These dates are valid as of 08/13/2020 but could be modified as needed.
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