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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PUBLIC HOURS FOR ISSS
UA International Student & Scholar Services has resumed on-campus operations.
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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CHANGES FOR SPRING SEMESTER 2021
The University of Alabama will continue in-person instruction and on-campus residence for the 2021 Spring Semester with some important changes to the calendar:
- Classes will begin Wednesday, Jan. 13, a week later than previously scheduled to provide 12 days between New Year’s Day and initial classroom meetings.
- Spring break will be canceled for continuous learning to mitigate risks associated with travel.
- The last day for students to add/drop classes without a “W” is Wednesday, Jan. 20.
- Classes will be canceled on Monday, March 15, as a wellness/study day mid-semester, but offices will remain open.
Other important dates for Spring 2021 include the following:
- Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday (UA closed) – Jan. 18
- Honors Week – April 5-April 9
- Honors Day – April 9
- Final Exams – April 26-30
- Commencement – April 30-May 1
Classes will look much the same as they do this semester, with the majority having an in-person component and remote options in case a student or faculty member needs to quarantine or isolate.
Spring semester health and safety protocols:
The established public health policies will continue to be in effect, including wearing masks and practicing social distancing.
Those on campus are encouraged to report known or potential cases of COVID-19 to the University’s COVID-19 Response Team by calling 205-348-CV19 (2819).
The COVID-19 Response Team is responsible for case managing all UA students, faculty and staff and can offer help and assistance when notified of suspected cases and positive exposures. Team members include nurse practitioners available to answer all health-related questions.
The spring semester will continue to work in accordance to UA’s return plan, which is governed by the UA System Comprehensive Health and Safety Plan.
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Increase in OPT Filling Fee
NOT going into effect on October 02, 2020
On Sept. 29, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California preliminarily enjoined DHS from implementing or enforcing any part of the USCIS Fee Schedule and Changes to Certain Other Immigration Benefit Request Requirements rule.
For students who plan to apply for OPT this semester, this means while the rule is preliminarily enjoined, USCIS will continue to accept current edition of Form I-765 and current fees ($410)
International Student & Scholar Services will continue to monitor the ruling and will update F-1 students when there are any changes.
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F-1 & J-1 Students: Graduating in December 2020?
Apply for OPT/Academic Training NOW!!!
If you are an F-1 or J-1 students graduating in December 2020, and plan to work in the U.S, you may file for Optional Practical Training ( for F-1 students) or Academic Training (for J-1 students) 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 documents together now.
USCIS can accept your OPT application as early as 90 days prior to your completion date and as late as 60 days after your completion date. J-1 students must apply before the program completion date.
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, Tuesdays, and Fridays Tuesdays 3:00PM -4:45 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 and AT applications will still be processed as usual, only not in person during this time.
To apply for OPT or AT, 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. Form I-765 (for OPT applications) must contain a hand-signed, “wet” signature.
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ADDRESS UPDATE WITHIN 10 DAYS
All non-U.S. citizens residing in the U.S. are required to update their address within 10 days of any change of address (U.S. or Permanent Home Country Address). It is one of the basic requirements for maintaining F or J Student Visa Status (more information on main visa responsibilities available at http://international.ua.edu/isss/currentstudents/maintaining-student-visa-status/.
F and J visa holders should update their address in myBama (local mailing and non-mailing addresses as well as Permanent Home Country Address), and ISSS will report the change to the Department of Homeland Security in SEVIS. All other visa holders should update their address both in myBama and with US Citizenship and Immigration Services by submitting the Form AR-11 online at this website: https://www.uscis.gov/addresschange.
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REGISTRATION HOLD
All international undergraduate students currently have a registration hold on their account.
This hold was placed after Fall add/drop date and will be removed before Spring registration opens.
The hold is there to prevent students from dropping below full-time (12 credit hours) and jeopardizing their immigration status.
Please contact us at international@ua.edu, if you need the hold to be temporarily lifted so you can add/drop a course during the semester.
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UA Gameday Reminders for Students
We want students to enjoy their experience at UA, and part of that is attending Alabama Football games.
As a reminder, Gameday Information can be found here: https://uagameday.com/. This site includes valuable information about security procedures to enter the stadium as well as the rules for tailgating.
Don't forget:
Have fun and Roll Tide!
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FREE FLU SHOTS
The College of Community Health Sciences leads The University of Alabama’s annual campus-wide effort to vaccinate students, faculty and staff against the flu.
The quadrivalent flu shots are free to students, faculty, staff and spouses; insurance is not required. Employees and students must have their CWID.
In addition to the locations indicated on the CCHS website (https://cchs.ua.edu/flushot/), faculty and staff can visit the Faculty-Staff Clinic at University Medical Center for their free flu shot, and students can visit the Student Health Center.
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International Coffee Hour is Back!!!
Bring your own coffee (or tea), and join us for a virtual coffee hour every Fridays at 11:30am. If you would like to attend, you will need to register using the link that will be made available every week on the UA event calendar (https://calendar.ua.edu/) and on our social media (see links at the top of the newsletter).
(Please note this picture was taken pre-pandemic)
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Learn what it is like to be an international student at UA from students like you! Join our International Student Panel on Zoom where you can ask international students your questions. RSVP using this link https://universityofalabama.az1.qualtrics.com/.../SV... before 8 am on Oct. 8th.
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Virtual Gathering:
How to Talk to your Child's Teacher
Tuesday, October 6th, 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm
Students, staff, and community members are welcome.
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Visiting Teachers from Tuscaloosa Public Schools lead our most popular conversation. Bring your questions. Help your child excel in US schools and have a successful year in Tuscaloosa.
We are Global Café, http://ccbp.ua.edu/global-cafe/news/ We provide a welcome to international scholars and students, and we connect US students with international visitors on campus.
We ask that all those who are attending to RSVP. RSVP is the only way you will receive an invitation to the event. The Zoom link will be sent out approximately 3:30p.m. Tuesday.
The RSVP link is: https://universityofalabama.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5jUjUVG23llTMDb. RSVP link will close 2 PM on Tuesday.
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All Global Café participants have a chance to meet one another and enjoy the support of a warm community through our afternoon events. Our first event is a chance to meet one another and hear about how our lives are going. Join us for a visit. Attendees will mostly be tutors and international students and scholars.
We are Global Café, http://ccbp.ua.edu/global-cafe/news/ We provide a welcome to international scholars and students, and we connect US students with international visitors on campus.
We ask that all those who are attending to RSVP. RSVP is the only way you will receive an invitation to the event. The RSVP link is: https://universityofalabama.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_dpAZOzUMzq73hVb. RSVP link will close 2 PM on Tuesday.
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Calling all Haiku poets!
Tuscaloosa Sister Cities International is accepting haiku (Japanese-style poetry) for their project, "Coming Together During a Global Pandemic'. Haiku traditionally feature three lines of poetry, formatted in 5-7-5 syllable structure. Example: Can we walk outside?/yes, but not too close, you see,/ please maintain your distance. (CJ Riculan, author). Haiku may be solemn, observational experiential, or provocative in nature. What a productive way to share thoughts and experiences during these challenging days.
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All are welcome to participate! Please submit your haiku by October 16, 2020, to Tuscaloosacities@gmail.com and include your name and city. TCSI plans to publish a booklet with the top 100 haiku at the end of the year!
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August 26th, 2020
September 4th, 2020
September 7th, 2020
September 18th, 2020
October 26th, 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 10/01/2020 but could be modified as needed.
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