Hello New Triton!,

Welcome to UC San Diego! The International Students & Programs Office (ISPO) is here to support you as you begin your journey as a new student at UC San Diego and are here to help you navigate the ins and outs of your program as an international student. 
Chancellor Khosla’s Message of Support to our International Student Community
In response to the July 6th guidance regarding COVID-19 released by the Student & Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), UC San Diego’s Chancellor Khosla released the following message of support to our entire campus community. 
 
Now, as always, the campus is here to fully support our diverse and vibrant community of talented international students at UC San Diego. 
Fall 2020 SEVP Guidance Regarding COVID-19
Fall 2020 Online Enrollment - Impacts on F-1 Students

On July 6, 2020, the Student & Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) released  temporary procedural adaptations regarding COVID-19 and Fall 2020 . On July 7, 2020, SEVP released an  FAQ to the Fall 2020 Guidance . We understand that F-1 students have questions and concerns about how this may impact them, their enrollment in the fall, and their visa status.  

For now, we can offer the following clarity on the guidance released by SEVP : 
The July 6th and 7th guidance from SEVP addresses UC San Diego's ability to ‘activate’ SEVIS records for continuing students in the Fall 2020 quarter if they are registered for in-person/hybrid courses. UC San Diego’s Fall 2020 course offerings follow a ‘hybrid model’, a mixture of remote and in-person courses. As long as UC San Diego continues to offer a ‘hybrid model’, international students will be eligible for Activation of their SEVIS record if they remain enrolled in a minimum of one in-person course to meet full-time requirements and are physically present in the U.S.  
What Does This Mean For New Students?

  • OUTSIDE THE U.S. WITH HYBRID INSTRUCTION: Students who are outside the U.S. and enroll and remain enrolled in a minimum of one in-person/hybrid course to meet the 12-unit full-time requirement will be eligible to seek entry into the U.S. and be eligible for activation of their SEVIS record. UC San Diego will issue the student an updated I-20 with a program start date of Fall 2020 and a notation that “the school is not operating entirely online, that the student is not taking an entirely online course load for the Fall 2020 quarter, and that the student is taking the minimum number of online classes required to make normal progress in their degree program."  

  • OUTSIDE THE U.S. WITH REMOTE INSTRUCTION: Students who are outside the U.S. and enroll in all fully remote coursework will not be eligible to seek entry into the U.S. or meet eligibility for activation of their SEVIS record. UC San Diego will be required to issue the student an updated I-20 with a new program start date listed reflecting the next available term they are able to seek entry into the U.S. However, if new students cannot arrive in the U.S. for Fall 2020, they can still matriculate and enroll fully remote, start with their cohort, and make progress toward their degree.

  • INSIDE THE U.S. WITH HYBRID INSTRUCTION: Students who are inside the U.S. (students transferring SEVIS Record to UC San Diego, changing degree level, or recently approved for a change of status to F-1) and enroll and remain enrolled in a minimum of one in-person/hybrid course to meet the 12-unit full-time requirement will be eligible to remain the U.S. and be eligible for activation of their SEVIS record. UC San Diego will issue the student an updated I-20 with a program start date of Fall 2020 and a notation that “the school is not operating entirely online, that the student is not taking an entirely online course load for the Fall 2020 quarter, and that the student is taking the minimum number of online classes required to make normal progress in their degree program." 

  • INSIDE THE U.S. WITH REMOTE INSTRUCTION: Students who are currently inside the U.S. and unable to enroll in a minimum of one in-person course to meet the 12-unit full-time requirement must depart the U.S. or take alternative steps to maintain their non-immigrant status such as transfer to a school offering in-person instruction. 
Fall 2020 Enrollment for Newly Admitted Students

Additional information will be available in in the next 1-2 weeks about this new document issuance process and for newly-admitted students who have not yet registered for FA20 courses.  
Changes to Methods of Instruction

If UC San Diego changes their operational plan to fully remote at any time for Fall 2020 term because of Center for Disease Control or San Diego County Public Health guidance, then students cannot take a full online course load and remain in the U.S. Active international students who are in the U.S. will need to take alternative steps to maintain their non-immigrant status such as depart the U.S. or transfer to a school offering in-person instruction. 
Deferring Admissions   

We understand that students may want to consider deferring their admission to a later term because of visa and travel restrictions and the uncertainty regarding COVID-19. All requests for deferring admission to a later quarter must be directed to the  graduate program  or to Undergraduate Admissions  to which the student was admitted.  If the deferral is approved, students should review the I-20/DS-2019 procedures to  update the program start date on the I-20/DS-2019 .
Questions about how this information may impact you?

ISPO is reviewing this information with UC San Diego leadership and will update our Coronavirus Information for International Student FAQ pages with information. We plan to update this page by Friday, July 10th, 2020. If after you've reviewed ISPO's website you still have questions, we invite you to join us for the following webinars:
Newly-Admitted Student's Live Webinar:
Fall 2020 SEVP Guidance Regarding COVID-19 
GRADUATE STUDENTS:
Friday, July 17th at 4:30 PM PST

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
& PARENTS:
Monday, July 20th at 4:30 PM PST
Programs & Events
We are Alone Together . CAPS & ISPO are offering an Emotional Support Forum for International Students. This is a weekly drop-in forum and every international student is welcome. Together, we will help you manage in the face of the enormous psychological strain that current events are generating. This forum will be led by CAPS Psychologist Dr Sophia Chang.
The ISPO Community Building Circles are a shared space for international students to have supportive conversations about various topics that are relevant to the international student experience at UC San Diego.  Our first Community Building Circle is Wednesday, July 8th at 7pm PST and we will be talking about building an International Student Community at UC San Diego.  
Important Checklist Reminders
CONTACT ISPO
Visit our website at iStudents.ucsd.edu or send us a message through our Online Contact Form
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