Summer 2021 | Weekly updates for International Students @ UC San Diego
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State Department Clarifies National Interest Exception Policy for Students on OPT |
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The notice clarifies that:
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New or returning F-1 and J-1 students present in China, Brazil, Iran, South Africa or India are automatically considered for the National Interest Exception (NIE) at the Port of Entry into the U.S. and do not require advance approval of a NIE from an embassy or consulate prior to travel;
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New or returning F-1 and J-1 students present in China, Brazil, Iran, South Africa or India may arrive no earlier than 30 days before the start of an academic program beginning August 1, 2021 or after, including optional practical training (OPT); and
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New or returning F-1 and J-1 students who were present only in the Schengen Area, United Kingdom, or Ireland are not subject to the August 1 condition; however, they could still be subject to a "no earlier than 30 days before the start of their academic studies" condition.
ISPO recommends that students on OPT who are re-entering the U.S. this summer/fall take with them all documentation listed here in order to help facilitate travel and entry.
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Triton Table Talks for Alumni |
Triton Table Talks begin July 13! Are you looking for a fun and easy way to meet and interact with fellow alumni, build connections and gather professional guidance from a career coach/recruiter in a small, informal group setting? Please join us for one or more of our various conversations about Building Your Network, Company Culture, Impacts of Volunteering, Mentorship and more as part of our series of virtual talks taking place Tuesdays this summer. This is a great opportunity to build connections with fellow Tritons and gather some ideas that you can put into practice with your job search and along your professional journey.
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OPT Reporting Requirements Reminders |
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STEM OPT Extension Reporting Requirements (Validation Reports)
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For changes to your personal address or phone number, use the SEVP Portal.
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For changes to your employment information, use the Updated I-20/DS-2019 Request at iportal.ucsd.edu, and an ISPO advisor will update your record for you.
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To fulfill your validation report requirement that is due every 6 months while on STEM OPT, use the F-1 STEM OPT Reporting Form at iportal.ucsd.edu, and an ISPO advisor will validate your record for you. The F-1 STEM OPT Reporting form must be submitted within 10 days of the validation report due date.
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If you experience a change in your employment information at the same time that you have a validation report due, then you must submit BOTH the Updated I-20/DS-2019 Request and the F-1 STEM OPT Reporting Form on iPortal.
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been scrutinizing the F-1 OPT program for fraudulent employers and fraudulent use of the program through a DHS law enforcement operation called, Operation Optical Illusion. Review the types of employment that may be reported for OPT purposes. If you are unpaid or volunteering, review information here for what qualifies as volunteering or unpaid.
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Reporting Reminders for Students on Standard 12-Month OPT
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Keep employment, personal address, and phone number up to date at all times using the SEVP Portal. If you experience a change in any of these areas, log into the SEVP Portal to update your information within 10 calendar days of the change. You do not need to report these changes to ISPO, only to the SEVP Portal. If you are unable to report your employment to the SEVP Portal, submit the SEVP Portal Assistance Request at iportal.ucsd.edu.
- If you are unable to add an employer within 10 calendar days of the start date, enter the next day as your employment start date in the SEVP Portal. Then submit the iPortal, “SEVP Portal Assistance Request”. ISPO will then be able to enter your correct employment start date in SEVIS and it will reflect in your SEVP Portal within 48 hours.
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If you would like your I-20 to reflect your changes, request an updated I-20 from ISPO by submitting the Updated I-20/DS-2019 Request at iportal.ucsd.edu.
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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been scrutinizing the F-1 OPT program for fraudulent employers and fraudulent use of the program through a DHS law enforcement operation called, Operation Optical Illusion. Review the types of employment that may be reported for OPT purposes. If you are unpaid or volunteering, review information here for what qualifies as volunteering or unpaid. Contact iemployment@ucsd.edu with any concerns or questions.
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If you are having issues with SEVP Portal, submit the SEVP Portal Assistance Request in iportal.ucsd.edu! You can use this request for any of the following issues:
- To correct employment start date because it's more than 10 days in the past*
- To unlock SEVP Portal account
- To reset SEVP Portal account
- To receive SEVP Portal email if never received
- To change email address associated with SEVP Portal account
- Other errors
*Please note if you are trying to enter an employment start date more than 10 days ago in the past, the SEVP Portal will not let you. Instead, enter your employer information with today or tomorrow as your start date. Then submit the iPortal SEVP Portal Assistance Request, choose the option to "correct employment start date because it's more than 10 days in the past" and ISPO will update for you!
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OPT Application Filing Options Update |
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You may have noticed that as of April 12, 2021, USCIS has announced that the Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization may be filed online, as an alternative option to filing by mail. For more information, see this USCIS webpage. Due to the recent nature of this change, ISPO is unable to provide any further guidance on this new filing option at this time. We will provide more information as it becomes available. If you have any questions or would like to review the online application with ISPO while we working on update our guides, please email iemployment@ucsd.edu.
The steps on Stage 2 of our OPT and STEM OPT websites are only mainly applicable to students who choose to file their OPT applications to USCIS through mail, which is a filing option that continues to be accepted by USCIS; however you can still use them as a general guide while we work on updating our website. Make sure that you do not submit duplicate OPT applications using two different filing options!
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Ask Triton: ISPO's Website Enhancements |
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Questions for ISPO? Visit iStudents.uscd.edu and view the bottom right hard corner for the 'QUESTIONS – ASK TRITON' Icon to find answers to commonly asked questions. The chatbot enhancement allows students to ask about visa questions, UC San Diego Admissions, Registrar and Financial Aid questions in English, and in Spanish 24 hours a day! Try it out next time you have a question for ISPO!
Looking for further assistance? Check out all the additional ways you can access ISPO advising services!
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ISPO Office Hours: Virtual Advising
While ISPO's Office (Student Center B) is closed to the public for in-person services. We continue to provide all advising services through virtual Zoom advising! Visit iContact.ucsd.edu for various ways to contact an ISPO Advisor!
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WHY AM I RECEIVING THIS NEWSLETTER? All international students studying at UC San Diego are automatically subscribed to the iStudents Newsletter to ensure they receive proper immigration updates from our office. The information sent in this Newsletter is available on ISPO's website, iStudents.ucsd.edu, or may direct students to other external resources. You have the right to unsubscribe from receiving updates from our office at anytime. You can do this by emailing istudents@ucsd.edu . Note, all international students at UC San Diego are responsible for staying up to date with immigration regulations that may affect them. To learn more, visit our website at iStudents.ucsd.edu
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