Author: Sara Torres

We’ve received the following message about students recently hired by Amazon. “As a part of our annual operating planning review, we look at each part of our business and make adjustments as needed. In this macro-economic environment, it’s more important than ever for our company to be thoughtful with our business decisions. As a result, we have made the difficult decision to delay the start date of select full-time candidates from various universities, including those who are currently students at…

Post updated: January 4, 2023 In Winter 2023, we’re excited to welcome new students to Seattle! All new international students are required to attend orientation events. During orientations, students have a chance to meet their peers, learn about campus resources, and most importantly, learn about their immigration responsibilities! Mark your calendars and get ready for a fun winter quarter! F-1 Immigration Orientation Dates Wednesday, January 4th from 3:00 PM to 6:30 PM Thursday, January 5th from 3:00 PM to 6:30…

It was great to meet most of the incoming J-1 students at the J-1 Orientation Session on September 22, 2022. We hope that those of you who attended enjoyed the Costco treats CIRCLE provided. As Felipe Martinez mentioned, Costco gives a great introduction to American-style pastries (which may lack the quality some of you are used to). On October 13th, we hosted a make-up J-1 Immigration Orientation Session. We know that not all students were able to attend due to…

In Autumn 2022, the International Student Advising Team is hosting virtual drop-in advising sessions for you. Because all of our ISS team is working hard to process your requests and respond to your other inquiries, we won’t have a host during our Zoom meeting. Please review the information on this post to know what to expect. Joining Drop-Ins An advisor will open the Zoom meeting by 8:55 AM, five minutes before the virtual drop-ins begin. When the Zoom meeting room…

We often receive questions from students and campus partners asking us, “what is the best way to contact ISS?” We’re writing this post to help you understand a bit more about how ISS works and how we can help you. I have a question about CPT, OPT, or a Leave of Absence. What should I do? The best thing to do is to check our website for answers. Our advising team made some great video learning tools about CPT, OPT,…

Note: This post was updated on 9/28/2022 with the recording of the F-1 Immigration Orientation Session for New Undergraduate Students recorded on 9/27/2022. We’re so glad that we’ve had a chance to meet so many of you through the F-1 Immigration Orientation Sessions for New Students. We hosted three different session types: one for new incoming graduate students, one for students who transferred their SEVIS record to UW from another institution, and one for new undergraduate students. We recommend that…

On Ukrainian National Day, the Department of State emailed Exchange Visitor Program sponsors (UW is a EVP sponsor) that we will soon see a Federal Register Notice announcing Special Student Relief for Ukrainian students studying at UW on a J-1 visa. When we receive more information about the annoucement, we will update J-1 students from Ukraine about the flexibilities. For more information, please see the announcement from NAFSA Association of International Educators.

Students graduating summer quarter will have an I-20 program end date of 8/19/2022. Be sure to review the final year checklist that includes reminders for graduating students about the following topics: Apply for OPT after graduation. Transfer your SEVIS record to a new academic program. Prepare to depart the U.S. and travel home after graduation. Not finished with your degree? Review the eligible reasons for an I-20 extension. If you qualify for an I-20 extension, submit your request through the…

We are excited to announce that based on feedback from students and campus partners, we are making changes to our advising availability! Starting Monday, August 22, the ISS will offer F-1 and J-1 drop-in advising for students. Drop-in advising is intended for simple, quick questions about your immigration status. Students will have time-sensitive questions or those who have questions beyond what they can find on the website are encouraged to meet with an advisor during the drop-in advising hours. In-person…

The ISS has just learned about an email scam using our uwissnoreply@uw.edu email account sent to students and possibly parents. This email was not sent by the ISS, it is fake, a scam, and should be deleted. If you received an email like this (image below), please do not click on any links or reply to the email. We recommend you report this email scam to UW Police Department. International Student Services will not send you an email asking for…