Category: Newsletter

USCIS has announced that beginning in March, they will expand premium processing to certain F-1 students seeking Optional Practical Training (OPT) and F-1 students seeking STEM OPT extensions with pending applications. Beginning in April, they will expand processing to F-1 students seeking OPT and F-1 students seeking STEM extensions who are filing the initial Form I-765. This means that later this spring, UW students on F-1 visas applying for OPT or STEM OPT may be able to pay to have…

We’re so excited to welcome students with the J-1 visa to the United States for winter quarter 2023! All students on J-1 visas were required to attend their in-person orientation on January 6, 2023. Students who did not attend were able to attend the make-up orientation on January 12, 2023 at noon. Any student who did not attend will have a hold on their account. To remove the hold, they must watch the recording of the orientation from January 12th…

While ISS helps manage your immigration compliance, there are other requirements of being a student at University of Washington. One of those requirements is the husky prevention and response (Title IX) student course. This course is designed to help all students understand how to create a safe and enaging campus environment for all students. Please make sure to complete the requirement soon so you understand how you can help. Here is the reminder from our colleauges in the Title IX…

Effective January 5, 2023 at 12:01 Eastern Time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will require a negative COVID-19 test for people traveling to the U.S. from the People’s Republic of China, including Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR. For details, please see the announcements from the Department of State and the CDC. Students who are traveling to the U.S. January 5 or later must ensure they comply with this new requirement.

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…