 |  | Resources | |  | | | | Settling in period
1. Registration
The first thing you need to do after you come to Albuquerque is to go to the Office of International Programs and Studies (OIPS) at the Mesa Vista hall and inform them that you are a new international student (normally one of your seniors from your department will accompany you). Do take your passport and I-20 with you. You will be walked through the registration procedures by them. Collect all brochures, take their instructions and register for the orientation. It would be beneficial if you go through the material (brochures etc) once.
You will be given a temporary Social Security Number (SSN), which will be your identity till you get your pemanent SSN from INS (Immigration and Naturalization Services Department). Applying for SSN is usually done by OIPS. It normally takes a week or two to get the SSN from INS. The OIPS organises International Students Orientation, do attend it.
Registration as a university student might require prior completion of paperwork in your respective departments (kindly verify). For this, please go to your department, and meet the personnel there. The registration for courses can be done through phone or by internet. Please talk to your graduate advisor before you register for courses. You can obtain a free copy of the course schedule from Student Services Center. This Student Services Center (next to Mesa Vista Hall) is also where you get your UNM photo ID which will be useful for checking out books from the library and also identifying yourself as an UNM student whenever required.
The international students office is an excellent place to meet other international students. Do not miss this opportunity to make friends with other students, especially during the orientation.
Dear International Students,
As you may be aware, some important and sweeping changes are being implemented over the course of the upcoming year due to changes in immigration law that will increase the consequences for violations of immigration rules and regulations. We at OIPS are attempting to provide as much information as possible to international students and scholars as well as to the campus community in order to help international students and scholars recognize and comply with immigration regulations. There is much information to communicate, but we will list the two most important points right now and provide more information in the fall semester.
International students are NOT permitted to drop below full-time without special authorization in advance from the International student advisor (there are very few reasons permitted by immigration regulations, so most students will not qualify to take a reduced course load). This has always been the case, but beginning in January 2003 OIPS will need to report any students who drop below full-time status to INS within 21 days of the event (we very likely will have to report this information to INS at least once in the Fall). Students who violate this rule will most likely be required to return to their home country and may or may not be permitted to re-enter the US to resume study. This means that you cannot withdraw from a class or ask the instructor for a W grade at any point during or after the semester ends if it will result in your total units not adding to a full-time course load. What this means is that you will need to balance your courses carefully, taking extra units of easy classes so that you have the option to drop difficult classes and still be full-time. Please contact us if you have questions or are confused about how many units you need to be taking.
The university is required by law to maintain and regularly update visa, passport, local address, and other information on visiting students and scholars. If any of the information on your I-20 or IAP-66 form changes, you change your major, level, local address, source of financial support, or name, or you get a passport or visa update, you will need to inform OIPS immediately of this change and in some cases obtain a new I-20 or IAP-66 form.
Other regulation changes are forthcoming from INS and the Department of State in the upcoming months. One of these rules may require the school to inform the consulate in advance of when a student or scholar applies for an F or J visa, so you may need to let OIPS know BEFORE you apply for a student visa at a consulate abroad. We will make every effort possible to inform you of these changes as they occur.
We are sad that these changes seem punitive of international students and hope to guide you as much as possible through immigration processes. However, you must understand that it is the student\'s responsibility to comply with immigration regulations and in most cases we will not be able to help you if you do not comply with immigration rules. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Linda L. Melville and Simona Fojtova
International Advisement Specialists
URGENT MESSAGE TO INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS AND SCHOLARS ABOUT CHANGES THAT AFFECT YOUR STAY IN THE US
PLEASE READ THIS MESSAGE THOROUGHLY AS ACTION IS REQUIRED ON YOUR PART BEFORE APRIL 1st!
Dear International Students and Scholars,
In our message sent to you before the winter break, we informed you about changes in immigration regulations effective January 1, 2003. These new regulations mandate that US universities and colleges that enroll international students and scholars must report international student and scholar information via SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System). SEVIS is a US government web-based database which makes information about international students and scholars available to immigration and other governmental agencies including US consulates and embassies (as of March 1, 2003 INS changed its name to BCIS which stands for the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services). Due to these new regulations, the Office of International Programs and Studies (OIPS) must enter personal and program information on each student and scholar, give them a new SEVIS I-20 or DS-2019 (formerly IAP-66) AND report the following events/changes in the SEVIS system within 21 - 30 days of the event or change (the exact length of time depends on the event):
*When a student or scholar first arrives at UNM
*If a student or scholar changes address
*If a student or scholar changes their name
*When each student enrolls each semester and the dates the semester begins and ends
*If a student drops below full-time
*If a student changes major or level
*If a student or scholar completes their program before the end date on the I-20/DS-2019
*If a student or scholar is terminated or withdraws from their program
*If a student applies for employment authorization
*If a student or scholar moves to another US institution (either before or after completing the current program)
*If a student or scholar needs to extend their I-20/DS-2019
*If a student or scholar fails to maintain legal status
*If disciplinary action is taken against a student as a result of a conviction of a crime
Because we now need to report all of this information, some action is required on your part. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this causes, but in order to be sure we give immigration the correct information we need your help! PLEASE READ THE 4 SECTIONS BELOW TO FIND OUT WHAT YOU NEED TO DO.
1) NEW SEVIS I-20 or DS-2019 REQUIRED FOR ALL
All current students, scholars, and their dependents who will remain in the US after August 1, 2003 must be entered into the SEVIS system and receive a new SEVIS I-20/DS-2019 by August 1, 2003 - BUT PLEASE DON'T COME IN RIGHT NOW!
Those who need to apply for a new visa, an extension of their I-20 or DS-2019, or student work authorization such as Curricular Practical Training (CPT), Optional Practical Training (OPT) or Academic training (AT) will need to receive a SEVIS I-20/DS-2019 at the time of the event (e.g., when they are going to get the visa, when they are applying for CPT/OPT or an extension - you will need to make an appointment to do this). Also, those who will travel out of the US for summer and will not return until after August 1st, 2003 MUST have a new SEVIS I-20/DS-2019 BEFORE they leave. All others do not need new SEVIS I-20s/DS-2019s until August 1st (if you will travel and return before August 1st you will need only your current I-20/DS-2019 that has been signed for travel in the current semester).
We are currently working on uploading all information on UNM students, scholars, and dependents via an electronic batch process to the SEVIS system so that each person's record does not need to be entered individually. It is our hope that this process will be successful very shortly. If we do not succeed by the middle of April, we will begin entering students and scholars individually into SEVIS so that all individuals will be in the system by August 1st. If individual data entry becomes necessary, we will first print I-20s/DS-2019s for students and scholars who meet one of the conditions mentioned above (e.g., those who will be leaving the US at the end of the semester and not returning until after August 1st). We will contact all of you again if individual entry becomes necessary. If so, we will ask those students and scholars who meet the conditions above to come in and request the new I-20/DS-2019 so that we can print the most urgent cases first.
2) ENSURE YOUR INFORMATION IS ACCURATE
The information regarding your name, gender, date of birth, and student major that will be sent to SEVIS will be taken directly from the university student information system (SIS). The information regarding your country of birth, country of citizenship, immigration status, degree level, marital status, local address, and permanent foreign address that will be sent to SEVIS will come from the OIPS database. Immediately following this message, you will receive an individual message from our office giving you the information that we currently have in your record. The subject for this message will be "Individual Information that will be Reported to Immigration." The message will be sent to all email addresses we have for you. Please review this information carefully. If any of the information is incorrect, you will need to correct it by April 1st. The message will contain specific instructions about how to make the corrections. For personal information that needs to be corrected in the student information system (SIS) you will need to take two pieces of identification (one with a photo) to Records and Registration, Student Services Center, Room 250. If your name is incorrect in the SIS, you are employed at UNM, and your Social Security Card has your name listed incorrectly, you will also need to have your Social Security Card changed before you can change your name in SIS (come in to OIPS to ask how to do this - you must begin the process before April 1st). If your major is incorrect, undergraduate students will need to speak with an academic advisor in their college and graduate students will need to speak with the Office of Graduate Studies to have this information corrected.
3) ENSURE THAT INFORMATION FOR YOUR SPOUSE AND CHILDREN IS ACCURATE
If your spouse and children are here with you, we need to be sure that their information is accurate as well. Due to database changes and problems in the past several years, OIPS information about your dependents may be incomplete. The individual message that will be sent to you will contain any information we have about your dependents. Please review this information carefully. If this information is incorrect or incomplete, you will need to respond to that message with the correct information.
4) KNOW WHEN TO COME TO OIPS
In order to maintain your legal student or scholar status you MUST come to OIPS if:
a. You change your address (you MUST come within 10 days of the change)
b. You change your name (you MUST come within 10 days of the change)
c. You are a student and you are thinking about withdrawing from a class or taking a class for audit which would make you drop below the required number of credits you need to complete in Fall and Spring semesters (undergraduates must be enrolled for 12 credits, graduate students must take 9 credits or 6 if they have an assistantship in order to be considered full-time for immigration purposes). OIPS is currently monitoring your enrollment and we have to report any drops below full-time to SEVIS within 21 days. Remember that any drops below full-time MUST be authorized in advance by an international advisor in OIPS (not by your academic advisor or any other faculty member)
d. You are a student, you have medical problems and you are considering dropping a class that would put you below full-time
e. You are a student or scholar and you are thinking about leaving before you complete your program. If you inform OIPS about your decision to terminate your program you will have 15 days to leave the US. If you do not inform OIPS you will be considered out of your legal student status the day you quit your program
f. You are a student in your final semester and the number of credits you need to take in order to graduate does not represent full-time enrollment
g. You are a graduate student who completed the required coursework and you are enrolled for less than 9 credits (or 6 if you have an assistantship) of thesis, dissertation or professional paper
h. You want to apply for a new F-1 or J-1 visa. You will need to obtain a new SEVIS I-20 or DS-2019 in order to be able to apply for a new visa
i. You are a student and you want to apply for off-campus employment such as CPT, OPT or AT (J-1 students). F-1 students must apply for OPT BEFORE they complete degree requirements; they do not have the 60-day grace period after the completion of their program as in the past
j. You are unable to complete your program by the end date on your I-20 or DS-2019
k. You are a student or scholar and want to leave UNM to attend another US university or college (called an immigration "transfer")
l. You renew or get a new passport. Please bring your new passport or a copy of your passport with the expiration date to OIPS
Once again, we are truly sorry for any inconvenience these requests cause, but we want to be sure all information we send to immigration is accurate so you do not experience problems in the future. Please contact our office if you have any further questions!
Thank you for your attention!
Sincerely,
Linda L. Melville and Simona Fojtova
International Advisors
| | | | | | | | | | | |  | | Contact the ISA! | | | | If you have any questions about any activity or events, please make sure that you contact the ISA at hindusta@unm.edu . | | | | | |
