OIS Quarterly Bulletin - April 2012

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Timely reminders, updates, and news about International Admissions, Student & Scholar Advising, and International Events

One office, centralized contact information
Phone: 855-9086; Fax: 855-4418; Email: OIS@indiana.edu

All international undergraduate applicants are required to submit English Language test results. For more information, please see:

Grad Departments: If you want to exempt your new admits from the Intensive English Proficiency Exam, please remember to indicate that in the IUIE system. If you need to jog your memory, please see this PDF.

As our office continues to process decisions for your admitted international students, we would like to remind you that if you have offered your students funding, we need to know if they have accepted the offer before the visa document can be issued. You can either email intlgrad@indiana.edu to let us know that a student has accepted the offer, or you can enter this decision in iStart.

If you would like to input the information into iStart, please click on the “Admission” tab on the left side of your screen and then click on “Student Confirmation: Graduate Department.” Please note that the deferral question will only appear if you answer “no” to the first question. In that case, please indicate if the student has chosen to defer their application. Please note that we would defer the application only, not the admission, and would wait for updated admission documents from your office before processing an admission for the deferred term.

If no funding has been offered, then you do not need to contact our office or input this information into iStart.

Students who are completing their studies this semester lose their work eligibility on the last day of the term (May 4) regardless of the end date on their I-20 or DS2019. There may be some exceptions for grad students, so they should be directed to OIS if they have questions.

New international students applying for summer, or students who wish to return to studies after a long break, will be limited to the 2nd 8 weeks session only. Please note that in accordance with federal regulations, most students who begin their studies at IU in their summer term will be required to enroll full-time (6 credit hours for undergraduates, 4 credit hours for graduates, 3 credit hours for graduate students with a Student Academic Appointment of 37.5-50% FTE.)

May 30-June 1, 2012 (We’re anticipating very low numbers this year.)

Students who wish to work during the summer may do so full-time. However, if they are working off-campus, they still need to apply for Curricular Practical Training. Information on the CPT process may be found here: http://ois.indiana.edu/currentstudents/f-1/employment/cpt.php#policy Registration in a CPT-appropriate course can happen in a summer term (ending on July 27) or for the Fall Semester. Employment will be approved until as late as August 19 based on summer registration. Students who have employment opportunities that extend beyond August 19 should register for a CPT-appropriate course in the Fall Semester.

August 3 - August 17

Students with expiring immigration documents who have not yet completed their degrees may be requesting extensions between now and mid-May. Students can apply for extensions via iStart, and are asked to name an academic adviser to support their request. Advisers will then receive an email from OIS@indiana.edu with detailed instructions. A student making a request at this time of year is usually trying to beat a 5/31 expiration date, so please treat emails from this address with urgency.

If you have a program that you anticipate will be given online – perhaps including an in-residence portion – please contact our office to discuss the immigration implications. That will help us to best advise students who wish to enroll in these programs.

To all department heads: If you would be interested in having OIS staff visit your offices, please contact us at OIS.indiana.edu. We are willing to offer immigration, procedural or cross-cultural information sessions. If you would like to talk more about sponsored students, contact Daniel Whitmer (djwhitme@indiana.edu).

If you are hosting a visiting scholar (J-1) in your department, please plan ahead as much as possible. Visa processing can take as long as three months! If you are hiring an international employee (H-1B), please allow up to six months for government processing. Any time you are unsure of processing times or appropriate visa type, do not hesitate to contact us.

If you plan on hosting a visiting Fulbright researcher, sponsored by CIES, please contact Joanna Snyder at snyder1@indiana.edu. This program’s administration has been moved from Edda Callahan/Margaret Key in OVPIA to OIS.

Coming Soon! Permanent Resident Information Session (designed for Chairs, Staff and international employees) – This session details the process for university-sponsored, employment based Permanent Residence for international employees. Details will be sent via email to departmental administrative contacts to distribute within the department.

Are you working with students who could use some English language improvement? There are free, informal classes at the International Center. The English Conversation Club continues to meet throughout the summer.

Would you like to try something new and different this summer? Belly Dancing is fun and can improve flexibility, strength, conditioning, rhythm and coordination. Find out why this dance form is a popular pastime for women of all ages and sizes. Classes include techniques for classic belly dance such as: Figure 8s, Undulations, Shimmies and Shimmy Walks, Graceful Arms and Hands, Traveling Steps, Improvisational Exercises, and Beginner Choreography.

The Office of First Year Experience Programs is offering “Conversations on First Year International Students”

• When: Friday, April 13 from 3 – 4 p.m.
• Where: State Room West, Indiana Memorial Union
• Description: A panel discussion addressing the issues international students can face due to language barriers, and the resources available to students and staff members to assist students dealing with these issues. Refreshments will be served during the event.
• Register for this Conversation here; to optimize interaction between attendees there will be a maximum number of forty attendees at this session.

Details on events at the International Center can be found at: http://ois.indiana.edu/ic.php