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SPRING 2021 - FINALS WEEK

We want to hear from you! We've published our Feedback Form and will include it in all email correspondence. Please help us by providing feedback whenever you're interacting with our office - be that during drop-in advising, emailing with our staff, or after an appointment. The feedback form is available here.

NEW THIS WEEK

Good luck to those taking final examinations, completing projects, and an extra round of applause for our graduating students! Here at the ISS office, we're so proud of all of our students and your accomplishments.

Over the summer, the ISS office will be hosting a series of information sessions to help prepare you for arriving to campus in autumn. We plan to discuss the following topics:
  • travel and National Interest Exceptions (NIE)
  • all about your I-20 - for new students and students who will be traveling to the UW for the first time
  • the vaccination requirement & planning for autumn quarter
We've also created a form to collect your questions - we will be welcoming live questions during the information session, but welcome you to send your questions to us ahead of time.

SUMMER QUARTER VIRTUAL FRONT DESK & DROP-IN ADVISING SCHEDULE

During Summer Quarter 2021, we will be hosting our Virtual Front Desk and Drop-In Advising according to the following schedule. All times are in the Pacific timezone:

Virtual Front Desk:

Monday -Thursday 9 AM - 11 AM
Monday - Thursday 2 PM - 4 PM

Drop-In Advising:

Tuesdays 2 PM - 4 PM*
Wednesdays 9 AM - 11 AM

As a reminder, our Virtual Front Desk is staffed by ISS staff members who are not advisors, but who can help with referrals to our website or answer questions about submitting requests. Advisors are available during Drop-In sessions and students can expect 10-minute consults with a member of our advising team.

*Except for the week of July 5-9 and September 6 - 10; during those weeks, we will have afternoon drop-in advising on Thursdays.

GRADUATING THIS QUARTER? START THINKING ABOUT WHAT'S NEXT!

Many students apply to graduate in spring quarter - if you have not already, please take steps to finalize your plans and status for beyond spring quarter.

Be sure to review the final year checklist - this checklist includes reminders for ALL graduating students, including:
We know that these transitions can be highly stressful, so we have prepared thorough checklists and resources for, wherever your path may lead!

REMINDER: UW VACCINATION REQUIREMENT, EXTENSION OF NATIONAL INTEREST EXCEPTIONS

The UW will require that all students be vaccinated against COVID-19. Please review our blog post about autumn 21 planning and COVID vaccination requirement for more information.

The U.S. State Department updated it’s National Interest Exceptions for Certain Travelers from China, Iran, Brazil, South Africa, Schengen Area, United Kingdom, and Ireland on May 27, 2021. Contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate if you are not sure whether you qualify for an NIE exemption.

The April 30, 2021 Presidential Proclamation on the Suspension of Entry as Nonimmigrants of Certain Additional Persons Who Pose a Risk of Transmitting Coronavirus Disease 2019 extends National Interest Exceptions (NIE) to students whose presence in India, China, Iran, Brazil, or South Africa may otherwise subject them to travel suspensions. Students with valid F visas who will begin or continue an academic program on August 1, 2021 will be automatically granted the NIE and may travel to the United States up to 30 days before the program start date on their Form I-20.

SUMMER QUARTER STUDY & TRAVEL PLANS

We're looking forward to welcoming new students as we prepare for another quarter. We'd like to share a couple of reminders about the new quarter ahead.
  • If summer quarter will be your first quarter in the United States, you must be enrolled in an in-person course. Review the time schedule or reach out to your department for more information about finding an in-person course.
  • If you are planning to travel during the summer, be sure to review your travel signature validity. We expect that many students will need an updated travel signature over the summer or in preparation for autumn quarter, so please plan ahead.
We're continuing to work on deferral I-20s for students who have not yet traveled to the U.S. If you still have not requested your deferred I-20 for Summer 2021 or Autumn 2021, do so using our deferral form. If you were admitted for Autumn 2020 as a transfer student or a student changing to a higher degree level, there will be additional delays in processing your request. We are unable to manually make changes to transfer and changes of education level I-20s and must work with the government help desk, the SEVP Response Center, for technical assistance with these requests. We appreciate your patience as we work on these records! If you have questions or concerns, please contact us!

UPCOMING EVENTS & DEADLINES

Virtual Front Desk - Summer 2021

Need more information? We offer on-demand and live resources to help answer your questions! Let us know how we're doing by filling out our feedback form.

virtual advising
ISS Recordings