Summary On March 11, 2024 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) extended Special Student Relief (SSR) to F-1 students from Venezuela through September 10, 2025. The original SSR notice was set to expire on March 10, 2024. What is Special Student Relief? Special Student Relief (SSR) is the suspension of specific immigration regulations for F-1 students who face unexpected hardship due to a situation in their home country. SSR typically provides eligible students flexibilities related to employment and enrollment requirements….
Author: Justin Mellish
Tips for Visiting ISS during the Spring
By Paulina, International Undergraduate Student Spring is right around the corner! As the busiest time at the ISS office approaches, here are some tips for visiting ISS during the spring. Tip #1: Visit us as early as possible. Immigration requests usually include new and confusing language making them challenging for students to navigate. Getting ahead on requests can be very helpful when you have many questions or when a process is new to you. You can learn about something most…
Campus Spotlight: Career and Internship Center
The Career & Internship Center equips Huskies to integrate their holistic UW experience and create boundless futures. We envision a future where every Husky graduates with the skills, experience, professional connections, and academic knowledge to pursue careers that lead to personal fulfillment, financial wellness, positive contributions to workplaces and communities, and continued engagement with the UW family. Winter quarter is a great time to look for summer internships. Did you know that Handshake currently has over 10,000 internship postings? Or that…
Consul General of India in Seattle Visits the UW
In November 2023, the Consulate General of India in Seattle was established with Prakash Gupta serving as its first Consul General. According to his biography, Consul General Prakash Gupta is a career diplomat from the Indian Foreign Service. He has served in Beijing, Shanghai, and Jakarta as well as the Indian Mission to the United Nations. Consul General Gupta visited the University of Washington recently to meet with President Cauce and faculty members who focus on India. The group discussed…
Meet Our Team – Jo Anne Marie
How did you become interested in working with international students? Well, I was born in the U.S., but my parents immigrated from the Philippines. My family has been navigating the immigration process since before I was born. I’ve seen and heard stories of the challenges they had to overcome. When I started working in higher education, I was an administrative assistant in academic and international student advising. I slowly progressed in different roles during and after my undergraduate studies that…
Tips for Filing Taxes
F and J international students are required to file taxes with the U.S. government. This can be a complicated process. Luckily, international students, scholars, and alumni can use an online service, Glacier Tax Prep (GTP), to help! While ISS advisers and staff are not able to provide guidance on filing taxes, we do have a few tips and resources. Tip 1: Learn about filing taxes Our webpage on Filing Taxes lays out the basics of filing taxes. This includes who…
USCIS Increases Filing Fee for Form I-765
On January 30, 2024 U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced adjustments to filing fees for certain immigration requests including Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization. The I-765 is used by both F-1 and J-1 international students for various employment benefits such as Optional Practical Training and J-2 dependent employment authorization. What is the change? The finalized fee adjustment is as follows: Filing Type Current Fee New Fee Difference Paper-filed $410 $520 +27% Online filed $410 $470 +14.5% Why are…
DHS Extends Special Student Relief for Students from Syria
Summary On January 29, 2024 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) extended Special Student Relief (SSR) to F-1 students from Syria through September 30, 2025. The original SSR notice was set to expire on April 01, 2024. What is Special Student Relief? Special Student Relief (SSR) is the suspension of specific immigration regulations for F-1 students who face unexpected hardship due to a situation in their home country. SSR typically provides eligible students flexibilities related to employment and enrollment requirements….
Expanded Services Beginning Winter 2024
Those of you who stopped by our drop-in advising sessions in autumn may know that we had three new advisors in training throughout the quarter (if you’re interested in learning more about our advisors, you can check out our blog archives!). We are happy to announce that all advisors are now fully trained and advising full-time. Not only do we have three new advisors, ISS also hopes to hire one more advisor this quarter to further expand the team by…
Meet Our Team – Sophia
How did you become interested in working with international students? I have engaged and been around different cultures and learned multiple languages throughout a good chunk of my life. I have studied in Germany and I have traveled and find each culture and language unique and fascinating (I am a linguistics nerd). After I received a Master’s in German Pedagogy and Culture from UW, I worked with international students through an exchange company where I would place high school students…