Adviser's Manual 360 News Feed

On October 16, 2024 NAFSA wrote a letter to USCIS Director Ur Jaddou urging USCIS to "clarify that a student fully enrolled in an SEVP-certified school during a study abroad program may remain in Active SEVIS status and reenter the United States on that SEVIS record even if the study abroad program lasts more than 5 months." This is a follow-up letter to NAFSA's September 13, 2024 comments to USCIS on the agency's August 27, 2024 USCIS Policy Manual revisions.

Remember that SEVP Broadcast Message 2409-06 confirmed that "Beginning Monday, Sept. 30, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) will only accept emailed documentation for the Form I-515A, “Notice to Student or Exchange Visitor.”

The Secretary of Homeland Security has directed all flights to the United States departing after 11:59 p.m Eastern Daylight Time on October 15, 2024 and that are carrying "a person who has departed from, or was otherwise present within, Rwanda within 21 days of the date of the person’s entry or attempted entry into the United States” to land at one of three U.S. airports "where the U.S. government is focusing public health resources to implement enhanced public health measures.” The restrictions apply to flights carrying anyone who “has recently traveled from Rwanda," regardless of citizenship or immigration status. The policy is meant to contain spread of Marburg Virus Disease (MVD).

On September 30, 2024, the U.S. Mission to India announced that it "opened an additional 250,000 visa appointments for Indian travelers, including tourists, skilled workers, and students. The recently released new slots will help hundreds of thousands of Indian applicants take timely interviews, facilitating the travel which is the backbone of the people-to-people ties that underpin the U.S.-India relationship."

In the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, NAFSA reminds advisers to visit NAFSA's Resources for Emergencies and Natural Disasters in the U.S. page for links to some useful "evergreen" resources.

On October 2, 2024, USCIS revised the Employment Based First Preference 1 (EB-11) "Extraordinary Ability" guidance in the USCIS Policy Manual to clarify certain details, such as accepting a person's receipt of team awards under the recognized prizes or awards criterion and past memberships under the membership criterion, and removing prior language that had suggested that published material had to demonstrate the value of the person's work and contributions to satisfy the published material criterion.

On October 9, 2024, at 4 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. Eastern Time, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) will offer a training session on how to write effective public comments on agencies’ proposed regulations. Pre-registration is required.

In response to NAFSA's and other feedback, on September 25, 2024 USCIS updated the USCIS Policy Manual to correct an entry that erroneously indicated that a STEM OPT application had to be filed within 30 days of the DSO's STEM OPT recommendation in SEVIS. The regulation provides that the student does in fact have 60 days following the DSO's recommendation. USCIS has revised the Policy Manual to now correctly state that, "F-1 students may submit a properly filed Form I-765 up to 90 days before the expiration of the F-1 student’s current post-completion OPT EAD and no more than 60 days after their DSO enters the STEM OPT recommendation into SEVIS."

Qatar was added to the list of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries effective September 26, 2024. The VWP enables citizens of participating countries to travel to the United States for business or tourism for 90 days or less without obtaining a U.S. B-1 or B-2 visa, as long as they have a proper ESTA authorization.

On September 23, 2024, the SEVP Response Center (SRC) launched a new telephone system for both domestic and international callers.