The information that I'm going to share with you today is about US law governing F1 and M1 students. These regulations are not LBCC policies, so we don't have any control over them. We don't have the authority to "make exceptions" for students, because we didn't make up these rules. We must follow them just as carefully as you do. Our job is to help you understand these regulations, and to help you follow them.
Because you are in a non-immigrant status, you do not have the right to establish residency in the US or in California. You will hear about students who establish residency after one year and pay reduced fees because they are residents, but you are not eligible to do this.
You were admitted to the US to study, full-time. The Department of Homeland Security will not be very understanding if you miss school to work, or if you miss school to escort your visiting friends and family around. You must attend all of your classes every day.
You will find a copy of this page in the pink section of your notebook, or in the "Immigration and US Law" section of the on-line handbook. Please find this page and refer to it during this session.
This is an example of an F1 visa. It probably looks a lot like the visa stamp in your passport. Because this document may have been very difficult for you to get, you may think it is the most important document in establishing your legal status in the US. However, this is not the case. Your visa is much like an airplane ticket. It gives you permission to enter the airport from the airplane in the US, but not to leave the airport. It does not give you any permission or rights within the US.
If your visa expires, you cannot renew it in the US. The US Consulate does not have an office in the US, because you don't need a valid visa here.
When you go to your home country for a holiday, you would need to apply for a new visa before you could return to the US if your current visa has expired, or if you do not have an F1 visa.
If your visa is valid longer than your passport is valid, you would continue to carry your expired passport with the valid visa, along with your new passport when you travel.
This document may not look very important, but this I-94 card is the document, together with your I-20, that establishes your legal status in the US. This example shows that the person was admitted in "F1" student status. He is governed by the rules and regulations guiding F1 students, and he is eligible for all the privileges and benefits extended to F1 students.
Students admitted in F1 status do not normally have expiration dates on their I-94 cards. Instead, the expiration date of your legal status will appear on your I-20 form. If your I-94 card does have an expiration date on it, it is important that you make an appointment at the International Student Office right away so that we may assist you in extending your stay.
If you were under a different status, such as B2 visitor status, this card would show the expiration of your stay. In that case, it would be important for you to apply for a change to Student Status before the expiration date shown.
If anyone here is currently in B2 visitor status, you must wait until your application for COS to F1 has been approved before you can begin studying at LBCC.
This is an example of a Form I-20. If you have been admitted in F1 or M1 Student Status, you should have your original I-20 document in your possession.
The information in Item #1 is your personal information. Please check it to make sure that the details are correct.
The information in Item #2 is our school information.
Item #3 will show whether you are a new or continuing student. Item #4 indicates that you have been admitted for the Intensive English Program or the Associate Program if you are an F1 student, or the Certificate Program if you are an M1 student.
Item #5 is very important. Check it carefully. This shows the program that you will be studying, and the dates that your F1 status is valid. If you change your major, we will need to prepare a new I-20 for you. When you become eligible for work authorization, your I-20 must show your correct major in order for you to get that benefit, so it is important to update your I-20 as soon as possible if you decide to change your major.
If you find that you need more time to study than is indicated on your I-20, we may be able to extend your stay.
In either case, please make an appointment at the ISO to discuss changes or updates to your I-20.
If you are a former ALCI student or a transfer student and you do not have your LBCC I-20 yet, it is your responsibility to request it from the International Student Office.
If your application is complete, we will want to see proof that you are registered in 12 units and have purchased health insurance before we issue your I-20.
The Department of Homeland Security has established a database that hold information for every foreign student in the US. This is called the "Student and Exchange Visitor Information System", or SEVIS. Once we determined that you were eligible to be admitted to Long Beach City College, we provided information about you to the SEVIS system. The information we provided was contained in your application. That information was used by the SEVIS system to create your form I-20. When you applied for your student visa, the consulate officer also looked at your information in the SEVIS system to help determine if you were eligible for the visa. As your information changes, our office will update your SEVIS system, or the DHS may update information as well.
DHS requires you to notify the ISO within 10 days if you have a new address, telephone number or e-mail address. Once you notify us, we report that new information in the SEVIS system.
The college is also required to report your enrollment in the SEVIS system every semester. If we find that you are not enrolled full-time, that information is reported in the SEVIS system.
When you leave the US, apply for visas in the future, or re-enter the US after a vacation period, your SEVIS history may be checked.
If you last name begins with letters A through M, your advisor is Dolores Franco. She will issue your I-20, or help you with other questions or problems that you may have while you are a student at LBCC.
If your surname begins with letters N-Z, Denise Kinsella is your advisor. She will issue your I-20, sign it for travel, help you to apply for work authorization, or help you with other questions or problems that you may have.
You can make an appointment to see either advisor at the International Student Office.
Once you are accepted at a new school, they will need your SEVIS record in order to prepare your new I-20.
Your new school will not have access to your SEVIS record until LBCC releases the record to them, so you will need to come to the ISO and show us your admission letter to the new school so that we can release your record to them. Your new school will only be able to create your new I-20 after they receive your SEVIS record. Once your SEVIS record has been transferred, your LBCC I-20 will be cancelled, even if the expiration date on the I-20 has not yet passed.
If you need to take a class that is not offered at LBCC, you may be able to take that class at a neighboring college or university. You must get permission from Judy Oh to do this. Those units will count as part of your 12 units if you have written permission from Judy. You must take the majority of your units at LBCC to use the LBCC I-20. If you find that you want to take most of your classes at another college, you will need to transfer to the new school so that you can study under their I-20. You would still be welcome to take classes at LBCC as long as you had permission from your new Foreign Student Advisor (FSA).
The DHS understands that occasionally, there may be situations where a student is unable to enroll in 12 units, as required. There are limited situations where students may be able to enroll in fewer than 12 units for one semester after receiving written permission from the Academic Counselor. Permission for course load reduction may generally only be given once during a student's career at a particular college.
Even if your reason is in the "Acceptable" column, we will not be able to help you if you do not remember to speak with us before you drop or withdraw from the class.
If you need permission for fewer than 12 units, please make an appointment to see Judy Oh for academic problems, or Denise Kinsella for medical problems. Please bring any documents that might provide additional information to support your situation.
If you have been given permission to enroll in fewer than 12 units for one semester, you must have that permission in writing. Judy or Denise will give you a form that looks like this. Your permission will also be logged in your SEVIS record.
If you need to apply for a new visa while you are outside the US, you will also need official transcripts from LBCC and any previous schools, as well as up-to-date financial information.
Look on the internet at the US Consulate web site to check for additional requirements and visa application procedures.
Procedures often differ from one post to the next, so be sure to check the web site for the Consular Post where you will be applying for your visa.
You cannot volunteer in a position that is normally a paid position, such as helping out at a restaurant in any capacity. You may volunteer in established volunteer programs with non-profit agencies, such as the American Red Cross or the Long Beach Aquarium.
Optional Practical Training (OPT) is available to some students after they have graduated from the Associate Degree Program. It allows students to work full-time in a paid or unpaid position in the field reflected on the student's I-20 form. F1 students who are eligible can work for up to one year under OPT after each degree that they complete. (For example, you can work for one year after your AA degree, one year after your BA degree, one year after your MA and one more year after your Ph.D. graduation.) It is important to note that while you cannot begin working until after graduation, your application must be received at the Service Center before your graduation date.
Curricular Practical Training is available to students who have a Work Experience class offered in their major field of study. You must have completed at least one year in the regular college program before you are eligible for CPT.
These grace periods also apply to students who plan to transfer to another school. For example, if you graduate from LBCC in F1 status, you will have 60 days to be accepted at a new school and have your SEVIS record transferred to that school. This does not mean that you must begin studying within 60 days, only that your record must be transferred within that grace period.
Once you decide to leave LBCC, your departure will be reported to SEVIS. Your I-20 will be voided at that time and will no longer be valid, even if the expiration date has not yet passed.
When we receive a new address at the ISO, we report it to the SEVIS system.
We require all students to purchase the LBCC health insurance policy. We do not accept policies from other agencies.
If you decide to apply for reinstatement, you must do so within five months of breaking the rule.
You may only be reinstated once, and reinstatement is never guaranteed. Reinstatement is generally only granted if the problem was out of your control.
All international students at Long Beach City College are required to have an active e-mail address on-file at the ISO. We send out reminder messages and other important information only via e-mail. You are responsible for checking your messages, and for updating your e-mail address at the ISO when you change your e-mail address.
If you have questions about any of the information in this presentation, please contact the International Student Office at Long Beach City College.