Announcements & News
3/23/23: USCIS has announced that the COVID-19 Flexibilities that were instituted in March 2020 have been lifted and are no longer in effect. For international students, this means that in order to be in compliance with immigration regulations, you must be registered appropriately for your degree level and only one on-line class can be taken per semester. Compliance requires you to be physically present in a classroom otherwise.
Florida Tech: Corona Virus Updates - Florida Tech returns to In-Person Instruction
Beware Of Immigration Scams
Information from USCIS on avoiding immigration scams.
Illegal Presence:
New Policy Memo from USCIS: Accrual of Unlawful Presence by F and M Nonimmigrants
On May 10, 2018, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) posted a policy memorandum, “Accrual of Unlawful Presence and F, J, and M Nonimmigrants,” changing how the agency will calculate unlawful presence for students and exchange visitors in F, J, and M nonimmigrant status, including F-2, J-2, or M-2 dependents, who fail to maintain their status in the United States, effective Aug. 9, 2018. The policy officially went into effect on August 9, 2018.
Individuals in F, J, and M status who failed to maintain their status before Aug. 9, 2018, will start accruing unlawful presence on that date based on that failure, unless they already started accruing unlawful presence on the earliest of any of the following:
- The day after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) denied the request for an immigration benefit, if DHS made a formal finding that the individual violated their nonimmigrant status while adjudicating a request for another immigration benefit;
- The day after their Form I-94, “Arrival/Departure Record,” expired; or
- The day after an immigration judge ordered them excluded, deported or removed (whether or not the decision is appealed).
Individuals in F, J, or M status who fail to maintain their status on or after Aug. 9, 2018, will start accruing unlawful presence on the earliest of any of the following:
- The day after they no longer pursue the course of study or the authorized activity, or the day after they engage in an unauthorized activity;
- The day after completing the course of study or program, including any authorized practical training, plus any authorized grace period;
- The day after the Form I-94 expires; or
- The day after an immigration judge orders them excluded, deported or removed (whether or not the decision is appealed).
Note that the change in policy by USCIS means that, beginning Aug. 9, 2018, certain actions by an F, M, or J nonimmigrant may cause them to accrue unlawful presence, where previously such actions did not. Accrual of unlawful presence can, under certain circumstances, render the nonimmigrant ineligible for certain immigration benefits and may make them inadmissible to the United States.
For more information you can read the USCIS policy memorandum.
**Summary from SEVIS Broadcast Message 1808-02: Accrual of Unlawful Presence by F and M Nonimmigrants**