Fall Student Reminders and Check-In Procedures

in Fall 2024 Workshops
August 17th, 2020

Please see instructions below for Fall 2020 check-in procedures and information about regulatory flexibility during the COVID-19 pandemic for F-1 students. Boston University is required to confirm your enrollment to the Department of Homeland Security through the Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) at the start of each semester. Please be advised that we have changed how we will gather and report your enrollment during this time. Please read this information carefully and contact the ISSO team should you have any questions.

Initial Check-in ISSO

All students beginning a new program of study on campus and students returning to campus from a leave of absence will be required to complete Initial ISSO check-in remotely through new functions on the MyBU Student Portal. You should only complete Initial ISSO check-in after you have entered the US in F-1 student status and, only if you are beginning a new program. New students will receive separate emails message with detailed instructions for check-in.

Fall 2020 Semester Verification Suspended for Continuing Students

Continued student check-in (generally referred to as Semester Verification) will not be required in Fall 2020. SEVP COVID Guidance will allow BU to keep SEVIS records open for continuing full-time students, even if they study remotely or remain outside of the United States. The ISSO will be relying on the data that you enter in the new LfA Status indicator on the MyBU Student Portal and your academic registration data to update your SEVIS record instead of Semester Verification since many students will not be returning to campus this semester. Therefore, it is essential that you keep your LfA Status indicator and your addresses in the MyBU Student Portal up to date throughout the fall semester.

  • Local address should reflect your US address if you are in the US, or should be left blank for the fall semester if you are studying remotely from outside the US. If you are living on campus, this address will automatically reflect your BU housing address.
  • Foreign-Immigration address should reflect your address in your home country
  • US-Immigration address should reflect your current US address if you are in the US. If you are living on campus, this address will automatically reflect your BU housing address. If you plan to study remotely from outside the US for the fall, please leave your most recent US address in this section – do not delete this address.

Enrollment

Remember that you must be enrolled full-time and making normal academic progress in your degree. For most students, full-time is 12 credits. Some graduate student programs may have different full-time equivalents, but you must be certified as a full-time student to maintain your immigration status. The number of remote courses that continuing students can take has been relaxed temporarily due to COVID-19 as long as you are enrolled full-time and making progress in your degree program. If it is your last semester and you need less than 12 credits to graduate, you should request a Reduced Courseload from ISSO prior to the start of the semester.

January Graduates

If you plan to graduate in January 2021 and plan to apply for post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT), please note that you must be inside of the United States in order to apply for OPT. This is a requirement of the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS), and they have not provided any flexibility to allow students to apply for OPT from outside of the United States despite the travel challenges related to COVID-19. It is also important to note that you will have a 60-day grace period after your program completion date of January 25, 2021 during which you can apply for OPT, request that ISSO transfer your SEVIS record to a new school or change your record to a new degree level at BU, or depart the United States. An extension of this grace period due to COVID-19 has not been provided, so we encourage you to keep this in mind as you are planning your next steps.

On-Campus Employment

Immigration regulations allow international students to work on-campus up to 20 hours per week during the regular semester. During Fall 2020, some on-campus jobs may be approved to be performed remotely by students who are within the United States, and some will require that you be available in-person on campus. You can read more about being hired to work on-campus on the ISSO website. If you have not worked on-campus before, you will need to complete an I-9 Employment Eligibility form before you begin work. If you do not have a Social Security Number, you will need to apply for one after you secure a job. Social Security Offices are currently closed to walk-in traffic due to COVID-19, but you can review details of how you can apply for an SSN on our COVID-19 FAQs page.

Travel Concerns

ISSO acknowledges that travel has become very complicated by COVID-19. If you are considering international travel, we strongly recommend that you review our Current Travel Advisory and be aware that travel restrictions are subject to change at any time. US Embassies/Consulates closed for routine visa processing in mid-March and began a phased-in reopening in mid-July. If your F-1 visa stamp has expired, you should expect substantial delays in applying for a new visa. If you are considering international travel, we suggest that you contact your ISSO advisor before finalizing your travel plans.

ISSO continues to work remotely, and we remain available to support you. You can visit our Menu of Remote Services to learn how to contact us. You can also contact your ISSO advisor if you have specific questions. Given an increased volume of inquiries, it may take your advisor a few days to respond so we appreciate your patience!