Jesuit School of Theology (JST) Fall 2020 Immigration FAQ

We are still issuing I-20s and supporting visa applications for all admitted students. If you have not requested your I-20 yet, you should do so.

Graduate students submit their I-20 requests directly to their graduate admissions team via email.

Your I-20 will be issued with a Spring 2021 semester start date. You can plan to enter the U.S. up to 30 days prior to the Spring 2021 semester start date (Orientation begins on January 25, 2021; you may enter the U.S. on or after December 26, 2020).

We will continue to issue I-20s with Fall 2020 start dates only for students already in the U.S. who are: 

Transferring their active F-1 SEVIS immigration records to SCU from another school, or

Requesting an I-20 to file a Change of Status application with USCIS.

Our team will issue your I-20 within our normal 15 business day processing time.

Your I-20 will be issued with a Spring 2021 semester start date. You can plan to enter the U.S. up to 30 days prior to the Spring 2021 semester start date (Orientation begins on January 25, 2021; you may enter the U.S. on or after December 26, 2020).

We will continue to issue I-20s with Fall 2020 start dates only for students already in the U.S. who are: 

Transferring their active F-1 SEVIS immigration records to SCU from another school, or

Requesting an I-20 to file a Change of Status application with USCIS.

Your I-20 will be updated with a Spring 2020 semester start date. 

• We will be issuing updated I-20s no later than July 1, 2020. You will get an email when your new I-20 is ready for mailing. 
• Your SEVIS ID number will stay the same and you can continue your SEVIS fee payment, and visa application process even while waiting for your updated I-20 to be mailed.
• You can plan to enter the U.S. up to 30 days prior to the Spring 2021 semester start date (Orientation begins on January 25, 2021; you may enter the U.S. on or after December 26, 2020).

We will continue to issue I-20s with Fall 2020 start dates only for students already in the U.S. who are: 

Transferring their active F-1 SEVIS immigration records to SCU from another school, or

Requesting an I-20 to file a Change of Status application with USCIS.

Your I-20 will be automatically updated with a Spring semester start date. You do not need to submit a new I-20 request or any additional supporting documents.

• We will be issuing updated I-20s no later than July 1, 2020. You will get an email when your new I-20 is ready for mailing. 
• Your SEVIS ID number will stay the same and you can continue your SEVIS fee payment, and visa application process even while waiting for your updated I-20 to be mailed.
• You can plan to enter the U.S. up to 30 days prior to the Spring 2021 semester start date (Orientation begins on January 25, 2021; you may enter the U.S. on or after December 26, 2020).

We will continue to issue I-20s with Fall 2020 start dates only for students already in the U.S. who are: 

Transferring their active F-1 SEVIS immigration records to SCU from another school, or

Requesting an I-20 to file a Change of Status application with USCIS.

If you have already paid the SEVIS fee you will not have to pay it again. Your SEVIS ID number will stay the same. We are simply updating your F-1 SEVIS immigration record start date.

You are eligible to attend your visa interview up to 120 days prior to your program start date.

Currently regular visa processing is suspended and emergency appointments are reserved for students who are within 60 days of their program start date. We anticipate that U.S. Consulates and Embassies will resume regular visa processing in late summer or early fall to support students arriving for Spring 2021 (January 2021).

We will be automatically issuing updated I-20s by July 1, 2020. You will get an email when the new I-20 is ready for mailing.

If you are already in the U.S. and transferring your active F-1 SEVIS immigration record to SCU we assume you will either stay in the U.S. or that you will return to the U.S. for the start of classes. You will be required to attend and complete immigration check-in. Your immigration record will be validated to show you are in the U.S. You will be eligible to take your Fall classes online while in the U.S. or after you have completed immigration check-in and we have validated your immigration record, you may depart the U.S. and take classes from abroad, if you prefer.

You do not need to attend in Fall. Instead, you will attend ISW just after entering the U.S. in F-1 status, in January. We’re excited to meet you in person. In the meantime, we’re hosting all of our Fall programming and events online in Fall quarter and you’re welcome to join us. You can see all of our events at scu.edu/geoevents

Unfortunately it is not possible to enter the U.S. in F-1 status to begin your academic program online. You will not be able to use the I-20 showing the Fall 2020 program start date for visa stamping or entry into the U.S.

We will issue you an updated SCU I-20 with a Spring 2021 program start date. You can plan to enter the U.S. up to 30 days prior to the Spring 2021 semester start date (Orientation begins on January 25, 2021; you may enter the U.S. on or after December 26, 2020).

Your I-20 will be updated with a Spring 2021 semester start date. 

You can plan to enter the U.S. up to 30 days prior to the Spring 2021 semester start date (Orientation begins on January 25, 2021; you may enter the U.S. on or after December 26, 2020).

We will continue to issue I-20s with Fall 2020 start dates only for students already in the U.S. who are: 

Transferring their active F-1 SEVIS immigration records to SCU from another school, or

Requesting an I-20 to file a Change of Status application with USCIS.

Since you will not be in F-1 immigration status while you are outside the U.S. there is no immigration requirement to enroll in a full course load and International Students and Scholars will not verify your enrollment in the Fall.

However, there may be benefits to enrolling in a full course load (for example, your academic program may require you to be fully enrolled to make academic progress).

We’re excited to meet you in person when you arrive in January. In the meantime, we’re hosting all of our Fall programming and events online in Fall quarter and you’re welcome to join us. You can see all of our events at scu.edu/geoevents

• Students are able to depart from the U.S.
• You are not required to stay in the U.S. and can continue online classes from outside the U.S.
• You are not required to leave the U.S. and can continue online classes from the inside U.S.

Graduating Students: You must be physically present in the U.S. to apply for OPT. You cannot apply from abroad -- this is a regulation not an SCU policy. Students graduating who want to use OPT should not leave the U.S. until they apply for OPT.

From an immigration standpoint, during the academic term F-1 students who are fully enrolled (8 units for grad students, 12 units for undergrad or with an approved RCL or Thesis / Capstone) are considered full time students maintaining valid F-1 status, regardless of where they physically are located, and even though classes will be online.  

We are required to report all changes to the method of instruction to the U.S. government agency that manages the student visa system. We've already submitted our initial report telling the government  that online instruction has been extended through the end of the 2020-2021 academic year. We will submit an update once the method of instruction for Fall 2020 is finalized. The government has informed universities that moving classes online due to this pandemic will be allowed and that they are maintaining flexibility to ensure that students are safe and to protect public health. 

During a regular academic quarter or semester international students may only count one online class toward their full time enrollment requirements. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government agency that manages the student visa system (ICE / SEVP) has informed universities that moving classes online due to this health emergency will be allowed and that they are maintaining flexibility to ensure that students are safe and to protect public health.  

We are required to report all changes to the method of instruction to the U.S. government agency that manages the student visa system. We've already submitted our initial report telling the government  that online instruction has been extended through the end of the 2020-2021 academic year. We will submit an update once the method of instruction for Fall 2020 is finalized. The government has informed universities that moving classes online due to this pandemic will be allowed and that they are maintaining flexibility to ensure that students are safe and to protect public health. 

Due to this COVID-19 pandemic, international students are eligible to take classes online and are able to either remain in the U.S. or leave the U.S. The only exception is for graduating students who plan to apply for OPT -- you must be in the U.S. to apply for OPT.

That said, we expect that participating in online classes could be challenging if you are outside of the U.S. (due to the time difference, technology limitations, lack of access to instructional materials such as text books etc). Each Professor will handle their classes differently. We recommend that students communicate directly with professors (via email) about the fact that they are international or outside of the U.S. and will have a hard time participating if class is held in Pacific Standard Time and not recorded. The professor may be able to make an accommodation (such as allowing the student to watch a recording of the lecture), however not all classes will allow for accommodation. Alterntatively, the student may be able to switch classes (as long as it's before the add/drop deadline for the term).  In the worst case, if the student is not able to find any classes that would work while they are living outside of the U.S., the student can withdraw for the academic term. Please contact iss@scu.edu before dropping any classes.

From an immigration standpoint during this global health crisis, SCU students who are fully enrolled (8 units for grad students, 12 units for undergraduate or with an approved Reduced Course Load RCL or Thesis / Capstone) are considered full time students maintaining valid F-1 status, regardless of where they physically are located, and even though classes may be online. 

The 5 month rule does not apply in this situation since you are considered to be maintaining status, even if you happen to be outside the U.S.

To enter the U.S. you do require a valid F-1 visa stamp -- if the visa stamp in your passport will still be valid, you will not need a new visa. If the visa stamp in your passport will have expired, you will need to apply for a new visa stamp before coming back to the U.S.

If you've considered the risk of international travel and plan to leave the U.S. please review our travel website for a list of documents that you should carry with you.

• If you've considered the risk of international travel and plan to leave the U.S. please review our travel website for a list of documents that you should carry with you.
• You do not need to physically meet with an ISS team member before leaving the U.S.
• I-20 travel signatures are valid for 1 year after issuance for enrolled students.
• I-20 travel signatures are valid for 6 months after issuance for graduates on OPT / STEM OPT.

If you need an updated travel signature: Email iss@scu.edu. The email subject line should be "updated travel signature" in the email body include your full legal name, your SCU ID, your date of departure from the U.S. and your planned date of re-entry (if any). In the coming weeks we will create an updated I-20 for you with a new travel signature. Once the I-20 has been created you will be sent an email with instructions on how to create a shipping label so the we can mail the I-20 to you prior to your return to the U.S. 

To re-enter the U.S. you are required to have a valid F-1 visa stamp in your passport. If the F-1 visa stamp in your passport will still be valid when you plan to return to the U.S. you will not need to apply for a new visa. If the F-1 visa stamp in your passport expires before you return to the U.S. you will need to apply for a new visa stamp before coming back to the U.S.

Opting for Pass / No Pass (P/NP) grading does not impact your immigration status. You may take any or all of your classes P/NP.

To be eligible for the Economic Impact Payments from the CARES Act, you must be a "resident alien for tax purposes”. 

Most of SCU's international students and scholars are "non-resident aliens for tax purposes" and are therefore not eligible for the Economic Impact Payments from the CARES Act.

Anyone who received a stimulus payments in error should follow the IRS instructions under FAQ #52 here and send payment with delivery tracking and keep copies of the check and any correspondence for their records.

We cannot provide personalized tax guidance, however, you can find tax related information and resources here. We hope these web resources are helpful to you.