ISSS-BU News . 10 July 2006. ISSS-BU News
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Editor’s Note: With this issue, ISSS-BU News takes a two-week break, and will resume publication on Monday, July 31, 2006.
CONTENTS:
1. Are You a J-1 Student? Are You Working On-Campus This Summer or in the Fall?
If you are an international student in J-1 status, the Office of International Student and Scholar Services would like to remind you that all on-campus employment for J-1s must be authorized in advance by your J-1 sponsor. The sponsor is the agency or institution listed in item 2 of the DS-2019. If your program sponsor is Binghamton University, the ISSS makes it easy for you to fulfill your employment authorization responsibilities by having an internet link where you may request the required authorization letter. Just go to: http://isss.binghamton.edu/emp/jempframe.htm
2. New International Students Will Start to Arrive Soon
July is the height of the visa processing season for new students coming to the United States to study. At Binghamton, we anticipate having another large entering class of new undergraduate and graduate students. We are hearing positive news about visa issuance from students in most countries.
Federal regulations permit new international students in F or J status to enter the United States no sooner than 30 days prior to the start date on their I-20 or DS-2019. The start date for this coming fall is August 21, 2006 (the first day of International Student Orientation). Thus, we expect to see some early arrivals in just a few weeks.
If you are assisting a new student, please bring them to the ISSS so that we can greet them, note their arrival, and give them early arrival information.
3. Advance Degree H-1B Numbers Continue to Go Quickly
In last week’s edition of ISSS-BU News, we wrote that H-1B applications for recipients of US master’s or higher degrees were still being accepted for fiscal year 2007, which begins October 1. However, we also noted that the 20,000 allocation for this category of H-1B was moving quickly. US Citizenship and Immigration Services has updated its count again, as of July 6, 2006. On that date, nearly 14,250 such applications had been processed, with approximately 700 more received but not yet processed. Thus, approximately 25 percent of the available visas for such degree recipients remain available.
With the numbers being used up so quickly, anyone eligible for this filing category whose employer has not yet filed the H-1B petition is strongly advised to do so soon, before the remaining available visa numbers are exhausted.
To view the USCIS chart that periodically updates the H-1B visa processing numbers, visit: http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/services/tempbenefits/cap.htm
There are additional categories of H-1B petitioners who are exempt from the visa cap. Those categories include:
The H1-B temporary worker visa allows professional foreign nationals to work in the United States in specialty occupations for a period of up to six years.
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