1. ISSS Information Regarding New International Students
2. New International Students Will Start to Arrive Soon
3. International Graduate Student Wins Prestigious Award
4. Colombian Photo Exhibit At The Art Mission Opens Friday, August 3
5. USCIS Filing Fees Increase on July 30, 2007
6. Changes in Fall 2007 Academic Calendar Will Result in New I-20s for Some Students
7. Course Registration Information for Fall 2007

1. ISSS Information Regarding New International Students

Many of our current international students assist new students upon arrival.

We would like to call your attention to information for New Fall 2007 international students that
was recently posted to the ISSS website: http://isss.binghamton.edu

If you go to the ISSS website you will find the Fall 2007 International Student Orientation Information at the following link: http://isss.binghamton.edu/orientation/fall/orient.htm

You will also find three electronic mailings the ISSS has sent to admitted students at the following links:

Important Information for Fall 2007 New Students:
http://isss.binghamton.edu/admission/newStuInfo.htm

Summer 2007 Newsletter for New Students:
http://isss.binghamton.edu/admission/NewsLetter.html

Strategies for a Successful Entry to the United States:
http://isss.binghamton.edu/admission/straEntry.html

2. New International Students Will Start to Arrive Soon

Although it is still three weeks until the Monday, August 20 start date of international student orientation, new international students have begin to arrive on campus. If you happen to meet a new student, please be sure to direct them to the office of International Student and Scholar Services. Although ISSS will not be photocopying visa documents until International Student Orientation August 20-22, 2007, the ISSS is recording new student arrivals and distributing their very helpful early arrival information sheet. ISSS looks forward to welcoming the newest entering class of international students this Fall!

ISSS also thanks the many current international students who have been in contact with new students. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

3. International Graduate Student Wins Prestigious Award

Guruprasad Madhavan, Binghamton University graduate research assistant in the Clinical Science and Engineering Research Center and a Ph.D. candidate in bio-engineering, received the Young Technologist of the Year Award at a banquet for the Technology Alliance of Central New York in Syracuse.

Mr. Madhavaen is currently working on the development of a non-invasive, non-pharmacologic, calf muscle pump stimulation system to improve lower limb blood and fluid circulation. This device has potential therapeutic implications in conditions such as chronic heart failure, dialysis-induced hypotension, chronic edema, osteoporosis, and mental health conditions including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.

Information provided by the BU Office of Communications and Marketing

4. Colombian Photo Exhibit At The Art Mission Opens Friday, August 3

The Art Mission & Theater presents a photo exhibition titled: “We Come In Pieces: Ocho Miradas Sobre Colombia.”

The exhibition’s opening will take place at First Friday, August 3, 2007 from 6-9pm.  The exhibition runs through August 28.  Featured are eight contemporary Colombian photographers who engage in Colombian socio-political realities, i.e. the shantytowns of Bogota, Colombia. Bogota photographer Juan Paulo Vargas Gongora will be present at the exhibition. The photographs emphasize the everyday life of marginal people-indigenous people, Afro-Colombians, street people, scavengers & the displaced – those who are ignored, obscured or forgotten in mass-media representations. The exhibition was organized by Professor Joshua Price, of Binghamton University & Maria-Constanza Guzman, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Translation, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

The Art Mission is located at 61 Prospect Street, Binghamton, NY 13901. 607-722-6914
Gallery Hours: Daily 3:30 – 9:00pm and by appointment.  For more information, visit http://www.artmission.org

5. USCIS Filing Fees Increase on July 30, 2007

As previously announced in the June 4, 2007 edition of ISSS-BU News, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has increased its filing fees.  The new fees take effect on July 30, 2007. Any applications or petitions postmarked or otherwise filed on or after July 30, 2007 must include the new fee. 

Here are the new fees for the forms most frequently used by international students:
Form I-102 replace I-94 card  $320.00 (was $160.00)
Form I-539 change of non immigrant status, reinstatement to F-1 status $300.00 (was $200.00)
Form I-765 application for employment authorization (OPT, economic hardship, J-2 employment, etc) $340.00  (was $180.00)

Some fees, such as the $100 Federal SEVIS fee, have not changed.

To read the USCIS announcement, visit:
http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/FeeReminder23Jul07.pdf

6. Changes in Fall 2007 Academic Calendar Will Result in New I-20s for Some Students

Last week’s edition of ISSS-BU News included an article on changes to the 2007-08 Academic Calendar.  See: http://isss.binghamton.edu/news/isssbu2007/Jul232007.html#two

An unintended consequence of the change that has the Fall 2007 semester ending one week earlier than previously announced is that the degree conferral date for Fall 2007 has also changed.   The new degree conferral date for Fall is January 4, 2008.  It had previously been January 11, 2008.

This change requires the ISSS to prepare new I-20s for any student whose current I-20 has an ending date of January 11, 2008.  After the fall semester begins, a new I-20 with the correct January 04, 2008 ending date will be prepared for any students affected, and those students will be notified by email to pick up their new I-20.  This calendar change also affects the ending date for students who will graduate in Fall 2007 and will undertake Curricular Practical Training  (CPT) in the Fall.  It also affects the filing deadlines and start/end dates for Optional Practical Training (OPT) for those graduating in Fall.   The ISSS is in the process of updating its web pages to reflect the new dates.

7. Course Registration Information for Fall 2007

The Registrar's Office has posted the Fall 2007 course registration times and other helpful registration information on its web site. To view it, please visit: http://registrar.binghamton.edu/newinfo.html#regdates

Registration begins on Monday, August 20, 2007 for graduate students and Friday, August 24 for undergraduate students.  After the initial registration times have passed, the BUSI system will be available from 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 a.m. (22 hrs. per day) seven days a week until the course-withdrawal deadline of October 26, 2007.

ISSS-BU is a listserv owned and managed by the Office of International Student and Scholar Services, Division of Student Affairs, at the State University of New York at Binghamton. It is the publisher of ISSS-BU News . Permission is granted to freely distribute the information posted to this list as long as its contents remain unchanged.