1. National Holidays for May
2. International Student Graduation Reception is Saturday May 12
3. Planning to Work in the United States This Summer?
4. Fall 2007 Employment Opportunity: Do You Speak Cantonese, French, Hebrew, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, and/or Spanish?
5. CINTAX Will Remove All Saved Income Tax Forms on June 15
6. Did You Receive A Grade of "Incomplete" in Fall 2006?
7. Registering for Less Than a Full Time Course Load for Fall 2007?
8. Latest News About H-1B Visas and the “Cap Count”
9. Were You One of the Lucky Ones Selected for H-1B?

1. National Holidays for May

The following countries are celebrating national holidays in May

Country	Date
Marshall Islands	1-May
Poland	3-May
Israel	12-May
Paraguay	15-May
Norway	17-May
Turkey	19-May
Cameroon	20-May
Yemen, Republic of	22-May
Eritrea	24-May
Argentina	25-May
Jordan	25-May
Georgia	26-May
Azerbaijan	28-May
Ethiopia	28-May
Croatia	30-May
South Africa	31-May

2. International Student Graduation Reception is Saturday May 12

We are delighted that so many international exchange students and graduating students have informed the ISSS that they will be attending the 20th Annual International Student Graduation Reception in the University Union Mandela Room, Saturday, May 12 at 7:00pm.

If you are completing your program or are graduating, and have not yet responded to our invitation, please do so right away by using our on-line response form: http://isss.binghamton.edu/prog/GradRec/gradRecInvite.htm

The invitation states that your response is due by Monday, May 7, but the ISSS will continue to accept responses until Wednesday, May 9. Each student will receive a certificate from the ISSS, in recognition of your achievements. If you will be graduating, or completing your exchange program this month, come join the ISSS staff and your fellow students for good food, short speech making, (only three!), and lots of photo opportunities!

3. Planning to Work in the United States This Summer?

International students in F-1 or J-1 status are reminded that all off-campus employment must be authorized! This includes summer internships and other forms of off-campus employment. Do not jeopardize your non-immigrant status through unauthorized employment. If you have any questions, please come to the ISSS or visit the employment section of the ISSS website at: http://isss.binghamton.edu/emp/index.html

4. Fall 2007 Employment Opportunity: Do You Speak Cantonese, French, Hebrew, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, and/or Spanish?

The Languages Across the Curriculum Program is now accepting applications for the position of Language Resource Specialist (LRS) for the Fall 2007 semester. Interviews for this position will take place during the second week of the semester. All applications should be submitted to the Languages Across the Curriculum office no later than June 1st, 2007 . Pick up an application at Languages Across the Curriculum offices in Hinman 209-210, OR print one from our web site: http://lxc.binghamton.edu/jobs.html

• If you have submitted an application in the past, email us at lxc@binghamton.edu to make sure it is still on file.

Job description : LRSs assist students in understanding the assigned foreign-language materials and in relating them to course content. Discussion is conducted in the foreign language or English depending on the ability of the students. LRSs provide individual assessment for assignments. LRSs also benefit both financially and professionally through mandatory training that provides guidance and assistance in identifying and utilizing LxC materials.

Note: This is not an assistantship.

Pay begins at $8/hr and LRSs work 5-10 hours per week. Weekly study group meetings led by each LRS begin in the 5th week of classes, scheduled at the convenience of the LRS and his/her students.

The ideal candidate will have very good English language skills and native or near-native proficiency in the LxC language. Candidates with demonstrated expertise in: Literature, Environmental Studies, History, Political Science, International Business will receive special consideration.

5. CINTAX Will Remove All Saved Income Tax Forms on June 15

CINTAX, the income tax preparation software used by international students and scholars, will remove all 2006 income tax records from their server on June 15, 2007. So, be sure you have kept printed copies of your income tax forms. If you have not yet printed an extra copy from the CINTAX web site, now is the time to do so.

6. Did You Receive A Grade of "Incomplete" in Fall 2006?

The Office of International Student and Scholar Services would like to remind international students of a potential problem for those in F-1 or J-1 status who do not complete in a timely manner the required work for a course for which they have been issued an "Incomplete" grade. For example, a student who receives a grade of "incomplete" in a graduate or undergraduate course for the Fall 2006 semester has until the end of the Spring 2007 semester to turn in the required work so that the professor can issue the appropriate final grade. However, if the Fall 2006 course work is not completed, or if the professor does not submit a grade change form, the Incomplete will change to "W" or withdrawn for graduate students, and to "F" or failure for undergraduate students at the conclusion of the Spring 2007 semester.

Now that the Spring 2007 semester is about to end, international students in F-1 and J-1 status who received one or more grades of Incomplete in Fall 2006 are urged to check their Fall 2006 grades in the BUSI system; by phone (777-5000), on BUSI, or on the BUSI Web Center at: http://busi.binghamton.edu

A grade change to "W" is very detrimental to any F-1 or J-1 student, because if the course was being counted towards a full-time course load, the W grade means that the course was not completed successfully, dropping the student from full-time to part-time. Often, we find that the student has made arrangements with the faculty member to complete the work. In such cases, we strongly advise the student to check with the faculty member to see if the grade was submitted, or if necessary, extend the deadline for the incomplete and have the grade changed back to "I."

A grade that remains "W," if it drops the student below a full time course load, may mean that the F-1 or J-1 student is in violation of U.S. immigration requirements. Thus, some international students could suddenly find themselves in violation of their F-1 status based on a course taken as long as two semesters ago. Students who find themselves in this situation should contact the ISSS to set up an appointment with Ellen Badger.

7. Registering for Less Than a Full Time Course Load for Fall 2007?

Some students have already completed early registration for Fall 2007, others may delay signing up for courses until the regular registration period that begins August 24, 2007. Since all continuing F-1 students must comply with federal SEVIS regulations, we are reminding students of the rules governing taking less than a full-time course load.

U.S. Federal regulations governing F-1 status require that students pursue "a full course of study" that leads to the attainment of a specific educational or professional objective. For undergraduate students, a full course of study is defined as at least 12 semester credits per semester. For graduate students, Federal regulations defer to the school's definition of a full course of study. See http://isss.binghamton.edu/imm/RuleFTload.htm for a summary of what constitutes full-time study at Binghamton University.

SEVIS regulations require that F-1 students obtain permission from the Office of International Student and Scholar Services before dropping below a full-time course load. A F-1 student who drops below a full course of study without the prior approval of the Office of International Student and Scholar Services will be considered out of status.

One of the most common requests for a reduced course load is when a student is in their final semester of study, but needs less than a full time course load to graduate. The ISSS may authorize a reduced course load for this reason. If the reduction is authorized, the student must then be registered for those credits needed to complete the course of study.

The student must first obtain permission from the ISSS before dropping below a full-time course load. A special form, which can be obtained from the ISSS or downloaded at: http://isss.binghamton.edu/forms/study_comp.pdf must be completed by both the student and department advisor, and then approved by the ISSS before any courses can be dropped. In addition, the student must also have filed a "certification of candidacy form" with the Graduate School (for graduate students) or an "application for undergraduate degree" with the Registrar's Office, verifying the student's intention to graduate in that semester.

A note of warning: Students should be absolutely certain that they will be graduating in the current semester before choosing to register for less than a full-time course load. Failure to graduate after dropping below a full-time course load may result in the student being out-of-status, and the loss of F-1 benefits.

Graduate students who have completed their course requirements and register for thesis, pre-dissertation research, dissertation, project, or other course rubrics that are eligible to be certified as full-time even though the number of credits will be below the normal full-time course load are not required to seek advance permission from the ISSS, and need NOT be concerned that they will violate their F-1 status if they do not graduate. However, such students who will register for less than 9 credits must submit the Graduate School's "Certification of Full-Time Status" form each semester to their department for filing with the Graduate School. This form may be downloaded at:
http://gradschool.binghamton.edu/documents/FTCForm.pdf

8. Latest News About H-1B Visas and the “Cap Count”

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued an announcement on May 4, 2007 that the H-1B Exemption Cap had been reached on Monday, April 30, 2007. The “exemption cap” is the 20,000 visas reserved for foreign nationals with Master's degrees or higher from a U.S. college or university. Thus, April 30 was the final receipt date for this category of H-1B applications. Those applications that were received on April 30, 2007 will be subject to a random selection process, similar to the process used in April to select applications to meet the congressionally mandated H-1B cap of 65,000.

U.S. businesses utilize the H-1B program to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in specialized fields, such as scientists, engineers, or computer programmers.

Thus H-1B applications for cap-subject positions, or for an exemption from the H-1B cap based on having a U.S. master's degree or higher, are no longer being accepted for fiscal year 2008 (October 1, 2007 – September 30, 2008). The earliest date to file an application for fiscal year 2009, which begins October 1, 2008, will be April 1, 2008.

USCIS will continue to accept applications from current H-1B workers who wish to change employers, extend their stay, change the terms of employment, or work concurrently in a second H-1B petition. USCIS will also accept applications from those seeking H-1B status who will be employed by US colleges or universities, a category that is exempt from any H-1B cap.

To read the May 4 USCIS announcement, visit: http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/H1Bfy08CapUpdate050407.pdf

9. Were You One of the Lucky Ones Selected for H-1B?

A number of Binghamton University students (and BU alumni) were selected for H-1B visas during the recent random selection process for cap-subject H-1B petitions. If you have attained H-1B status, please provide a photocopy of your H-1B petition to the ISSS so that they can update your federal SEVIS record on the date your H-1B status begins.

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.