At the end of September, , the State University of New York at Buffalo, suddenly notified some international students that due to their failure to submit I-94 documents in time, decided to terminate their SEVIS records, that is, to terminate student F- 1 identity.
The termination of identity means that students must leave the United States, and all students involved in the incident fell into a "panic" for a while. In the past two weeks, not only students and parents, but also the International Education Association NAFSA and the Chinese Consulate have paid close attention to this incident.
01
mail notification SEVIS record terminated
September 28 afternoon, the International Office mail notification issued by the school some students SEVIS records termination.
*The picture is from the Internet
We are contacting you about a very important immigration matter. Because you failed to report in the fall semester of 2021, your SEVIS record has been terminated . We have tried several times to contact you and obtain a copy of your I-94, indicating that you have recently entered the United States as an F-1. Since you did not provide this document, you do not meet the F-1 reporting requirements.
information
freshmen registration required, generally include:
- acceptance letter
- I-20
- passport
- I-94
When the old students return to school, the most important thing is passport and I-20 .
I-20 is a document that the school applies to the immigration office to prove the student’s legal status. I-20 will have an important SEVIS number ,It is the student's record number in the international student and visiting scholar information system of the US Department of Homeland Security .
*Pictures are from the Internet
strong6 4 students must be provided within 30 days after their arrival at the Buffalo campus of the State University of New York: Submit a copy of the I-94 form .
*The picture comes from the Internet
What is I-94 ?
Form I-94 is a document issued by the US Customs and Border Protection to foreigners to record their entry and exit information in the United States. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) also uses the I-94 form, foreigners must complete the form when entering the United States, and then enter the United States as a non-immigrant.
UB has changed the reporting procedures for international freshmen in the last one or two years.This includes submitting your passport, visa, I-20, and I-94 information on UB Global. However, even if students start submitting their documents as soon as they receive the reminder, I-94 is only available after students enter the United States .
After the online meeting with the advisor of ISS, the students received the following replies:
ol2081s li1span new students have been reminded of ol2081sspokesperson said:
"In order to maintain their student (F-1) visa status, new students arriving in the United States must submit a report to the designated school official A valid U.S. address, pay any required fees, and register full-time. According to the federal regulations governing student and exchange visitor programs, UB is obliged to develop institutional standards to send to the Department of Homeland Security within 30 days of the student’s course start date Report this information. This includes proof of valid F-1 entry into the United States (full "arrival/departure record" provided by DHS). Without evidence of this information, universities cannot report their valid presence in the United States. "
The logic of the school is,Students must submit the necessary documents and materials before the International Office can help students maintain SEVIS records. Once the SEVIS record is terminated, it means that the student's status is terminated. In this incident, not only new students, but also returning students were affected .
02
Is it necessary for schools to be so strict?
After the UB China Student Union gathered the students who received the email notification, everyone summarized the reasons for the incident. First of all, some students do not have the habit of checking emails. However, ISS did not mark it as an important document when sending the reminder email to submit i-94. Secondly, some students did not receive the e-mail in the school mailbox, but only received the notification e-mail of the termination of identity on September 28.
*The picture is from the Internet
Moreover, I-94 is not a very difficult file to obtain.Some schools do not have this requirement. In fact, the international office of school has the student’s passport information, and the student can directly access the I-94 form without submitting a copy. In short, there is no need for the school to directly give such a "punishing" consequence.
A spokesperson for the school stated that more than 98% of freshmen submitted the required documents on time. Perhaps what they want to express is that only a few students do not meet the regulations. According to statistics from the UB Chinese Student Association, has as many as 50 Chinese students whose identities have been terminated as of October 6, . There are other countries in , such as India, where students face the same situation.
UB Chinese Student Association stated that the students sent an email to the school’s senior management including the principal and the International Student Office, as well as the professors of their own institutions on the afternoon of October 1, stating their status as international students. In the case of termination, request the school to intervene and give students help and advice. As of 7 pm on October 6, only some non-Chinese international students who encountered the same situation, and some professors of international students whose status had ended have responded.
The Chinese Consulate in New York also contacted the school principal and the International Office as soon as possible, but the school did not respond to the consulate’s email. At the same time, the Consulate General reminded students to "abide by the relevant regulations of the school and protect the identity of students." Students must also "get in the habit of checking e-mails sent by relevant departments... timely, patient, and careful, and complete them on time as required."
The possibility ofAll got a negative reply. At present, the school’s international office is very determined. They refuse to help students reinstatemen to activate their identity .
03
students are all affected by a lot of people's anxiety at the moment, _1 p11sp11 When I woke up and was still immersed in planning the next day of study and life, I suddenly received a notice that my student status was terminated. For those students who have been to the United States for more than a month, after experiencing the epidemic for more than a year, they have finally overcome many difficulties and high ticket prices to come to the United States, and gradually get their studies and life back on track. A hopeful thing, but now I was told that I only got the "American Life January Experience Card."
Corresponding documents. but the students also feel that their situation has not been taken into consideration,Because some people have never received important notices. Considering that someone had encountered such a situation and successfully solved it with the help of the school, the students were also confused and chilled by the school's decision this year.
Through this incident, I hope that the school can optimize the program, and the international students must learn their lessons. Both freshmen and old students need to maintain the habit of checking school emails and actively understand the various requirements for international student status. Only in this way can similar problems occur.
After integrating the information of these 25 students, we came up with the main reason for this situation: _p111p li1span ISS _p111p li1span 94 At that time, it was not marked as an important document, which caused the students to fail to check it in time.
I-94 is not a very difficult document to obtain. It has not been required by schools before, and many American colleges and universities do not have this requirement.
Even if the status is terminated, if it is due to external reasons schools can also help students apply for reinstatement from the immigration office.
U.S. colleges and universities, including UB, in the past years, there have been students who experienced termination of their status due to personal or external reasons, and most of them were resolved within a few months . Students only need to take a new I-20 to re-enter the country (such as to and from Canada, Mexico and other places) to activate student status .
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