VISA UPDATE - BEST PRACTICES

NAFSA Education Abroad

Regulatory Practice Committee &

Consular Affairs Liaison Subcommittee

Regional Conference 2011

MEMBERS SUPPORTING MEMBERS

 Chair

 GovernmentLiaison

 FinancialAidMonitor

 ConsularAffairsLiaison(CAL)SubcommitteeChair

 CALCountryCoordinatorReptoCommittee

 ConferenceCoordinatorWorking to make government regulations easier to

understand and manage

Regulatory Practice Committee

Consular Affairs Liaison Subcommittee

 Chair

 CountryCoordinators

 ConsularLiaisons

MEMBERS SUPPORTING MEMBERS

 Chair:HeidiSoneson,UniversityofMinnesota

 CountryCoordinators(France,Italy,Spain,UK)

 ConsularLiaisons(France,Italy,Spain,UK)

 CountryCoordinatorWorld‐At‐Large(priorityonArgentina,Australia,Brazil,Chile,China)

 ConsularLiaisonsWorld‐At‐Large

Working to make government regulations easier to understand and manage

NAFSA Education Abroad Consular Affairs Liaison Subcommittee

http://www.nafsa.org/regulatory_information.sec/education_abroad/

www.nafsa.org/eavisas

www.nafsa.org/eavisahelp

www.nafsa.org/eavisahelp

WHAT’S NEW: FRANCE CampusFranceUpdates:

  CampusFrancerequiresadmissionletterswithexactprogramdates,andthenameandcontactinformationoftheUSstudyabroadadvisor.Conditionalapprovalletterscannotbeaccepted.

  CampusFrancefeesforstudyabroadstudentswillincreaseto$100in2012(exactdateTBD).

ConsulateUpdates:

  BiometricproceduresineffectatallconsulatessinceJanuary.  Allconsulateshavenowharmonizedthesupporting

documentationtheyrequire.

  Studentsmaynowapplyattheconsulateoftheirhomeaddressjurisdictionorschooladdressjurisdiction.

  ConsulatesnowrequirebankstatementstodocumentsufWicientfunds(currently$820permonthinFrance).RequiredamountsareadjustedforstudentsonWinancialaid.

RegionalLiaisons•LilianeSpenle,Atlanta

•EmilyBrazer,Boston

•JanisHalpern,Chicago

•JaneChandler,Houston

• ElainePadilla,LA• RebeccaJames,NY• TelisaGunter,SF

• GiseldaBeaudin,Miami

Jason Sanderson

Georgetown University

WHAT’S NEW: FRANCE ConsulateUpdates(cont):

  Single‐semesterstudents(91‐180days)havethechoiceofwhetherornottogothroughOFII.Theydecideatthetimeofapplicationattheconsulate.  Visafeesforbothoptionswillremainthesame(current

dollarequivalentof50€).  StudentswhooptoutoftheOFIIprocesswillNOThave

therighttowork,norwilltheybeabletoextendthevalidityoftheirvisainFrance.

  StudentsstudyinginFrancelongerthan180daysarestillrequiredtogothroughtheOFIIstep.

OFFIUpdates:

  SincestudentswhooptoutoftheOFIIprocesswillbeissuedadifferenttypeofvisafromotherstudents,theyCANNOTchangetheirstatusonsiteanddecidetogothroughtheprocess.

  SeveralOFIIofWiceshavebegunsummonsingstudentsviaemail.ThispilotprogramappliesforU.S.passportholdersonly.

RegionalLiaisons•LilianeSpenle,Atlanta

•EmilyBrazer,Boston

•JanisHalpern,Chicago

•JaneChandler,Houston

• ElainePadilla,LA• RebeccaJames,NY• TelisaGunter,SF

• GiseldaBeaudin,Miami

Jason Sanderson

Georgetown University

WHAT’S NEW: ITALY   Therearenoupdatestoprocessesorprocedures,buthereisarecapofthemostrecentchanges:

  AsofSeptember1,2010,StudentvisasarenolongerrequiredforU.S.studentswhostudyinItalyforupto90days.ThisalsoappliestoInternationalstudentswhoarecitizensofcountriesthatareexemptfromapplyingforavisitorvisa.

  U.S.citizensstudyinginItalyformorethan90dayswillneedtocompletethenewNationalvisaapplicationform.

  ThenewSchengenvisaapplicationform(inusesinceApril2010)shouldbeusedforstudentsonshortstudyprograms(under90days)whoarecitizensofcountriesthatareNOTexemptfromapplyingforavisitorvisa(China,Haiti,etc.).

  Housingrequirements:  TheNYConsulaterequiresthestudent’saddressinItalyintheacceptanceletterissuedbytheUSorhostinstitution.

  TheMiamiConsulateprefersthestudent’saddressintheacceptanceletter,howevertheycontinuetoacceptastatementthathousingwillbeprovided(asinthepast).

  Remainingconsulatescontinuetoacceptastatementthathousingwillbeprovidedbythehostinstitutionorprogram.

  Reminder:Consulatesreservetherighttochangetheirrequirementsand/orrequestadditionalinformationattheirdiscretion.

KarenWardzalaGeorgetownUniversity

RegionalLiaisons• DebbieMiller,Boston

• RosemarySands,Chicago• DianneDeSalvo,Detroit

• ErikaPayánZanetti,Houston

• SarahEgerer,Miami

• SuzanneShane,NewYork

• ScottKeller,Philadelphia• DanaRosen,LosAngeles

• KatiBell,SanFrancisco

• KarenWardzala,Washington,DC

WHAT’S NEW: SPAIN   SpanishConsulatesareallowingstudentstoagain

submitstate‐issuedbackgroundchecksfromthestudent’sstateofresidencewiththeApostilleissuedbytheSecretaryofState’sofHicetofulWillthe“CertiWicationofabsenceofpolicerecords”requirement.Studentsnowhavetwooptions:

1.SubmittheFBIBackgroundCheck(thisisstillthepreferreddocumentation).Asfederaldocuments,theFBIBackgroundcheckmustbesubmittedtotheU.S.Dept.ofStatetosecuretheApostilleoftheHaguestamp.

2.Submitastate‐issuedbackgroundcheckfromthestateofresidence(generallytheseareissuedbytheStateBureauofInvestigation).TheStateBackgroundCheckmustalsobeveriWiedwithanApostillefromtheSecretaryofState’sofWiceoftheissuingstate.

Thisdocumentationisonlyrequiredforstaysof180daysorlonger.

AngelaPerrymanColoradoStateUniversity

RegionalLiaisons• LeeFrankel,Boston

• TBD,Chicago

• MinitaSantizo,Houston• AngelaPerryman,LosAngeles

• ReginaFoster,Miami• TinaBreakell,NewYork

• StacyWest,SanFrancisco

• KatherineKammann,Washington,DC

WHAT’S NEW: UK KirstenMcKinney

HollinsUniversity

RegionalLiaisons

• BridgetDonoghue• ShimaGorgani• LaurenceTuccori• ChristineMenand

 TwoStudentRoutes:(1)  StudentVisitor:lessthan6months(nowork);$125for

visanationaleffectiveApril6,2011(2)GeneralStudentVisaUnderTier4‐$421•  AllapplicationsprocessedinNY•  Tier4:28‐dayruleforproofoffunds(continuous)•  CASrequiredasofFebruary2010•  Remembertosubmitoriginaldocuments!•  Guidancestatetoallowfor6‐weekmin.processing

time;orchoosePriority($150)orPremiumprocessing($100)attimeofapplicationmailing

 Internships(50%rule/BUNAC)remainintactforuniversity‐levelcourses(66/33fornon‐HEIsfromApril2012)

 StudentResearch–Tier5withUKinstitutionservingassponsor(Governmentauthorizedexchange)

 BusinessVisitorRoute(facultyleadingshort‐termprogramslessthan6months)

WHAT’S NEW: UK KirstenMcKinney

HollinsUniversity

RegionalLiaisons

• BridgetDonoghue• LaurenceTuccori• ChristineMenand

 UKStudentImmigrationReform(announcedMarch2011)–  Whatweknownow;reformsfor2012

• FromApril2012,allsponsorsmustachieveHighlyTrustedSponsorstatus;interimlimitonCASuntilreached.Mustreapply(newappandnewfee)every12months.• QAAoversightrequiredforstudyabroadprogramswithoutUSaccreditationthemselvesorforUSfull‐degreeprogramsintheUK.• Streamlinedappprocessforstudentsfromlow‐riskcountriesattendingHTSinstitutions);willnolongerneedtoprovideevidenceoffunding(butmusthaveonhandasConsulatecouldstillrequest).• EnglishproWiciencyforstudentsnotholdingapassportfromamajorityEnglish‐speakingcountry;HEIscanmakeownassessmentandnoteinCAS.• StudentsatuniversitiesandstudyabroadprogramssponsoredbyoverseasHEI(UKcampusandthird‐party)retaincurrentworkpermissions(50/50rulestillapplies)• OnlypostgraduateandGovernmentsponsoredstudentswillbepermittedtobringdependents.

WHAT’S NEW: OTHER COUNTRIES

 NAFSA’seducationabroadvisawebsiteoffersvisainformationforavarietycountriesincludingAustralia,China,CzechRepublic,andMexico.

 Kristin’steamwillattempttoassistwithvisaguidanceforanycountry.SubmityourrequesttoIssueNet.

 Kristinwelcomesadditionalliaisonstojoinherteam.PleasecontactKristinthroughIssueNet.

KristinAmos‐Abanyie

Priority Countries: Argentina Australia Chile China Brazil: Motumbo Kabesele Central America: Beth Laux

Additional liaisons: Aaron Caplan, Perry International Joe Sevigny, IES Elizabeth Lauze, CIEE

FBI Clearance   The Attorney General establishes rules and regulations for individuals to obtain copies of their FBI

Identification Record.

  Nearly 25 percent of requests for records are rejected due to insufficient data (e.g., missing information, illegible fingerprints, incorrect payment)

  Fingerprints should be solicited from any police station or local law enforcement office.  There may be specific times when fingerprinting can be done during business hours, so students should be sure to contact the station beforehand and potentially schedule an appointment.  If possible, the student should ask for 2-3 sets of prints.

  If the consulate requires the FBI record to be authenticated, the student’s original application to the FBI should indicate that it must be authenticated by the DOS. The document will be given a special stamp by the FBI. Once received, the document must be forwarded to the Office of Authentications at the DOS to obtain an apostille stamp.

  Extensive efforts have been made to reduce processing times at the FBI, which hitherto had been as long as ten weeks.

  Students facing strict time limits that wish to expedite the DOS authentication process are encouraged to work with a visa processing service, as they can guarantee 24-hour processing in some cases.

  Additional information can be found at http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/background-checks/faqs or on NAFSA’s EA Spain visa website.

  Requests for assistance can also be submitted to NAFSA’s IssueNet.

International Student Visas

Obtaining Visas for International Students

  International students visas require a very different process then US citizen visas

  Each international student has unique circumstances   Most countries require entry visas of international students even when U.S. citizens are not

required to obtain a visa

  International students should be prepared to go to the consulate or embassy which holds jurisdiction for their school

  Most consulates/embassies require an in person interview

  Check with the Consulate/Embassy to see if documents can be sent ahead of the interview time to be reviewed so that there is only one visit required

  Some smaller countries only have one location in the US to obtain a visa (i.e. Embassy of Slovenia in Cleveland, OH is the only location to issue visas)

  International students should check with their international adviser regarding their US student visa status

  International students need to make sure their US student visa will be valid upon their return to the U.S.

Visa Education – Best Practices ThenewestadditionintheEducationAbroadSeriesofbooklets,StudentVisas,WhatYouNeedtoKnowBeforeYouGo!

Helpstoinformstudentsabouttheentirestudentvisaprocess.Itprovidesmuch‐neededinformationandcommonsensestepstosmooththevisaapplicationprocessandavoidlastminuteproblems‐whytheyneedastudentvisa,navigatingtheprocess,workingwiththeconsulate,andthepitfallstoavoid.

Bookletincludestoptendo'sanddon'ts,FAQs,passportinfo,helpfulWebsites,glossaryofvisaterms,andmuchmore.Availableinsinglecopiesorpacksof40.

By:KenyaCaseyandMaryRyanDando,2008

Your NAFSA Resources

  EA Visas Updates – www.nafsa.org/eavisas   EA Visa Assistance – www.nafsa.org/eavisahelp

  Note: register for a NAFSA ID and password in advance to facilitate submissions to NAFSA’s EA Visa Help!

ENSURE CLARITY!

No matter what…

Student and staff confusion does not further our mission. Take the time to write down your office’s visa

policy in your student materials.

Visa Education - Best Practices

?Threequestionstoconsiderindecidingonaplan:

1.  WhatlevelofassistancedoyourstudentsREALLYneed?

2.  WhatamountoftimeandresourcesdoesyourofWicehavetocommittothistask?

3.  WhatarethepossiblebeneWitsandrisks?

THANK YOU!

Weareseekingvolunteers.Considergettinginvolved!Contactusviawww.nafsa.org/eavisahelp