Weekly Bulletin – June 9, 2025 Essential Updates For the week of June 2-June 8, Penn Global issued two updates: Other Updates & Reminders It is important to stay informed about your immigration status and maintaining your lawful immigration status. To do so, students and scholars can: If you have questions or concerns about your status…
Dear International Members of the Penn Community, We know that recent statements about international students and immigration policy changes have been deeply destabilizing as you navigate visa applications, summer travel, and planning for the fall semester. The critiques cast a pall over one of America’s traditional strengths—its openness to global talent—and are causing undeserved disruption…
Dear Incoming International Students, We want to update you on a recent development from the U.S. Department of State. As of yesterday, the State Department has temporarily paused the scheduling of new visa appointments while it reviews procedures for social media screening as part of the visa application process. Although social media vetting has been in place…
Weekly Bulletin – April 22, 2025 Update on SEVIS Status Terminations For the week of April 14–20, 2025, Penn has received no SEVIS status termination notifications from the federal government. As of April 20, 2025, Penn has received a total of 7 SEVIS status termination notifications.* *Please note that additional individuals at Penn – beyond…
SEVIS Termination Notices – What You Need to Know as an International Student at Penn Read This First Update on SEVIS Terminations and Support for International Students Begin Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) General Questions about SEVIS Termination Q1: What does a SEVIS termination mean?A SEVIS termination means your F-1 or J-1 immigration record is no…
ISSS is closely monitoring recent policy changes announced by the new administration to assess the potential impacts on Penn’s international student and scholar community. Last week, the U.S. State Department issued an announcement that it is taking action to revoke visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and prevent further issuance of visas to South…
Recently, we have learned that at least three people on Penn-sponsored student visas have had their SEVIS records terminated. This means their immigration status has been deactivated in the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). Notifications were sent through the Department of Homeland Security’s automated systems. AT THIS TIME, IT APPEARS THAT THESE…
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced a registration and fingerprinting requirement for non-citizens in the United States. This interim final rule applies to individuals who intend to stay in the U.S. for more than 30 days and have not previously registered or completed fingerprinting. Most international students and scholars at Penn have already met this…
Dear Penn Community, We are aware of reports that international students at universities across the U.S. have received emails from the State Department notifying them that their visas have been revoked and urging them to ‘self-deport.’ ISSS is actively monitoring the situation to verify such reports. ISSS will continue to provide updates as more information…
These free sessions are designed to provide legal guidance and address specific concerns for our international students and scholars. ISSS is offering 30-minute consultation sessions with immigration attorneys from our affiliated law offices for students, scholars, faculty, and staff from countries named in this potential travel ban to discuss specific issues related to their situation.…