DOS on Suspension of F-1 Employment and Course Hour Limitations
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO ALL DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR POSTS
SPECIAL EMBASSY PROGRAM
BUJUMBURA POUCH
ASMARA POUCH
UNCLAS STATE 114333
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CVIS, CMGT
Subject: INS Interim Rule and Notice Providing Relief To Certain Asian Students
REF: (A) Seoul 3425 (Notal) (B) Federal Register, June 10, 1998, Vol. 63, Number 111
1. Begin Introduction and Summary. On June 10, 1998, INS published an interim rule in the Federal Register which gives the Commissioner of INS the authority to temporarily suspend limits on on/off campus employment and to set minimum course hours for foreign students when emergencies arise. On the same date, INS published a notice stating that the Commissioner of INS has decided to implement this rule immediately for students currently studying in the United States whose financial support comes from five countries affected by the Asian Financial Crisis (South Korea, The Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand). These students will be allowed to work in excess of the twenty hour per week limit (both on and off-campus) while school is in session. At the same time, students who choose to work increased hours will be allowed to take fewer courses and remain in full-time student status as long as a minimum number of credits are taken each semester (6 credits for undergraduates and 3 credits for graduate students). This notice will remain in effect indefinitely. New (first-time) F-1 applicants are not affected by this interim rule and must meet normal student visa criteria in order to receive a visa. End introduction and summary.
2. The interim rule gives the commissioner of INS authority to temporarily suspend limits on on/off-campus employment and to set minimum course hours for foreign students when emergency situations arise. The emergency in this case is the reduction in financial support to Asian students, currently studying in the United States, whose countries are experiencing economic hardship due to the financial crisis. Students whose financial support comes from South Korea, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia or Thailand are eligible to benefit under this notice. Since the requirement is only that the student's support comes from one of the five countries above, it is possible that a TCN receiving support from one of those countries could also qualify. These students must be studying in the United States as of the date of the publication of the INS notice, i.e., June 10, 1998.
3. Students receiving support from the five affected countries will be allowed to work beyond the 20 hour per week limit for both on and off- campus employment set by INS while school is in session. The current rules allowing for full-time work during school vacations or when school is not in session will be continued. The requirement that the student must have been in F-1 status for one full academic year for off-campus employment has been waived for these students.
4. Permission to work on-campus beyond twenty hours a week will be approved by the Designated School Official (DSO) at the student's school. The DSO will annotate page 4 of the 1-20 with the following statement:
"Approved for more than 20 hours a week of on-campus employment under special student relief authorization from (beginning date of employment) until (earlier of the last day of the student's program or one year from the beginning date of employment)."
The DSO will sign and date the notation.
5. Permission to work off-campus beyond twenty hours must be approved by INS. If this application has been approved, the student will be sent an employment authorization document (Form I-766, otherwise known as an EAD card) with an expiration date that does not exceed the last day of the student's program or one year from the date of issuance. The card will be annotated "Special Student Relief."
6. F-1 students who must reduce their normal course of study as a result of accepting employment authorized under this INS interim rule will be considered as engaging in a full course of study as long as they take a minimum amount of credits (6 credits for undergraduates and 3 credits for graduate students each semester). Please note that neither the interim rule nor the notice permits students to drop below their normal courseload for reasons other than work.
7. The INS notice will remain in effect indefinitely. Should INS determine that the economic situation in the five countries warrants a change or modification in this policy, INS will issue a notice in the Federal Register announcing any changes and Department will inform posts.
8. Department believes that impact of this INS rule and notice on overseas visa processing should be minimal. Although students benefiting from these provisions have to prove economic hardship and therefore theoretically do not have the funds for expensive trips home, family emergencies can develop which mandate the student's return. As INS has determined that these students remain in full-time status as long as they meet the minimum credit requirements, posts should process these cases as they would any returning student case. Students benefiting from the interim rule can be determined by either the I-20 annotation for on-campus employment or the I-766 for off-campus employment. Obviously, students taking 6 undergraduate credits or 3 graduate credits a semester have lesser tuition costs than other full-time students.
9. New (first-time) F-1 applicants from the five Asian countries who were not already studying in the United States as of the date of the INS notice, i.e., June 10, 1998, are not/not eligible to avail themselves of this relaxed work/semester credit rule. Consular officers should adjudicate these cases using normal student visa issuance criteria.
10. Technical questions about the application of these provisions should be directed to CA/VO/L/A.
Strobe Talbott