Office of International Education

Welcome New and Returning Students

The Office of International Education would like to remind you of some important responsibilities you have as international students in the United States. Read this message carefully. Details on all of the following issues are available on the OIE web site.

A. MAINTAINING LEGAL IMMIGRATION STATUS
Understand your immigration status and know what you may do, what you may not do, and what you are REQUIRED to do while in the US. Know which documents you need to have, how to keep them current, and when & why they may need to be updated. All of this information can be found at http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/oie/forstu/legal1.cfm.

Allow sufficient time for any requests for signatures or documents from OIE, other campus offices, the Department of Homeland Security or other organizations. OIE requires 3 business days to process requests for signatures and 5 business days for new documents.

B. ENROLLMENT

F1 and J1 students are required to be enrolled full-time each semester in order to maintain status. If you are considering dropping below full-time, you must consult with your OIE advisor first in order to determine if you are eligible for a reduced course load authorization. Failure to do so will result in the loss of your legal status. If eligible, you will need to provide a completed Reduced Course Load authorization form. The form is available here.

C. CHANGE OF ADDRESS

You must update your address information with the HUB within 10 days of moving to a new address. This may be done through the Student Information On-Line (SIO) web site at https://acis.as.cmu.edu/sio/.

*For all international students, the PERMANENT ADDRESS fields must be completed with an address in your home country (NOT a US address).

*International students living off campus must provide their US residential address in the OFF CAMPUS ADDRESS fields.

Please log on to SIO and confirm that your information is up to date.

D. EMPLOYMENT ISSUES

There are limits to the type and the amount of employment you may have while in the US. F1 and J1 students may work on-campus part-time (20 hours or less per week) while classes are in session and full-time during official school breaks or annual vacations. J1 students need a letter from their program sponsor before beginning on-campus employment.

All F1 and J1 students must visit OIE and receive authorization before beginning ANY type off-campus employment. Visit here for details on off-campus employment options. Since some types of work authorization can take months to receive, plan ahead!

E. TRAVEL ISSUES

Know before you go! If you are traveling internationally and will need to return to the US to resume your studies, be sure to have all documents necessary to re-enter the US. If you are traveling to a country that is not your home country, you must contact that country's embassy or consulate to find out what documentation is required to go there. More detailed information is available here.

F. TAX ISSUES

All international students in the US are required to file a tax return with the Internal Revenue Service by mid-April of every year whether or not they earned income in the US. In February and March, OIE will send you email updates and offer information sessions and volunteer assistance with your tax returns. Be sure to take advantage of these services when they are offered.

G. CONTACT OIE

If you have questions or situations not covered by our website or office handouts, you may contact our office by phone at 412-268-5231 or email at . For more complex questions or problems, schedule an appointment with an advisor by calling 412-268-5231. For emergency situations, call or visit the office - DO NOT SEND EMAIL. Please be sure to address correspondence to the appropriate advisor:

NESLIHAN OZDOGANLAR, Foreign Student and Scholar Advisor to CIT and Tepper

LINDA GENTILE, Foreign Student and Scholar Advisor to CFA, Heinz, H&SS, MCS and SCS

OIE is in the process of hiring a new Foreign Student and Scholar advisor. Once hired, OIE will notify all impacted students by e-mail.

We wish you all the best during your time at Carnegie Mellon. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
OIE Staff

Office of International Education
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue
Third Floor, Warner Hall
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
http://www.cmu.edu/oie
(412) 268-5231 Phone
(412) 268-7832 Fax

Last Updated On: October 3, 2007