Office of International Students

SEVIS Record Up-Dates!

SEVIS (the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) is the record of all your international student immigration activities. To maintain F-1 or J-1 student immigration status in the United States, your SEVIS record must be kept up-to-date. The principal items that international students in F-1 or J-1 status must report to the Office of International Students are:

a - Change of US address or legal name, as it appears in your passport, must be reported to the Office of International Students within 10 days of the change. The “SEVIS Date Sheet” may be sent to you by email, and returned by email attachment.
b - Applications for extension of F-1 or J-1 status must be made at least 30 days before the completion date on your Form I-20 (item #5) or DS-2019 (item #3).
c - Change of Major – or change of degree from Master’s to Ph.D. – must be made BEFORE you begin classes in the new program.
d - Applications for off-campus (non-CUNY) employment must discussed before you agree to take any job.
e - Applications for post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT in F-1 status) or Academic Training (AT in J-1 status) must be made BEFORE you deposit your dissertation. You should contact an International Student Counselor at the beginning of the semester in which you plan to defend your dissertation.
f - Transfer of your SEVIS Record to another school must be completed before you leave the Graduate Center.

Give Us Your E-mail Address

Report your current/active e-mail address to the Office of International Students. If you do not receive regular messages from our office, it may be because we do not have your current e-mail address. E-mail is our principal method of communication with international students, and thus requires an active e-mail address that you currently use in our office Listserv. (Be sure your e-mail server will accept our batch messages.)

Maintaining Valid Immigration Status

1. Confirm that all of your immigration documentation is up-to-date.
2. Make COPIES of your passport, I-94, and I-20 or DS-2019 forms to protect you in case of loss.
3. Maintain full-time registration at the Graduate Center. We request that you register during the official registration periods: during December 2008 for Spring semester 2009 and during May 2009 for Fall semester 2009.
4. Discuss authorization for off-campus (non-CUNY) employment with an International Student Counselor BEFORE you agree to any employment.
5. Four months BEFORE you plan to graduate, contact an International Student Counselor so that we may discuss your post-graduation plans and review your immigration status options.
6. File yearly U.S. tax return reports. This office will be providing information and holding workshops to assist you in March 2009. We will announce these in early March over our INTSTU-L E-mail list.
7. Contact us BEFORE you begin a change of status to any other INS status (e.g., H-1B, Permanent Residency, etc.).