News

The following message was sent on May 5, 2021 to students in F-1 status, international students admitted for the 2021-22 academic year and international students intending to enter the U.S. in F-1 status to continue an academic program for the 2021-22 academic year.     Greetings from the Office of International Services. We sincerely hope you and your family members are […]

The message below was sent to all students in F-1 status with a pending or requested OPT or STEM OPT. You are receiving this email because the Office of International Services (OIS) recently issued you an I-20 with an OPT or STEM OPT recommendation and your request is still in Pending or Requested status. As […]

On January 12 the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] announced a COVID-19 testing requirement for all air passengers entering the U.S. Effective January 26, all travelers will be required to provide documentation of a negative COVID-19 test before they will be allowed to board their flight to the U.S. The test must be administered within […]

The following message was sent to all students in F-1 or J-1 status on November 3. The Office of International Services (OIS) has been informed of another recent scam targeting international students in the United States. This latest alert came from a university in California. Essentially, an imposter fraudulently represents himself or herself as an ICE officer […]

USCIS announced on Friday, October 16, 2020 that it would increase the fee for Premium Processing effective October 19, 2020. The full announcement is available on the USCIS website. As the fee is effective immediately, cases already in process with an OIS advisor are subject to the new fee. If your Department has submitted USCIS filing fees to the OIS […]

On October 8, 2020, two new Interim Final Rules were published in the Federal Register that are expected to impact JHU’s ability to sponsor H-1B temporary workers and may impact some individuals who JHU wishes to sponsor for permanent residency. These rules were issued without advanced notice; one was effective Thursday, October 8 and the other is […]

UPDATE: On September 29, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued a nationwide preliminary injunction and stay on implementation of the 2020 final USCIS fee rule in its entirety. New fees and form versions associated with that rule that were to be required on October 2, 2020, as well as all other […]

USCIS announced in the Federal Register that the fees for some USCIS forms will increase on October 2nd, including the fee for Form I-129 [Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker]. When filed in connection with an H-1B application, the I-129 fee will increase from $460 to $555. The fee increase is expected* to go into effect on October 2, 2020*. H-1B […]

The following message was sent to F-1 students and J-1 exchange visitors on Friday, September 25. On Friday, September 25, 2020, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposed rule to eliminate duration of status (D/S) for F-1 students, J-1 Exchange Visitors, and their dependents. Under current regulations, F and J visa holders are admitted […]

This message was sent on 9/1/2020 to all students in F-1 status who have a requested, pending or approved OPT authorization. On Friday, August 28, SEVP notified schools that it will be mailing notices to OPT students who do not have employer information in SEVIS. The notice states: Nonimmigrant students and designated school officials (DSOs) […]