From: VISA Office
Date: June 15, 2022
Subject: ISS News, June 15, 2022: Chat Virtually with Advisors All Summer, Travel Signatures, ISS availability, Apply for a $50,000 Quad Fellowship, Jimmy O. Yang Makes Breakfast, and More


IS

June 15, 2022

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in this issue:

  1. ISS Closing Early on Fridays Through July
  2. ISS Closed- Monday, June 20
  3. ISS Closed- Monday, July 4
  4. Travel Signature Requests
  5. Online Advising Available All Summer
  6. OPT & STEM OPT Students- Simple Steps for Reporting Updates
  7. How to Request a Cap-Gap I-20
  8. Features
  9. Campus Happenings
  10. Other Opportunities
  11. Good Vibes Only

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ISS Staff is available to students, without an appointment, on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday during advising hours:

11am to 1pm- through virtual advising available online

1pm to 3pm- through in-person advising in the office

There are no advising hours on Wednesday.

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If you need to speak with an advisor outside of our advising hours, please send an email to international@case.edu to schedule an appointment. Please provide your full, legal name and a brief description of the nature of your appointment when you contact us.

pink post it with schedule change written on it

CWRU Take Two- ISS Closing Early on Fridays in June & July

CWRU Take Two is back on Fridays in June and July so staff will be unavailable as of 3 p.m. and appointment times will be adjusted to end earlier in the day as well. Please plan any Friday visits accordingly.

Regular Friday business hours will resume in August.

closed sign

ISS Closed- Monday, June 20

The University will be closed in observance of Juneteenth on Monday, June 20.

In the event of an emergency, please follow the protocol listed on our website.

Regular business hours will resume on Tuesday, June 21.

fireworks over Cleveland

ISS Closed- Monday, July 4

The university will be closed on Monday, July 4 in observance of Independence Day. 

Regular business hours will resume on Tuesday, July 5.

In the event of an emergency, please follow the protocol listed on our website.

stormtrooper meme about travel signatures

Need a Fresh Travel Signature?

If you need a travel signature, don't panic! ISS can help. Read about what to do on our Travel and Reentry pages for F-1 and J-1 students.

You can also request a travel signature using our electronic form here.

virtual advising chat box image

Chat with ISS Staff Online During Advising Hours
We Are Here All Summer

Virtual Advising is available Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., EST.

If you have a question or concern that you need to address during that time frame, reach out to an advisor through the chat box. The chat box (it looks just like the picture) will be available on our website.

In-person advising is also available Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 1 to 3 p.m., EST.

opt wordle

OPT & STEM OPT Students- Follow These Simple Steps for Reporting Updates

Reporting related to your personal contact and employment information is a critical part of maintaining status while authorized for either OPT or STEM OPT. Here are instructions for you to follow to ensure that both ISS and the U.S. Government receive the information that they need. Follow these simple steps to ensure that your visa status is protected!

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How to Request a Cap-Gap I-20

If you've properly filed for a change of status to H-1B or been selected to receive an H-1B, you may be eligible for the cap-gap extension. To qualify for the H-1B cap-gap extension:

  • a petition must be timely filed 
  • the employment start date of October 1 of the current year must be requested
  • a change of status must be requested
  • there may be no violations of current F-1 status

The cap-gap extension automatically extends a student's duration of status (time period during which an F-1 student is legally present) in the United States. If a student is on a period of valid post-completion OPT at the time the H-1B petition is filed, employment authorization is also extended. For students who complete their period of valid post-completion OPT and are on their 60 day grace period at the time the H-1B petition is timely filed, their duration of status will also be extended, but does not extend any kind of work authorization during that time.

ISS can help you obtain a cap-gap I-20 if you meet all of the above criteria. Below is some information about our policies for creating your cap-gap I-20.

Please be aware that ISS is not provided any advanced notification of an H-1B petition being selected. SEVIS only contains H-1B information once the USCIS system called CLAIMS properly updates it. CLAIMS also updates the SEVP Portal; students have access to the exact information that staff does.

ISS' ability to generate a cap-gap I-20 is completely dependent on the SEVIS record being properly updated by USCIS' CLAIMS. Cap-gap functionality in SEVIS is directly linked to information being properly transferred from CLAIMS and a student's SEVIS record indicating that the petition is either pending or approved. When the transfer of information and functionality are working properly, a cap-gap I-20 can be provided within about 5 business days. To initiate the request for your cap-gap I-20:

  • Log in to Terra Dotta via www.visas.case.edu
  • click on this link.
  • Complete the electronic form and upload all of the necessary materials. ISS must have these items on file in order to process your request.
  • Wait to hear from ISS. Please be very mindful of both your timing of this request and the timing that ISS requires (5-7 business days) to process the required paperwork for you. This is an extremely busy time in our office and we appreciate your patience!

In cases where a student has received either receipt information or an approval notice for the H-1B petition but CLAIMS has not properly updated the SEVIS record, an I-20 cannot be generated by ISS since the option to create the I-20 is actually not available in the computer system. A manual update to fix the data must be requested by ISS. These data fixes can take several weeks, even months, before they're resolved and before ISS will initiate one, the student must discuss the process with an advisor.

Once ISS is able to prepare a student's cap-gap I-20, an advisor will send an email when it's ready. If ISS is unable to prepare the cap-gap I-20 for any reason, an advisor will contact the student via email to discuss next steps.

Features

Cleveland Bucket List Flyer

Campus Happenings

CWRU Farm greenhouse produce

Visit the Greenhouse Farm Stand at the University Farm in Hunting Valley to Purchase Fresh Produce

Other Opportunities

quad fellowship image

Quad Fellowship- Application Open Until June 30

The Quad Fellowship empowers exceptional engineering, mathematics, science, and technology graduate students to advance research and innovation with a lens of positive social impact throughout their careers by providing scholarships, immersive and inspiring events, mentorship and career-advancing programming, and cross-cultural exchange opportunities.

The Quad Fellowship offers a unique combination of financial benefits, cross-cultural exchange, networking, and content programming. Each Quad Fellow will receive a one-time award of $50,000 which can be used for tuition, research, fees, books, room and board, and related academic expenses (e.g., registration fees, research-related travel). All Quad Fellows are eligible to apply for separate demonstrated needs-based funding of up to $25,000 to cover costs related to completing graduate-level studies.

To learn more and apply, visit the Quad Fellowship website.

Young Scholars Forum on US-China Relations flyer
global rising

Global Rising

Global Cleveland is offering a 9-month program for international newcomers. This program will give you the opportunity to network with other international newcomers and to meet with, as a group, various leaders in our community once a month. The Global Rising Program aims to prepare our region’s foreign-born residents with the skills, knowledge, and tools required to grow and thrive in our community.

The deadline to apply is July 31.

Trail Challenge Logo

Cleveland Metroparks Trail Challenge 2022

Welcome to the 2021 Trail Challenge, a guest led program where you discover new trails throughout Cleveland Metroparks on your own, move to better health, discover the wonders of nature, and earn awards along the way! 

Good Vibes Only

During this very challenging time, ISS staff wants you to know that we are thinking about you- hoping you are safe, healthy, staying positive- and sending out good vibes!

In this section, we are including some things that we hope will make you laugh and smile, help you relax, be entertaining, give you something to do, etc.

This is a good vibes only section!

Jimmy O Yang

Jimmy O. Yang is Making Breakfast

If you would like to promote your event or opportunity through ISSNews, please make a complete submission (including flyers, images, details, etc.) for consideration by noon on Monday to international@case.edu.  ISS cannot guarantee that all submission will appear in the newsletter, as space is limited, but staff will review all timely submissions for consideration.