Oracle009 - why did you say it is laughable. Left to me i saw some optimism in the mail sent to you.

JasonMillmeme:

Thank you! That helped a lot!

You're welcome

Summary of New guidelines

HoluwadareY:
Though I feel the new proclamation is not very fair especially for students already in the US, but I think it's ICE' way of ensuring ONLY people that needs to travel to study are given VISAs...I also think this is a good step leading to embassy reopening (International students are to be prioritized for the new i-20). All the best guys and I hope those affected negatively will be okay , too.

Excuse me sir, you're talking in the nonsense

Are there people here planning to enroll online like me instead of deferring to spring 2020?

olasubomy:
Oracle009 - why did you say it is laughable. Left to me i saw some optimism in the mail sent to you.

Olasubomy... I said it is laughable because the tone of the mail reflects that the schools are quite against the Trump policy.

It sounds quite rebellious, and ofcourse highly optimistic as you have rightly noted.

Hello everyone. Is it possible to switch to an In-person program in another school when one already on an online program in a school?

What are the chances of getting an F-1 visa, thank you.

oracle009:


Olasubomy... I said it is laughable because the tone of the mail reflects that the schools are quite against the Trump policy.

It sounds quite rebellious, and ofcourse highly optimistic as you have rightly noted.

It is not an act of rebellion. They are doing what they think it's best to keep their school community safe.

Governor Dewine of Ohio issued a mask mandate for 7 Hotspot counties in Ohio and you think it sounds rebellious for a school to decide to go online?

Trump wants all schools to reopen without regard to safefy. He even threatened to withdraw funding from schools that don't reopen.

Harvard and MIT have kukuma sued this policy, let's see how it's pans out

Hello my better people,
If i want to register for the online class for FALL-SEMESTER 2020, do i need to pay SEVIS FEE now now, or I should wait till when I am about to go to the embassy for visa interview?

sheke01:


It is not an act of rebellion. They are doing what they think it's best to keep their school community safe.

Governor Dewine of Ohio issued a mask mandate for 7 Hotspot counties in Ohio and you think it sounds rebellious for a school to decide to go online?

Trump wants all schools to reopen without regard to safefy. He even threatened to withdraw funding from schools that don't reopen.

Harvard and ICE have kukuma sued this policy, let's see how it's pans out

I have no issue with the decision. Just stating my reaction to the stuff.

Sanguine1:
Hello my better people,
If i want to register for the online class for FALL-SEMESTER 2020, do i need to pay SEVIS FEE now now, or I should wait till when I am about to go to the embassy for visa interview?

you don't need to pay SEVIS fee

Abby190:
Hello everyone. Is it possible to switch to an In-person program in another school when one already on an online program in a school?

What are the chances of getting an F-1 visa, thank you.

there are grey areas in your post. Try to rephrase.

learner007:


I just did mine last week at the DC embassy. Right now it is hellish, as there are tons of applicants still on the queue since far back as January. The NY embassy is still closed down, Atlanta refused to reply any emails, so I had to apply though NPVS (an agency that relays your application though innovate1). It costs more but was worth it for me. The embassy at DC only resumed skeletal services on the 1st of July, and has been mandated to attend to ONLY 20 applicants per day.

Did you get it same day?

oracle009:
ISFS: More information about the fall semester

Hello ,


I am writing to follow up on our email from last night regarding the guidance that has been provided by SEVP related to the 2020 Fall semester.

First, I want you to know that we are doing everything we can to advocate on behalf of all international students at local and national levels. Second, you truly are such an important part of our Ohio University family and our Athens community. Third, we completely disagree with this guidance as we know the untenable position this puts many of you in. And finally, you are welcome and wanted in our community and as such we will continue to advocate for reasonable and supportive guidance for those of you who have entrusted us to support your education and growth here at OHIO.
Please keep a few things in mind as we navigate this guidance together:

Please keep yourself informed through emails that ISFS will send to you.

Please try to keep your focus on the here and now and not let the constant barrage of news and social media posts add stress to your life when we do not know if this guidance will stand.

Please do not make any immediate academic/life decisions based upon this guidance until you have spoken with both ISFS and your academic advisor.

As you may know, yesterday the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) issued long-awaited guidance for the Fall 2020 semester. For Spring and Summer semesters, SEVP granted universities and students a great deal of flexibility to adapt to the curricular changes made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. It was our hope that the same flexibility would be granted for the Fall. However, yesterday’s guidance has removed some of the allowances that were granted previously.
Ohio University has adopted a hybrid model of teaching for the Fall, meaning that there will be a combination of in-person and online classes. This new guidance does allow students to pursue studies in the U.S. under this model. However, there are some limitations you need to be aware of:

Degree-seeking students can take extra online classes. However, they must also have at least one face-to-face class.

Students are required to take the fewest number of online courses possible to allow them to make normal progress towards their degree.

Every student must be issued a new I-20 form that confirms they are adhering to the two above rules.

According to the guidance released on July 6, 2020, students currently outside of the U.S. cannot keep an active SEVIS record while pursing online courses from abroad.

On July 7, 2020, contradictory information was provided by SEVP, and we are now waiting on clarification before providing further information.

Students in the Ohio Program of Intensive English (OPIE) are not allowed to take any online classes.

The guidance also states that if a university must move to an entirely online format during the course of the semester, students would need to either return home or transfer to another institution.
There are many questions about this guidance that remain unanswered. We have contacted our SEVP liaison to ask for additional details, especially about the existing plan for the university to move from in-person to online after Thanksgiving. 
Once we have more details from SEVP we will be able to issue some recommendations that will help you determine your best options for the Fall semester.
There are many institutions that are standing up for all international students who are in the U.S. or wish to come someday to study. We hope this outpouring of support for students and advocacy against unreasonable guidance will result in a change to what was provided by SEVP yesterday. It is our goal that you be supported to remain at OHIO regardless of the teaching methods used during this unprecedented time we are facing with the continuing CO-VID crisis.
Our whole team at ISFS is here to support you, and we welcome your feedback and guidance and please do feel free to share your concerns. We will continue to provide the best support and advocacy that we can. You are welcome here, on our campus, in our community, and in our country.
Sincerely,
Diane Cahill and our ISFS team


International Student and Faculty Services
Walter International Education Center, 15 Park Place
Athens, OH 45701
740-593-4330

I got this mail yesterday from my intending school. This is really laughable.

I'm going to Ohio University also. Let's connect please. Can you drop any of your other social media handles or email so I can contact you. My Twitter is @GoodguySteph

oracle009 - ok i get your point, lets all keep our fingers crossed, hopefully power changes hands in November so at least some sanity in that country but if Trumps wins again, lets see how it goes. Those policies dont make sense at all, like they are shooting themselves in the leg,scaring people away from their country ,so i know it cant last.

HoluwadareY:


Lol...no harm in being hopeful, not everyone can be negative.
Apologies, i actually meant students that require new visas(obviously those still in their countries) based on the info in the broadcast message ( I have attached the image here incase you missed it)...

There are 2 things:

1. The proclamation does not change anything about the way visas are obtained or make anything more complicated, because on a norm, International students do not qualify for visa if they are offering courses fully taught online...the only change is that this now affect people that are already in the US who may have to switch to online classes due to the Pandemic...

2a. Since embassies are closed in the whole world, it is safe to assume that there will be specific steps to be taken to get them resume normal activities...one of those, i suppose, will be that ONLY those that MUST be in the States to study are invited for interviews and subsequently given visas (this is common sense). If that proclamation is not made (esp having it included in the i20s) then people whose courses have completely moved online will still apply for the Visas , filling up the spaces for those who actually need it....just think about this

2b. I will then think once this has been done and people who actually need to b in the US are given the new i20s by the specified dates on the broadcast, the next steps will be to open the embassies (prioritizing F1) so that they can resume with their peers...

2c. I am not sure there will ever be a time when the embassies in the whole world will be completely closed to international students for a whole academic year...so your argument that the embassies ll not open because the USCIS is having some financial issues does not hold any water.

In all, I really wish things move faster so that all of us can laugh at this...all the best bro

The info in the attached file clearly solidifies the point I was trying to make here...

GboyegaD:


Did you get it same day?

Nope, they will mail it to you. You have to pay a fee for mailing it to you. I guess it is optional, not sure.

Oracle009 please send your email let's connect. I'm going to Ohio as well this Fall

olasubomy:
oracle009 - ok i get your point, lets all keep our fingers crossed, hopefully power changes hands in November so at least some sanity in that country but if Trumps wins again, lets see how it goes. Those policies dont make sense at all, like they are shooting themselves in the leg,scaring people away from their country ,so i know it cant last.

HoluwadareY:

The info in the attached file clearly solidifies the point I was trying to make here...

If I were you, I wouldn't bother about who understood you or not.
Your focus should be to buckle up and prepare yourself as if the Master of the house can return at any moment.
Put your things together and focus on yourself. If embassy opens, you'd be in a better position; if they don't, you don't lose anything.
Just don't pay the last two fees required yet.

Savagethe21st:
boss i look forward to your insightful post everytime and also support your condemnation of visa fraud. Pls with h1b visa what are the steps to land a greencard and how long. Will it be the company to file for you?

stop dreaming, homophobe.

vhuqnl:

stop dreaming, homophobe.

Guy you get problem o. So you follow someone from Germany thread come here. You be monitoring spirit ni?!

Paragontek:


You can get it certified in a court by a notary public at about 50 or 100 or 200 naira per page, depending on the location. I did mine at customary Court of appeal Enugu at 50 naira per copy.

Secondly, after getting it done, you may beg your institution to add the Certified documents to your transcripts when they are sending it. I don't know if this will be possible. I just think it would reduce cost of shipping for you.

Hi, I certified mine at the Ministry of Education and Foreign affairs in Abuja, is that still in order?

Prodigee:
Guy you get problem o. So you follow someone from Germany thread come here. You be monitoring spirit ni?!

He started it by stalking me

HoluwadareY:



The info in the attached file clearly solidifies the point I was trying to make here...

If people wey get experience dey tell you something you go dey argue because say you get data, phone and nairaland account.

That subsection you highlighted in your picture refers to current students with visas that left the country before the lockdown (during spring break) and will be trying to return for fall semester or incoming students that got visa before closure of embassies. Nothing concerns ICE and embassy.

Embassy and visa are sole responsibility of USCIS. though both agencies falls under Department of homeland security (DHS) their duties are clearly distinguished.

When you hear DHS use the word "admittance", they mean Visa, legal entry and staying lawful in the country, if USCIS use the word "admittance" it may then mean Visa, if CBP use the word "admittance" it means entry into the Country and if ICE use the word "admittance" it means lawful stay in the country. Don't mix them up

That directive have added more uncertainty to the whole F1 process especially for upcoming fall semester. In a communique issue out by a school, ICE will be clarifying a section of that directive in the coming days.

So stop dreaming and trying to explain something you have no idea about. ICE issuing out that directive were not trying to help embassy reopen because embassy is the sole responsibility of USCIS that are currently fighting their own battle with solvency

Hello all,
Is I-20 needed if i want to register for online classes for this FALL-SEMESTER.

And more so, what is the implication of my decision to start online classes for this FALL-SEMESTER on my F1 Visa? Hope I am safe or I should just defer the admission?

Please help me out gurus in the house.

Sanguine1:
Hello all,
Is I-20 needed if i want to register for online classes for this FALL-SEMESTER.

And more so, what is the implication of my decision to start online classes for this FALL-SEMESTER on my F1 Visa? Hope I am safe or I should just defer the admission?

Please help me out gurus in the house.

You don't need an i20 if you don't plan to be on campus for fall semster. i-20, Sevis fees are what ICE uses to track your legal status while you are in the US. So if you plan on taking online classes from Nigeria, then you don't need both of them.

Taking online classes for fall semester doesn't guarantee that you will be issued visa for subsequent semesters. You can take online classes and USCIS will still find you without adequate home ties hence deem you unfit for a visa.

Like I advised before, if you want to take online classes for fall semster and you ain't on full funding, don't pay fall semseter tuition as you won't get a refund if you don't get visa later. Except you can afford to forfeit the paid tuition or you are OK with doing the entire program online from Nigeria if your visa application goes south

jhidey08:

Hi, I certified mine at the Ministry of Education and Foreign affairs in Abuja, is that still in order?

Yes. It's fine.