Dear Fellow Gators,
As many of you may have seen, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced yesterday that F-1 (degree seeking) international students “may not take a full online course load and remain in the U.S. this fall.”
Previous to the disrupted spring 2020 semester, continuing F-1 students were limited to enrolling in no more than one online course. Because of the health-related disruption, ICE guidance allowed an exception during the spring and summer 2020 semesters.
With universities across the country making the difficult decision to move most courses to remote instruction during the COVID-19 health crisis, the new guidance from ICE will have far-reaching effects on our campus and across the U.S.
We at SF State began working immediately following the decision with the California State University Office of the Chancellor to ensure that our international students may continue progress to degree completion in the face of this disruption. The Chancellor’s Office expects to provide system-wide guidance to CSU campuses later this week.
Please know that work to provide options and assistance to our international students is ongoing, and we will provide updates as soon as possible.
The Office of International Programs (OIP) is currently providing services remotely, and students can reach our F-1 advising team at f1@sfsu.edu, or sign up for phone advising via the OIP website.
In solidarity,
Beth Hellwig, Ph.D., Interim Vice President, Student Affairs & Enrollment Management