Announcements from the OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENT & SCHOLAR SERVICES (OISSS)

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OISSS Closure for Winter Break 

OISSS will be closed for the Winter Break after Friday, December 20th, re-opening on Monday, January 6th.  We request that you plan ahead accordingly.  

If you have an emergency during the Break, please contact the Department of Public Safety. 

For additional  information shared on behalf of Global Brown, we also advise you to review and bookmark Important Travel Updates on the OISSS website.

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Check Your Travel Signature

If you will be traveling outside the U.S., please check the travel signature on page 2 of your I-20. J-1 students should check page 1 on their DS-2019. Travel signatures are valid for up to 1 year (6 months on post-completion OPT) and can be used multiple times before they expire. 

You can request a travel signature through your OISSS Gateway Portal account if the travel signature will be expiring prior to your anticipated return. Click on the “Requests & Documents” tab and submit the Reprint/Travel Signature Request to have a new I-20/DS-2019 with travel signature issued. For further information about travel, please review this webpage: https://oisss.brown.edu/traveling/what-bring-when-traveling  

When entering the U.S., you must present your physical I-20/DS-2019, along with an unexpired passport with valid F-1/J-1 visa to a U.S. immigration officer to be admitted to the U.S. in F-1/J-1 status. DO NOT use a NEXUS or Global Entry self-check kiosk to enter the U.S. Upon re-entry to the U.S., check your most recent I-94 arrival record  to confirm that you have been re-admitted in F-1/J-1 status. 

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Event Recording Available: Presentation with Immigration Attorney Liz Goss from 11/19/2024 

The focus of the recorded informational session, geared toward students and scholars, was on nonimmigrant employment with special emphasis on visa options after optional practical training (F-1) or academic training (J-1). Ms. Goss discussed various types of working visas and applicable filing requirements, and updated participants on current H-1B provisions and the petition process for H-1B visas. Other work visas and employment-based permanent residency (green card) were introduced as well. 

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Department of State - Modernization of the Exchange Visitor Skills List:

An updated J-1 Exchange Visitor’s Skills List was published with immediate effect on December 9, 2024

The Department of State has updated the countries included on the Skills List based on criteria that are data driven, transparent, and consistent with U.S. goals for the development of foreign countries. The Department is not updating skills in this revision—for countries present on this revised Skills List, the skills listed remain the same as in the 2009 Skills List. However, the number of countries included on the Exchange Visitor’s Skills list has greatly decreased. Accordingly, J nonimmigrant exchange visitors who were subject to the two-year foreign residence requirement at the time of their admission or acquisition of J status based on designations in a previously published Skills List will no longer be subject to that requirement if their country is not designated in this revised list.

To see if your country has been removed, please review the revised J-1 Exchange Visitor’s Skills List here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/study/exchange/waiver-of-the-exchange-visitor/exchange-visitor-skills-list.html

If you have questions about how this change may affect your individual situation, please contact your OISSS advisor.

Best wishes for a pleasant winter break!!

Your OISSS team