University aids foreign students with visa change

IU’s Office of International Services was equipped to help students after a sudden change in visa processing surprised universities across the nation in early August.

The change was initiated as part of an effort through Student and Exchange Information System II to convert to paperless processing for a total electronic environment, said Jenny Bowen, the office’s associate director of student services.

Other U.S. universities faced delays with helping their students acquire social security numbers and driver’s licenses, but IU was able to communicate the change to local agencies in Bloomington to make the transition smoother for students, Bowen said.

International Services alerted the local Bureau of Motor Vehicles and Office of Social Security of the change, so students could still receive a social security number and a driver’s license without the I-20, a document issued by universities that supports the student’s issuance of a visa.

Typically, when students arrive in the U.S., they have not only the I-20, but also the I-94 card and a page of their passport which explains their visa status.

Upon arrival into the U.S., students get in line for Customs and Border Protection to have an officer look at their immigration documents,  Bowen said.

“What used to happen was the officer would stamp the student’s I-20, their I-94 card and at times a page in the passport too,” Bowen said. “They would also mark what the student’s status was and how long they are allowed to stay in the U.S. The only difference this year was right in the middle of our orientation, the U.S. government announced they were no longer going to be requiring Customs and Border Protection officials to stamp the I-20."

Officers are still required to stamp students’ I-94 card, which explains their visa status, what program they are here for, and how long they are allowed to stay for, Bowen said.

“Because there was no prior notification for any university in the nation about the change, there wasn’t too much we could  to let the students know,” Bowen said.

Students did not suffer any problems with their transition to IU though, she said.

“Ultimately, it didn’t really matter and didn’t cause students any problems,” Bowen said. “We were happy to clarify with any other agencies that needed to know why the I-20 wasn’t stamped.”

Students said International Services helped make the transition smoother.

“After I checked in August, the Office of International Services gave students like me an orientation, which was very helpful,” said Jinrui Liu, a Ph.D. candidate from China.

Some students said the most difficult challenge is learning their way around IU.

“Getting used to going around the buildings is hard. And the language too,” said Yajuan Zhao, a first year student from China.

International Services helps students get acclimated with IU through events such as welcome receptions.

“It’s a beautiful place to study, to think,” Liu said. “I’ve only been here for two weeks and I’m already comfortable.”