News

In mid-May, the Department of Homeland Security’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program began to send some F-1 students on Optional Practical Training (OPT) a letter titled “Student and Exchange Visitor Program: Notice of Failure to Report Optional Practical Training Employer and Exceeding Permissible Period of Unemployment." This letter advises students they’ve “been participating in Optional Practical Training (OPT) for more than 90 days but have not reported any employer information.” The n

In an effort to increase its screening and vetting of individual beneficiaries, USCIS may request that a beneficiary of a pending H-1B petition appear for a "biometrics" appointment at a designated USCIS Application Support Center for the collection of a digital picture, signature and fingerprints.

On January 29, 2025, Executive Action 13899, entitled “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism”, was signed by the President of the United States. The executive action specifically mentions “alien students or staff”. “Alien”, a term that has been recently re-introduced, refers to anyone who is not a citizen or a national of the United States.

At this point, there are no specific travel restrictions for green card holders at U-M to be aware of, though they may be implemented in the future.**  As you can imagine, we're following the developments in this area quite closely and we appreciate the anxiety felt by Legal Permanent Residents who are considering traveling abroad.

On 4/5/2025, the U.S. Department of State announced it revoked all visas held by South Sudanese passport holders and would not issue visas to South Sudanese passport holders. 

Read the full press statement "Defending America’s Security through Visa and Travel Restrictions on South Sudan" on the U.S. Department of State website. 

Over the past few days, the International Center has learned that some current U-M students and recent graduates have had their student visas revoked and/or their SEVIS records terminated.  The SEVIS record termination was done by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) without notification to the university or to the students. Visa revocations are issued by the Department of State (DoS) and communicated directly to the students, without notification to the university.

The staff of the International Center would like to express our sympathy and concern for U-M international students, scholars, and employees affected by the recent earthquake that struck Myanmar and impacted Thailand and other nearby regions. Our thoughts are with you, your families, and friends during this challenging time.