This message was sent to all international students.
On July 6, 2020, SEVP issued a broadcast message about COVID-19 and Fall 2020, https://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/bcm2007-01.pdf, ICE COVID-19 FAQ, https://www.ice.gov/doclib/coronavirus/covid19faq.pdf.
We recognize that the broadcast message has raised many concerns. The broadcast message is the first update from SEVP. SEVP will be updating their FAQ and will be publishing temporary regulations in the near future.
Texas A&M University will be offering classes face-to-face with remote options. According to the broadcast message, because the University has adopted “a hybrid model—that is, a mixture of online and in person courses”, F1 students “will be allowed to take more than one class or three credit hours online”, but will not be able to take only online classes for fall 2020. The University will work with students so that their schedules will have at least one in-person class.
International Student Services (ISS) requests that you submit any questions to our Qualtrics survey, https://tamu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1ZgjsIjpGmaWJG5, so that the University can address your concerns. While we do not have all the answers yet, we strongly support international students to attend the University this fall. We are working closely with the Office of the Provost regarding the SEVP rules.
We plan on hosting a virtual Q&A next week. The date and time are to be determined. We will use the questions from the Qualtrics survey.
ISS staff will be updating over 5,000 I-20s by August 4, 2020 and certify “that the program is not entirely online, that the student is not taking an entirely online course load for the fall 2020 semester, and that the student is taking the minimum number of online classes required to make normal progress in their degree program.”
This is a very stressful and confusing time for all. If you need assistance with your stress or anxiety, please visit Counseling & Psychological Services, https://caps.tamu.edu/ .
Updates will be posted at the ISS COVID-19 FAQ, http://iss.tamu.edu/Current-Students/Traveling-and-Coronavirus.
International Student Services
Texas A&M University
iss@tamu.edu
Mail Stop 1226 | College Station, Texas 77843-1226
110 Pavilion
Tel. 979.845.1824| Fax. 979.862.4633
http://iss.tamu.edu
