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Reminder to F-1 and J-1 Students:
Immigration regulations require F-1 and J-1 students to be enrolled full time during Fall and Spring at UTA. Full time at UTA is 9 hours for Graduate Students and 12 hours for Undergraduate Students. The immigration regulations allow waivers of the full time enrollment requirement under certain limited circumstances. Such waivers may only be granted by the advisors in the Office of International Education before the end of the enrollment period (Census Day), or before the student drops a course. Census date for the Spring 2016 Semester is Wednesday, February 3.
Waiver forms are available at the Office of International Education or online at the OIE website at http://www.uta.edu/oie/web/iss/forms/lcfw.pdf . The form must be completed by your academic advisor and returned to the Office of International Education either before Census Day (February 3) or before you drop a course if the reason occurs after census date.
You may not drop the course until the waiver is approved.
Students who are below full-time hours because Spring 2016 is their final semester must file a full-time waiver.
Students who are dissertation or thesis only must also file a full-time waiver.
If you are a new F-1 student to UTA for the Spring 2016 semester, and you have a problem with getting your SSN or DL, please verify that your Physical Presence Address is correct on your My Mav record. If the address is missing, please add the address and then wait two complete business days before requesting the DL or SSN again.
The deadline for waiver submission is the Spring 2016 census date: February 3. No exceptions will be made.
Document Check:
The start of a new semester is a good time to check your I-20 and make sure all information is correct. If you have changed educational levels (from Bachelors to Masters, Masters to Ph.D., etc.), you MUST have your I-20 updated to reflect the change in a timely manner. Failure to do so may result in loss of F1 status. Please call or visit the OIE during advising hours if you have any questions about this: http://www.uta.edu/oie/?page=services&service=advising
Mandatory Health Insurance:
The University of Texas Board Of Regents has passed Regents Rule 50402, which now requires all international students to have medical insurance compliant with the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).
The UT Student Health Insurance Plan (UT SHIP) meets the new requirements. Enrollment in UT SHIP is automatic each semester and the insurance premium is automatically charged to your tuition and fee account when you register for classes. Students who are new for Fall 2015 can sign up for UT SHIP during their orientation. For continuing students, no action is required to be enrolled in UT SHIP except to ensure that your contact email and mailing address are always current in MyMav.
The UT System has established new criteria in which an international student can request a waiver to the student health insurance plan by providing alternate health insurance coverage. In order to be approved for a waiver, your alternate health coverage must meet or exceed the requirements as set in the System regulation and be PPACA compliant. Waivers that were approved by the Office of International Education during past semesters may no longer qualify to replace the UT SHIP, due to the new requirements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
The new insurance requirements, eligibility criteria, and the new online waiver process facilitated by Academic Health Plans, has been posted to our website at:
http://www.uta.edu/oie/?page=forms&form=HealthInsuranceWaiver.
Off-Campus Employment Update:
CPT/OPT Eligibility and the Academic Year:
New students to UT Arlington may be eligible for CPT/OPT employment authorization after completing one academic year of full-time enrollment. One academic year is defined as two consecutive semesters, fall and spring. Summer enrollment does not count toward the academic year requirement. Students transferring in to UT Arlington may be eligible for CPT/OPT authorization after completing one long semester (Fall or Spring) of full-time enrollment.
For more information about CPT/OPT eligibility, please plan to attend one of our Spring 2016 seminars: http://www.uta.edu/oie/?page=programs&program=seminars
Important Reminder:
ALL off-campus practical training in your field of study, even if it is unpaid, REQUIRES CPT authorization. Nursing, Social Work, Education, HCAD, and students from other majors that require off-campus practical training MUST have their CPTs authorized by the OIE BEFORE beginning their off-campus practical training.
More information on CPT is available here: http://www.uta.edu/oie/?page=forms&form=cpt_forms
OPT Update:
The OIE will begin accepting applications for post-completion OPT from students who expect to complete their programs in May 2016 on February 8, 2016.
More information on OPT, including forms and how to apply, is available here: http://www.uta.edu/oie/?page=services&service=opt_links