ISSS-BU News 14 November 2011 ISSS-BU News

An electronic news service for international students and scholars, owned by the Office of International Student and Scholar Services atBinghamtonUniversity, State University of New York

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Editor’s Note: Thanksgiving is coming next week. Classes will recess for the Thanksgiving Day holiday after 1:00pm on Wednesday, November 23. Classes will resume on Monday, November 28. All University offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday, November 24 and 25. ISSS-BU News wishes all of our readers a pleasant Thanksgiving Holiday break! To learn more about the Thanksgiving Day Holiday, visit the following link: http://www.history.com/minisites/thanksgiving/

If you are traveling, be certain that you have your passport, I-94 card and current SEVIS I-20 or DS-2019 with you, even for travel within New York State. This is essential in case you are asked to produce these documents by a police official. Failure to have such documents on your person can result in your being detained until the documents can be produced. Also, be sure to carry proof of health insurance with you.

CONTENTS:
1. Important Announcement for Undergraduate Students Living On-Campus
2. This is International Education Week!
3. "Open Your Doors to the World" Global Career Exploration Open House on Thursday, November 17
4. U.S. International Student Enrollment Continues to Grow
5. Connect Your Parents and Family With Binghamton University!
6. Winter Session Registration Begins Monday, November 21
7. Did You Remember to Print Your Health Insurance ID Card From the HTH Worldwide Website?
8. December 1 is the Deadline for Fall 2011 Health Insurance Adjustments
9. This Week’s Campus and Community Connections Newsletter
10. Paying Your Student Bill
11. Internship Opportunities, Employment Authorizations and Resumes
12. Fiscal Year 2012 H-1B Cap Count Update

1. Important Announcement for Undergraduate Students Living On-Campus

Attention Students Living in On Campus Break Housing (Windham, Lehman, Mohawk, Delaware, Apartments): If you are staying in your room for all or part of the upcoming Thanksgiving break, please register via the internet at http://reslife.binghamton.edu/break no later than Tuesday, November 22^nd. It is very important that you register if you are staying in your room so your card access is not de-activated, and we know who is here in case of an emergency.

2. This is International Education Week!

November 14-20 is International Education Week, an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. This joint initiative of the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education is part of its efforts to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the United States.

Binghamton University is offering a variety of international events during International Education Week. To view a schedule, visit http://www2.binghamton.edu/oip/intl-educ-wk.html

For more information on International Education Week activities n the United States, visit http://iew.state.gov/

The Binghamton University Globalistas (BUGS), a volunteer group of faculty, staff and students devoted to internationalization, has created a LinkedIn group for students, alumni, faculty and staff to discuss international topics. To join the group, named B Global, visit http://go.binghamton.edu/bglobal. It’s a place to talk about international travel, study and work and more.

3. "Open Your Doors to the World" Global Career Exploration Open House on Thursday, November 17

The Career Development Center is "opening our doors" during International Education Week for our first Global Career Exploration Open House! The event will be held Thursday, November 17th at 3:30 PM in University Union West Room 324.Come learn about ways you can "globalize" your career here and abroad, experience the new and amazing "Going Global" Website, and socialize with friendly ISSS and CDC staff for more ideas!

Going Global provides information you need to know to work in another country, including country specific career guides, international job and internship opportunity posts, an employer directory, and Visa information. There is a special section of the website devoted to the US job search, and information on H-1B visa jobs.

Learn how to navigate Going Global at this event. Students can access Going Global on the CDC website using their PODS user name and password.

Co-sponsored by the Career Development Center and the Office of International Student and Scholar Services.

4. U.S. International Student Enrollment Continues to Grow

Today, the Institute of International Education (IIE) released the latest edition of Open Doors, the annual census of international student and study abroad flows. The report provides information on international student enrollments and study abroad for the 2010-11 academic year (one year ago), based on a survey of nearly 3000 US colleges and universities.

Open Doors data shows that Binghamton University continues to be ranked among the top 100 U.S. institutions enrolling international students, based on Fall 2010 enrollment figures. Binghamton ranks 63 (out of nearly 1300 schools reporting).

In New York State, Binghamton ranks 8th (out of more than 120 schools reporting). The top ten schools in New York State that enroll international students are (in descending order); New York University, Columbia University, University at Buffalo (SUNY), Cornell University, Stony Brook University (SUNY), Syracuse University, The New School, Binghamton University (SUNY), Polytechnic Institute of NYU and Baruch College (CUNY).

According to Open Doors, international student enrollment at US colleges and universities for Fall 2010 increased by almost 5% from the previous year, to 723,277. This is an enrollment record. There are more international students studying in the United States than any other country in the world.

Here are the “top ten” countries of origin of international students in the United States for 2010-11:

Note that 53.5% of all international students studying in the United States come from the top five countries listed above.

Here are the "top ten" U.S. schools that enrolled the most international students for 2010-11, listed with their international student enrollments:

California hosted more international students than any other state (96,535) followed by New York (78,888), Texas (61,636), Massachusetts (38,698), Illinois (33,766) and Pennsylvania (30,507).

For more details on the latest Open Doors data, access: http://opendoors.iienetwork.org.

Fall 2011 international student enrollment statistics for BU are being finalized now. We will announce that data in a future issue of ISSS-BU News.

5. Connect Your Parents and Family With Binghamton University!

Binghamton University is working to provide the parents and families of current students with useful and timely information about what is happening on campus, and about programs, events and dates that are relevant to Binghamton University students by sending a monthly e-newsletter to them. Our international student population is very important to us, yet there is currently no strong connection to the parents of international students.

We are asking our international students to help us establish a connection with their parents and families by providing us with a valid e-mail address for their parents and/or families. Please send that e-mail address and the name of the parent or family member to Katie Ellis in our Communications and Marketing Office at kellis@binghamton.edu and she will ensure that your parents and families receive the monthly Parent Connect e-newsletter.

6. Winter Session Registration Begins Monday, November 21

Registration for the optional 2012 Winter Session begins next Monday, November 21, 2011 and continues through January 12, 2012. Winter Session offers the opportunity to take classroom and on-line courses for a maximum of 4 credits. Winter Session begins January 9, 2012 and ends January 27, 2012. For more information on Winter Session, visit http://www2.binghamton.edu/continuing-education/credit-programs/winter-session/index.html To register for Winter Session courses, go to http://bubrain.binghamton.edu

7. Did You Remember to Print Your Health Insurance ID Card From the HTH Worldwide Website?

International students who have the SUNY international student health insurance program through HTH Worldwide, Inc., are reminded to be sure to print their Health Insurance ID card from the HTH Worldwide website: http://www.hthstudents.com before departing for the Thanksgiving Holiday break! If you will be traveling, it is especially important to have your insurance ID card with you. If you have not already accessed the site, be sure to follow the instructions sent to your Binghamton.edu email account from HTH Worldwide in October.

Having difficulty going to the HTH website to print your ID card? These tips may help:

Print a copy of the email from HTHWorldwide.com

When setting up your HTH account on line at http://www.hthstudents.com/:
*Enter your name as it appears in the email
*Enter the certificate number that appears in the email
*When entering your email address, use the binghamton.edu email address which is where the HTH email message was sent

Still having problems printing your insurance ID card? The toll free number for assistance at HTH Worldwide is 1-888-350-2002. Or contact the International Health Insurance Team in the ISSS intl.insure@binghamton.edu

All international students, except for those graduate students with TA, GA or RPA funding, are covered under this health insurance policy.

If you are a GSEU-funded F-1 student or Research Foundation funded F-1 student on employee-benefit insurance, contact the appropriate benefits office for information on obtaining your health insurance card.

Your fall health insurance covers you through January 14, 2012, which is when the Spring health insurance coverage begins.

8. December 1 is the Deadline for Fall 2011 Health Insurance Adjustments

Please note that there is a deadline for requesting a Health Insurance Waiver or adjustment. – International students requesting a waiver or adjustment of their international health insurance fee must do so by December 1, 2011 for the Fall 2011 semester. To file a waiver or adjustment request go to: http://www2.binghamton.edu/isss/health-insurance/waiverinfo.html. Filing a request does not guarantee a wavier or adjustment. You must either be a graduate assistant (G.A.), Teaching Assistant (T.A) or Research Assistant (R.A.) funded through Binghamton University and enrolled in employee health insurance, OR meet the standards for comparable coverage outlined on the ISSS Health Insurance web page located through the above link.

If you have questions about the International Student Health Insurance, please contact the International Health Insurance Team at intl.insure@binghamton.edu

9. This Week’s Campus and Community Connections Newsletter

The latest Campus and Community Connections newsletter has been posted at:

http://www2.binghamton.edu/cce/connect/CCC-Fall2011-13.docx.pdf

The Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) publishes Campus and Community Connections to provide BU students with information on ways to participate in activities both on campus and in the local community, including:
* Upcoming Campus & Community Events
* Volunteer & Service Opportunities
* Internships (Credit & Non-Credit)
* Community-Based Research Project

Previous newsletters are archived at: http://www2.binghamton.edu/cce/campusconnect.html

For more information on the Center for Civic Engagement, visit http://www2.binghamton.edu/cce/

10. Paying Your Student Bill

Binghamton University will generate monthly E-bill statements starting in January for those students who have registered for the Spring 2012 semester. Students will receive a monthly E-bill statement via their Binghamton University email account (issued around the 1st of the month) with a balance due and a due date if a balance remains from a prior month or if there is new activity on the account. PLEASE NOTE: It is important to review your QuikPAY account regularly.

If payment is not made in full by the due date on the E-bill statement, the account is subject to a $30 fee.

Students who have a balance on their account at the end of the 6th week of classes will have an Accounts Receivable hold placed on their record. If there is a hold on the student's record, he or she will not be permitted to participate in ANY registration activities (add or drops) or obtain transcripts until the balance is paid in full. Therefore, Spring term balances need to be paid by the end of March 2012 in order to participate in early registration for Fall 2012.

Student Accounts recommends that you check your account frequently by logging into BU Brain http://bubrain.binghamton.edu Find the “student tools” menu. Then click on “Student Accounts Menu.” Click on the "QuikPAY-Web Payments" and re-enter your username and password. Questions? Visit the Student Accounts webpage at: http://studentaccounts.binghamton.edu/ visit the office in the Student Wing Room 117, call 607-777-2702 or send an email message to stuaccts@binghamton.edu

11. Internship Opportunities, Employment Authorizations and Resumes

International students in F-1 or J-1 status are reminded that off-campus internships and other off campus employment must be authorized before the employment can commence. This includes internships that are unpaid.

Many students list unpaid internships and other kinds of work experience on their resumes. If a U.S. company then offers you employment after graduation and files an immigration petition on your behalf (e.g. for H-1B status or for permanent residency), the attorney or human resources staff person handling the petition on behalf of the employer may ask you to show proof of work authorization for each work experience you have listed, to be sure that you have been in compliance with U.S. immigration law. This is one of the reasons why it is so important for you to be sure you have the appropriate employment authorization for each work experience you commence in the United States.

A request for authorization begins with a visit to the Office of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS). Most internships and other opportunities related to a student’s field of study that take place prior to graduation are eligible for consideration under Curricular Practical Training (F-1 students) or Academic Training (J-1 students).

For a helpful overview of information that defines “employment” in the context of immigration regulations, you are encouraged to read: http://www2.binghamton.edu/isss/employment/overview.html

Information on both Curricular Practical Training and Academic Training are available in the ISSS, or by going to the ISSS web site http://isss.binghamton.edu and selecting “Employment.” The direct link to the Curricular Practical Training information for F-1 students is

http://www2.binghamton.edu/isss/employment/index.html#cpt

The direct link to the Academic Training information for J-1 students is
http://www2.binghamton.edu/isss/employment/atregs.html

You may also view the ISSS webinars on Curricular Practical Training and Optional Practical Training. Both are available at: http://www2.binghamton.edu/isss/employment/empWebinar.html

12. Fiscal Year 2012 H-1B Cap Count Update

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reports that as of November 2, 2011, approximately 50,800 H-1B cap-subject petitions had been filed, and 20,000 H1-B petitions for foreign nationals with U.S. advanced degrees have been filed. There are a maximum of 65,000 cap-subject H-1B visas and 20,000 advance degree petitions available each year. USCIS will continue to accept both cap-subject petitions and advanced degree petitions until a sufficient number of H-1B petitions have been received to reach the statutory limits, taking into account the fact that some of these petitions may be denied, revoked, or withdrawn.

USCIS will provide regular updates on the processing of Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 H-1B petitions. The updates can be found on the USCIS’ Web site at www.uscis.gov/h-1b_count

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