International Student & Scholar Services

Fall 2020 Hours

PUBLIC HOURS: Monday – Friday, 9 am – 12 noon and 1 – 3 pm CST (by appointment only).

To make an appointment, please email international@ua.edu or call 205-348-5402.

Whether contacting us by phone or email, please be sure to include your name and CWID (if known) with your inquiry.

Virtual Advising: Monday – Friday, 11 am – 4:45 pm

Advising is offered virtually, Monday through Friday, 11:00 am – 4:45 pm CST via Zoom.

SEVP FALL 2020 GUIDANCE – UPDATED

International Student & Scholar Services has received guidance from the Department of Homeland Security and separately from the Department of State that F-1 and J-1 students’ visa status will not be affected by UA’s Fall 2020 plans to offer a mixture of in-person, hybrid, and online courses.

New students (those with new initial I-20s and DS-2019s) must enroll in at least one on-campus class as an in-person or hybrid course to be eligible for an F-1 or J-1 visa or to enter the United States in F-1 or J-1 status. Those on initial I-20s and DS-2019s cannot enter the United States and enroll fully online in Fall 2020.

Continuing students (those who are continuing studies on active I-20s and DS-2019s), may enroll in any combination of enrollment of in-person, hybrid, and online courses (even 100% online) to satisfy the full-time enrollment requirements for F-1 and J-1 status.

At this time, there is no anticipation of any change to UA’s plans for on-campus instruction this Fall 2020, but under the SEVP guidance, if UA were to return to 100% remote learning at any point during the Fall 2020 semester in response to COVID-19, all active F-1 and J-1 students would remain in valid immigration status and be able to remain in the U.S.

ENTRY BAN UPDATES – JULY 16

Please see our Entry Ban section for guidance regarding current COVID-19 Entry Bans from China, Ira n, European Schengen Zone, UK and Ireland, and Brazil.

On July 16, 2020 the State Department announced National Interest Exceptions for certain travelers from European Schengen Zone and UK and Ireland.

If you are in the European Schengen Zone or UK and Ireland, to seek a National Interest Exception exemption to the Entry Ban, please contact the U.S. Embassy in your country.
Please print this confirmation letter and the Department of State page to submit to the Embassy and/or to carry with you to present to Customs and Border Protection at the Port of Entry. We also recommend you check with your air carrier to try to confirm that you are in fact admissible to the U.S. under this exception.