What's New

November 29, 2023

Due to circumstances beyond our control, virtual Advising on Call (via Zoom) is unavailable.  We hope to resume this service shortly.  If you need to speak to an advisor, you can:

August 10, 2023

Welcome to Harvard to any incoming international students, scholars, student interns, and their families!

As a reminder, once you arrive in the U.S. you must register your arrival with the HIO. The HIO is processing all registrations via email. Please do not come to the HIO offices for registration at this time. You may find instructions based on your visa category below:

After registration is complete, individuals on F-1 and J-1 visas and their dependents with visas sponsored by Harvard will need to obtain a travel signature on their F-1 Form I-20 or J-1 DS-2019 Form in order to travel internationally during their program. 

  • F-1 students may request a travel signature to be sent via email by completing the F-1 Travel Signature Request Form. If you have dependents, you do not need to submit a separate request for F-2 signatures; all forms I-20 will be issued and sent to you automatically.
  • J-1 students, scholars, and student interns and their dependents will need to visit the HIO during our walk in travel signature and document pick up hour, which takes place Monday-Friday from 12pm - 2pm on the 8th floor of the Smith Center to obtain a travel signature. DS-2019s cannot be sent electronically and must contain an original signature from the HIO.
May 25, 2023

The HIO congratulates the Harvard Class of 2023 on their Commencement! Best wishes in your future endeavors!

You can revisit the Commencement ceremonies here.

April 13, 2023

If you are planning on traveling internationally prior to graduation or over the summer, please check to ensure that you have all required immigration documents necessary to re-enter the U.S. with. 

If you need a travel signature on your Form I-20 or DS-2019, please review the applicable instructions below.

  • F-1 students may request a travel signature to be sent via email by completing the F-1 Travel Signature Request Form.
  • J-1 students, scholars, and student interns and their dependents will need to obtain a signature on their original, hard copy DS-2019 forms through one of the following methods:
    • Visit the HIO for a travel signature during our walk in travel signature hours, which take place Tuesday - Thursday from 12pm - 2pm on the 8th floor of the Smith Campus Center.
    • The HIO also hosts travel signature hours in the Longwood area for students, student interns, and scholars. An HIO Advisor will be available every other Wednesday from 1:00pm - 3:00pm in Gordon 006 (at the HMS/HSDM Office for Postdoctoral Fellows - see map). The full schedule may be found here.

For more information on contacting the HIO, please see Contact Us.

March 24, 2023

Effective immediately, F student visas can now be issued up to 365 days in advance of the I-20 program start date, allowing more time for students to apply for a visa. Students are still not allowed to enter the U.S. on a student visa more than 30 days before their program start date. For a full overview of the visa application process, please see the Student Visa Application page

March 16, 2023

If you were present in the United States (U.S.) during any part of calendar year 2022 in any immigration status other than B or WT/WB (ESTA), there is at least one tax form (IRS Form 8843) you must file with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) this spring. Below is what you should consider in preparation for the coming tax filing season. If you were not in the U.S. at all during 2022, you do not need to complete any tax forms at this year.

  • Review the HIO Tax FAQ and Tax Filing Overview for background on the U.S. tax system and tax filing deadline dates for 2022.  

  • If you received income from Harvard in 2022 (including wages for on-campus work or fellowship stipends), you will need a tax reporting document from the University. Review the various type of tax reporting documents, as well as information about where to locate the forms, here.  

  • The HIO licenses a software called Sprintax, which will assist all tax nonresidents with their federal and state tax filing. Current students, scholars, and student interns may log in to use Sprintax using their Harvard key. The cost for federal U.S. filings are covered by the Harvard license. State filings for all 50 U.S. states can be done using Sprintax for an additional fee, listed here.

  • If you are no longer an active student or scholar at Harvard and need to file taxes for 2022, please contact the HIO via email (internationaloffice@harvard.edu) to request a unique access code to use Sprintax. 

This season, Sprintax will be hosting a series of free open tax webinars to provide helpful information around nonresident tax filing obligations. You can find the details and registration links on the HIO's Tax Filing Overview page.

 

March 9, 2023

USCIS announced on March 6, 2023, that they will accept requests to “Premium Process” an OPT application, which will obligate USCIS to adjudicate an OPT request within 30 days. This requires filing an “I-907 Request for Premium Processing” form, along with an additional $1500 fee, to USCIS. Instructions can be found here.

This is a new program offered by USCIS; we have little information about how this option will work and what it will mean for standard OPT processing times.  The HIO does NOT recommend using the Premium Processing option at this time. Instead, we advise that students apply for OPT in a timely manner, which should make it unnecessary to request Premium Processing. As more information becomes available, we will continue to update students. If you are graduating in May 2023 and have not yet applied for OPT, please start the application process as soon as possible. 

Please note “Premium Processing” does not mean that USCIS will approve the application within 30 days, only that they will adjudicate the application within 30 days (i.e., approve, deny, or issue a Request for Evidence).

February 13, 2023

The staff at the Harvard International Office is profoundly saddened by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria this week.  You and your families are in our thoughts.  We hope everyone is safe.
 
If you need to make an emergency trip home because of this terrible event, contact your HIO advisor.  Complete details regarding travel outside the U.S. are available on the HIO website here, and you should review them carefully before finalizing plans to depart.
 
If you must travel urgently please remember to travel with a valid signature on your DS-2019 or I-20; the signature is valid for one year from the date it was last signed. You can find this date on page two of the I-20, or page one of the DS2019 if you are in J-1 status.  You must also have a valid F-1 or J-1 visa and a passport with validity up to six months into the future for re-admission to the US in the future. 
 
If we can be of any assistance to you regarding travel or any other visa/immigration related issues, please contact your HIO Advisor.
 
Please also be aware that the New England Turkish Student Association (NETSA) and the Turkish Embassy in the U.S. are coordinating donation efforts to support humanitarian relief efforts in the region.  NETSA is collecting donations to the Turkish Philanthropy Funds, which is a registered foundation that operates on the field and directly transfer funds across the search and rescue teams equally.  If you are interested and able to donate, you can use the page that NETSA has set up for donations to the Turkish Philanthropy Funds. 
 
You can also look at donating through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IRFC).
(You can look at all donation options at: https://www.ifrc.org/donate)

February 9, 2023

U.S. immigration regulations do not clearly define employment and never contemplated the new era of entrepreneurs, influencers and social media. In a time where it seems many students and scholars are interested in launching a new business endeavor, foreign nationals must beware and tread very carefully.  What should non-immigrant students and academics know about launching a business at various stages of their immigration journey?  What activities count as U.S. employment? What options exist for work authorization both in the short-term and longer-term alternatives?

Find out the answers to these questions and more during an informational session by immigration attorney Mary E. Walsh, a partner at Iandoli Desai & Cronin, P.C. which is a firm specializing in U.S. immigration law. You may view a recording of this session here and the session presentation slides here. 

February 2, 2023

The HIO will be expanding virtual advising services specifically for the Spring 2023 OPT application season.

An HIO advisor will be available to answer general questions about the OPT and STEM OPT application process on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 3pm to 4pm beginning on Friday, February 3, 2023 and running through Friday, March 17, 2023 (excluding the President’s Day Holiday on February 20, 2023). This service is offered via Zoom an a first come, first-serve basis, and is intended for international students with quick questions.

View the Zoom information here.

January 31, 2023

If you are an F-1 student completing your degree in May 2023, now is the time for you to start the F-1 Post-Completion OPT application process.

Applying for OPT is a two-step process. First, you must submit an OPT request to the HIO to obtain an OPT recommendation I-20. The HIO will start accepting OPT applications as of Monday, February 6, 2023. The HIO will begin emailing OPT I-20s to students as of Monday, February 27, 2023, along with instructions for the second step of the process: filing your OPT application with USCIS.

You are not required to have a job offer to apply for OPT and you are encouraged to apply for OPT as early as possible.  OPT applications may take 3-5 months to process by USCIS. Please note that you are still permitted to travel in and out of the U.S. while your OPT application is pending with USCIS until the completion date listed on your I-20. 

To apply for OPT, please review this information and take the following steps:    

January 24, 2023

If you were present in the United States (U.S.) during any part of calendar year 2022 in any immigration status other than B or WT/WB (ESTA), there is at least one tax form (IRS Form 8843) you must file with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) this spring. If you were not in the U.S. at all during 2022, you do not need to complete any tax forms at this year.

This season, Sprintax will be hosting a series of free open tax webinars to provide helpful information around nonresident tax filing obligations. You can find the details and registration links here.

For more information on the tax filing process, review the HIO Tax FAQ and additional tax preparation resources. 

 

January 6, 2023

Starting Tuesday, January 17, the HIO will expand its walk in travel signature and document pick up hours to 12pm – 2pm every week day. Until January 17, the HIO is open weekdays from 12pm – 1pm for walk in travel signatures. For directions, and more information on contacting the HIO, please see Contact Us.

December 6, 2022

The HIO is now on Instagram! Follow @hio.harvard for important updates and seasonal reminders regarding travel, immigration updates, upcoming events, and more. As always, make sure you check your email for important messages from the HIO's advisors and the general HIO account internationaloffice@harvard.edu.

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