F-1 students graduating in May 2021 can start applying for Post-Completion Optional Practical Training (OPT) up to 90 days before their program completion date (Form I-20 end date) in order to be eligible to work in the U.S. following graduation. 

To help accommodate the large number of OPT requests, the HIO will begin accepting OPT requests via a new web form starting Monday, February 8, 2021 for students graduating this May.  The HIO will start releasing new OPT I-20s via email on Friday, February 26, 2021. 

To receive your OPT I-20 on the earliest release date, you must submit your OPT request to the HIO no later than Wednesday, February 17, 2021. Any OPT requests submitted after February 17, 2021, will be processed by the HIO in 5-7 business days. 

Please visit the OPT section of our website for a detailed overview of the OPT process. If you have any questions on the process, the HIO will begin virtual drop-in OPT advising hours starting Friday, February 5, 2021.

COVID-19 Travel Bans Still in Effect

President Biden has issued a Presidential Proclamation to extend the travel bans from the EU Schengen area, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Brazil, and added a travel ban from South Africa, effective as of January 30, 2021. The travel bans from China and Iran also remain in effect. These proclamations prohibit entry to the U.S. for certain individuals who were present in a travel ban country in the 14 days preceding their travel to the U.S., unless they have been granted an exception. You may read more about the impact of the travel bans on the HIO's COVID FAQ.

Ending a Discriminatory Entry Ban

The HIO is pleased to share that President Biden has issued a proclamation ending discriminatory bans put in place by the Trump administration that prevented certain individuals from entering the U.S., such as those from primarily Muslim countries and from largely African countries. While this travel ban has been overturned, there is likely going to continue to be administrative processing for visa applicants and a backlog for visa appointments in these regions.

If you were present in the United States (U.S.) during any part of 2020 calendar year 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. We recommend reviewing the information below in preparation for the coming tax filing season. If you were not in the U.S. at all during 2020, you do not need to complete any tax forms this year.

• Review the HIO's introduction to tax filing in the U.S. and HIO Tax FAQ  to familiarize yourself with the process, including tax filing deadlines for 2020.
• All current students, scholars, and student interns at Harvard will receive an email from the HIO in mid-late February providing additional information, instructions, and discounted access to use the Sprintax tax preparation software.
• If you are no longer an active student, scholar, or student intern at Harvard and need to file taxes for 2020, please email the HIO (internationaloffice@harvard.edu) in late February to request a unique discount code to use Sprintax.

As winter break approaches, we want to remind students and scholars that the University strongly discourages personal travel, both international and domestic. Travel increases your chances of getting and spreading COVID-19. For the foreseeable future, the global pandemic will continue to affect the safety and feasibility of travel. In addition to lowering the risk of coronavirus transmission on campus and helping ensure the health and safety of the Harvard community, the University also seeks to slow the worldwide spread of COVID-19.

If you have personal reasons that require you to travel, you must speak to your HIO Advisor before making any travel arrangements. 

If you do make the decision to travel, you must confirm that you have the required documents for your specific visa type to travel and reenter the United States (U.S.). You must also consider the travel disruptions that may be caused by pandemic, including travel bans and quarantine requirements. For more information on how travel is currently impacted by the pandemic, please review the HIO’s COVID-19 FAQ.

COVID-19 is a fluid situation worldwide and travel guidance and travel bans can change quickly as a result of the pandemic. Please consider all the risks and uncertainties when discussing your proposed travel plans with your HIO Advisor.

The Harvard International Office provides informational sessions regarding future visa options and green cards each year.  This session provides general information regarding sponsorship possibilities outside of Harvard.  Given the current pandemic, we have asked the attorney scheduled to present this semester to record her presentation.  You may access the presentation on YouTube. 

Please note that the university does not endorse any attorney or firm nor is this presentation intended to be legal advice.   If you have questions for the presenter, please feel free to leave them in comments on the link and she may respond.

As many of you may have heard, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposed rule today to eliminate duration of status (D/S) for F-1 students and their F-2 dependents, and J-1 exchange visitors (including students, researchers/professors, and short-term scholars) and their J-2 dependents.  The proposed rule would eliminate D/S, and individuals entering the U.S. in F or J status would be admitted for a specified length of time with options and procedures for extensions.

Please note that NOTHING has changed yet.  This is a proposed rule.  The public has 30 days to comment on this proposal.  DHS will then consider the comments and publish a final rule with an effective date.  A number of offices around the University are working on analyzing this proposal and will work with colleagues at our peer institutions and professional associations to advocate on behalf of all our international students and scholars.  We will share updated information as soon as possible.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts (MA) has released updated travel guidance for out-of-state visitors.  As this guidance is likely to change as circumstances evolve, you should continue to monitor the requirements until you arrive. 

• Visitors, including residents, must complete the Massachusetts Travel Form prior to arrival, unless you are visiting from a lower-risk state designated by the Department of Public Health.
• Visitors, including residents, must quarantine for 14 days or produce a negative COVID-19 test result that has been administered up to 72-hours prior to your arrival in MA.
• Visitors into MA are exempt from the quarantine requirement if they have received a negative result from a COVID-19 test based on a sample obtained not longer than 72 hours before their arrival.
• Failure to comply may result in a $500 fine per day.

The Department of State has confirmed that routine visa processing will start resuming at certain US consular offices around the world, depending on the local conditions. Please monitor the embassy/consulate website for the status of their services, as well as the HIO website for updates. If you are currently located in the US, we still do not advise that you travel abroad at this time, especially if you are in need of a renewed visa, as we anticipate there will be backlogs and delays in appointments once consular offices do reopen.

Keep in mind that travel bans still exist from many countries, and do impact students and scholars with valid visas traveling from or transiting through one of the affected countries. For more information on the current travel bans, please see the CDC website. 

Dear Members of the Harvard Community,

On Monday, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that international students will not be allowed to stay in the country if they attend institutions, like Harvard, that are holding courses online this fall. Their choices are either to transfer to another institution that provides in-person or hybrid (both in-person and online) instruction—or to depart the country and risk not being able to return. Those students who fail to comply with this guidance may face deportation.

The order came down without notice—its cruelty surpassed only by its recklessness. It appears that it was designed purposefully to place pressure on colleges and universities to open their on-campus classrooms for in-person instruction this fall, without regard to concerns for the health and safety of students, instructors, and others. This comes at a time when the United States has been setting daily records for the number of new infections, with more than 300,000 new cases reported since July 1. Moreover, if an institution pursues in-person or hybrid instruction this fall and a serious outbreak of COVID-19 occurs, the institution would face strong pressure not to switch to online instruction, as Harvard and others necessarily did this past March, because to do so would immediately place its international students in jeopardy.

In making plans for the fall, Harvard, like many other institutions, has sought to balance addressing concerns for public health with preserving our academic mission of teaching and scholarship, and we have undertaken careful planning to address the unique circumstances of our community and to enable students to make educational progress safely. We have done so recognizing that the nation is in the grip of a pandemic that poses risks to the health of millions and that threatens to overwhelm our capacity to manage it. We believe that the ICE order is bad public policy, and we believe that it is illegal.

Within the last hour, we filed pleadings together with MIT in the US District Court in Boston seeking a temporary restraining order prohibiting enforcement of the order. We will pursue this case vigorously so that our international students—and international students at institutions across the country—can continue their studies without the threat of deportation.

For many of our international students, studying in the United States and studying at Harvard is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. These students are our students, and they enrich the learning environment for all. We fervently hope that, before long, the circumstances that necessitate online learning will pass. As a university with a profound commitment to residential education, we hope and intend to resume full in-person instruction as soon as it is safe and responsible to do so. But, until that time comes, we will not stand by to see our international students’ dreams extinguished by a deeply misguided order. We owe it to them to stand up and to fight—and we will.

Sincerely,
Larry

UPDATE: You may follow updates on the lawsuit here