In This
Issue:
PIER Chair Announcements
Other PIER Announcements
Happy Spring PIER Members, for those of you on Spring break,
I hope you are enjoying this beautiful time of year. Spring is a busy time of
year for all of us in international education, so thank you for taking your
time to read the PIER Newsletter
PIER
Travel Grants
PIER is now accepting applications for two PIER travel
grants. PIER is pleased to offer travel grants on a competitive basis for
members to participate in NAFSA conferences. These conferences provide an
opportunity for international educators to acquire and exchange information and
are an excellent way to begin building a personal network of contacts in the
field of international education.
Travel Grant Information
PIER will award two $250.00 travel grants to attend the 2016
NAFSA annual conference in Denver, Colorado to support registration, travel and
lodging expenses.
Eligibility
Applicants must be current San Diego PIER members or become
a member prior to submission of this application.
Travel Grant Recipient Responsibilities
PIER requires each individual who accepts the PIER travel
grant to present a 15 minute or longer presentation to the PIER members on
Friday, June 28, 2016. The PIER board will provide full details and
requirements to award recipients.
Please follow the link below to the PIER Travel Grant
Application and full details. https://form.jotform.com/60617836508158
DUE DATE
EXTENDED TO APRIL 29, 2016
April
8 PIER Meeting
Thank you to Grossmont College for hosting our next PIER
meeting. Follow this link
to the agenda and directions. We look forward to your attendance.
Volunteer
to be on the PIER Board
Have you thought about volunteering as a PIER Board member?
Do you know what happens outside of the PIER meetings as a PIER Board member?
Recently I read a NAFSA Blog post called Build
Your Career through Volunteering and it motivated me to reach out to our
current PIER Board and past PIER Chairs for inspiration on how PIER allowed
them to explore areas of responsibility, new challenges and sharing of their
skills as PIER Board member. As this blog states, volunteering on any local,
regional or national organization is an excellent way to network, present,
engage in public speaking, interact with government officials, gain leadership
skill, experience and more that you may not find in your current employer.
The busiest times on the PIER Board are at the beginning and
end of the membership year. We are deciding on membership applications,
budgets, meeting locations, agenda and more. Throughout the year, we correspond
by email and conference call to keep up to date on PIER meetings and agendas.
Open Positions:
Chair-Elect
Treasurer
Membership Coordinator
If you would like details and requirements for each PIER
Board position, please review the PIER Bylaws. In
addition, please email piergroupsd@gmail.com or speak with one of the current
PIER Board members who we will be happy to answer your questions.
STEM
OPT Rule
At our last PIER meeting, we had a good discussion about the
STEM OPT rule. Below are a few resources.
The SEVP Study in the States website has a good resource
on the rule for advisors and students called the STEM OPT HUB.
USCIS
I-765 and I-539 Applications Transfers to Potomac Service Center and Correcting
EAD Errors
On March 1, USCIS began transferring
certain cases to the Potomac Service Center (PSC) from other service
centers to balance workloads. The affected casework includes Form I-765, Application for Employment
Authorization, filed by F-1 and
M-1 students seeking Optional Practical Training (OPT) and J-1
dependents.
This announcement also includes information on how to
correct EAD errors. https://www.uscis.gov/news/potomac-service-center-now-processing-certain-form-i-765-cases
CBP
Pilot I-94 Correction Program (LAX Only)
The Los Angeles Deferred Inspection will begin a pilotI-94
on-line correction program starting April 1, 2016 to September 30, 2016.
Travelers who seek I-94 corrections between those periods
will be allowed to request the corrections by email. The email address is i94lax@cbp.dhs.gov
This will be effective and will be on-line April 1, 2016.
Somewhere
Over the Rainbow Webinars
Every Thursday this April at 1pm Eastern Time, join
Somewhere Over the Rainbow (SOTR) for some professional development. Somewhere
Over the Rainbow is pleased to present Webinars on Sexual Orientation and
Gender Identity in International Education. SOTR is sponsored by the University
of Maryland, College Park, and this webinar series is presented in
collaboration with the Consortium of Higher Education LGBT Resource
Professionals. Participation in the webinars is free of charge and open to all
and do not require a reservation.
For the most up-to-date information about the program, and
bios of the presenters, please visit the website at https://sites.google.com/site/sotrconference/home/2016-webinar-seriesand
a link to the webinar log-ins (webmeeting.umd.edu/sotr-webinars/),
Links to recordings will eventually be made available online
after the webinar for those who are unable to attend at the designated time,
but we encourage live attendance so that you can participate and engage with
the presenters.
Other
PIER Announcements
PIER Meeting Future Dates
Full meeting details and agendas are in the PIER calendar
located at the bottom of our web page.
Date: April 8, 2016
Location: Grossmont College
8800 Grossmont College Drive
El Cajon, CA 92020
Room: Griffin Gate
Time: 2:00 pm
Date: June 24, 2016
Location: San Diego State University
Time: 2:00 pm
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PIER
Board
Chair -Kasey McCarthy, Gemological Institute of America
Chair-Elect– Eric Abutin, National University
Treasurer -Martha Delgadillo, EC San Diego
Membership Coordinator - LyKai Johnson
Communications Coordinator – John Akapito, National
University
