In This Issue:
·
PIER Announcements
·
Next PIER Meeting
·
PIER Board Membership
·
NAFSA Academy
·
NAFSA Region XII 2017 Conference
·
USCIS Policy on COS to F1/M1
·
PIER Meeting Dates
PIER
Announcements
Dear SD PIER Members,
We hope your spring is going well. It was great to see all of those who were
able to participate in the tour of the U.S. Consulate General, Tijuana on April
27, 2017. PIER looks forward to
providing future opportunities such as these to gain more insight into our
field and connect with your PIER colleagues.
We look forward to seeing you at our final 2016-2017
PIER meeting.
Next
PIER Meeting
Date: Friday, June 23, 2017
Location: Mira Costa College, San Elijo
Campus
3333 Manchester Ave.
Cardiff, CA 92007
Time: 1:00 – 3:00 pm
(Please note that the meeting time has
been changed from 2:00 pm to 1:00 pm)
Additional meeting information to follow. If you are interested in including any items
to the agenda, please email PIER at piergroupsd@gmail.com by June 9, 2017. We welcome your presentations and ideas.
Volunteer to be on
the 2017-2018 PIER Board
Have you thought about volunteering as a PIER Board member?
Are you interested in lending your skills and collaborating with your fellow
colleagues in the International field?
Do you know what happens outside of the PIER meetings as a PIER Board
member? The busiest times on the PIER
Board are at the beginning and end of the membership year. We are deciding on
agendas, meeting locations, membership applications, budgets, and more. Throughout the year, we correspond by email
and conference call to keep up to date on PIER updates, meetings, and agendas.
Open Positions for
the 2017-2018 PIER Board:
Chair-Elect
Communications
Coordinator
If you are interested in including your name as nominee for
one of the above positions, please email piergroupsd@gmail.com
by no later than May 26, 2017. If you would like details and requirements
for each PIER Board position, please review the PIER Bylaws. In addition, please email piergroupsd@gmail.com if you have any
questions or speak with one of the current PIER Board members who will be happy
to answer your questions.
PIER Board
Elections
Stay tuned as we will send out a ballot for the new PIER
board nominees.
NAFSA Academy
Coach Application for Class 15 are open! Applications will close on June 15,
2017.
The Academy for International Education is a yearlong
professional development program designed to provide newcomers with an
introduction to the field of international education and those who are more
experience with an opportunity to broaden their experiences. Experienced
international education serve and coaches and guide the learning process of a
cohort of up to six Academy trainees.
The NAFSA Academy for International Education is now
accepting applications to select two Coaches from Region XII for Academy Class
15. Academy coaches will have the opportunity to improve their mentoring and
training skills, connect with other regional coaches and grow their NAFSA
network, and most importantly, contribute to the professional development of
international educators in their Region.
Becoming a NAFSA Academy Coach is a fun and rewarding way to
become involved with NAFSA on a higher level! Applications are due by Monday,
June 15, 2017. Please visit the NAFSA Academy page to
read more about becoming an Academy Coach and to download the application.
2017 NAFSA Region
XII Conference: Call for Proposals Now Open!
The 2017 NAFSA Region XII Conference will be taking place
from October 23-October 27, 2017 in Sacramento, CA. Have you considered submitting a proposal for
the regional conference? Here is some basic guidance
from NAFSA for thoughtfully and intentionally developing a session
proposal! Accepted proposals submitted
before June 8, qualify for a $40 discount each for up to two presenters.
If you have any questions about proposals, please contact
the Proposal Committee Chair, Steve Jacques, at jacques@hawaii.edu. Go to https://www.conferenceabstracts.com/cfp2/home.asp
to submit your proposals.
USCIS Policy on
Filing Bridge Applications During COS to F-1 or M-1 Status
On April 13, 2017 USCIS updated its website to clarify that
an applicant changing from B-1 or B-2 visitor status to F-1 or M-1 student must
file a separate "bridge" I-539 application if needed to make sure
that the applicant's visitor status expires no later than 30 days before the
F-1 or M-1 program start date, including circumstances where the program start
date is deferred in order to prevent the SEVIS record from canceling while the
COS application is pending. USCIS
included the following information for applicants changing from B-1 or B-2
visitor status to F-1 or M-1 student:
You must maintain your B-1 or B-2
status while your Form I-539 is pending. You
will need to file a second Form I-539, with a separate fee, to request an
extension of your B-1 or B-2 status if:
·
Your current status will expire more
than 30 days before the initial F-1 or M-1 program start date. We may approve
your Form I-539 change of status request only if you are maintaining your
B-1/B-2 status up to 30 days before your program’s initial start date. If your status will expire more than 30 days before your F-1 or M-1
program’s initial start date, you must file a second Form I-539 requesting to
extend your B-1 or B-2 status. If you do not file this extension request on
time, we will deny your Form I-539 request to change to F-1 or M-1 status.
Please check our processing times to determine if you need to file a request to
extend your B-1/B-2 status.
· Your F-1 or M-1 program start date is
deferred to the following academic term or semester because we did not make a
decision on your Form I-539 change of status application before your originally
intended F-1 program start date. You must file a second Form I-539 in
order to bridge the gap in time between when your current status expires and
the 30 day period before your new F-1 program start date.
Because extending your current stay in
B-1 or B-2 status and changing from B-1 or B-2 to F-1 or M-1 status are two
distinct benefits, you must pay a separate filing fee for each request. See the
User Fee Statute, 31 U.S.C. 9701.
For more information regarding this
update please visit the USCIS and NAFSA resources (below):
PIER Meeting
Future Dates
Please save the date for our final 2016-2017 PIER meeting.
Date: June 23, 2017
Location: Mira Costa College, San Elijo
Campus
3333 Manchester Ave.
Cardiff, CA 92007
Time: 1:00 pm
Do you have an item or job
posting you would like to post in the PIER newsletter that is valuable to PIER
members? Please email piergroupsd@gmail.com with your inquiry. Thank
you. The PIER Board reserves the
right to edit content.
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PIER Board
Chair
- Eric Abutin, National
University
Chair-Elect – Rhonaliza
Reyes, University of San Diego
Treasurer –
Vanessa Fennell, Stafford House San Diego
Membership Coordinator – Mia
Scavone, Mira Costa College
Communications Coordinator – John Akapito,
National University