May Highlights Include: 

1.  Congratulations to Graduating International Students and Farewell to Exchange Students

2.  International Travel & Immigration Reminders

3.  Fraudulent emails Supposedly from the IRS

4.  Need to Ship Anything Home?

5.  OPT Workshop for Summer Graduates – Please Attend!

6.  Summer Registration & Summer Employment

7.  International Student Award Winners!

8.  Calling all Orientation Volunteers!

9.  Address Updates?

10. Graduation Questions?

11. Marian and Denise out of the office in May/June

12. ISSO Summer Office Hours

13. Summer Programs/Activities

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1.  Congratulations to Graduating International Students and Farewell to Exchange Students

We in the ISSO have enjoyed having you with us and hope that your experiences at UNC Charlotte have been positive as well as unforgettable!  We wish you well in your future and hope that our paths may cross again someday. 

2.  International Travel & Immigration Reminders

The end of the semester is approaching fast, so if you plan on traveling outside of the U.S. this summer, please read the important reminders below… 

·         Make sure page 3 of your I-20 (for F-1s) or page 1 of DS-2019 (for J-1s) has been signed within the past year.  If not, bring it to the ISSO for a signature at least 1 week prior to your departure.

·         Check to make sure that your visa and your passport will be valid on the day you re-enter the U.S.  If not, you must extend them accordingly.  If you have questions about this, please ask us.

·         Take proof of financial support and registration with you, in case you are questioned upon re-entry to the U.S.

·         If you have applied for OPT, make sure you take your EAD and an offer of temporary employment with you.

·         If you will begin a new degree program in the fall, make sure you take your NEW I-20/DS-2019 for re-entry to the U.S.

·         If you will transfer to another university in the Fall, you must re-enter the U.S with your NEW I-20/DS-2019, rather than your current UNC Charlotte document.

·         If you are transiting via another country, check to see if you will need a visa from that country’s government.

·         Special Registrants (NSEERS) are still required to register their departure from the U.S. at http://www.ice.gov/graphics/enforce/imm/imm_sr.htm
If you have questions, please see Marian or Denise in the ISSO. 

3.  Fraudulent emails Supposedly from the IRS

The IRS has reported that there are a series of FRADULENT emails circulating to foreign nationals asking for personal information to prepare a refund.  Please know that the IRS never sends an email so you should not respond to it.  If the IRS has a question, they have the taxpayer ID number and will send a letter. 

Also, CINTAX will never send an email to anyone asking for an SSN or ITIN.  You should be very careful to not answer emails that make such requests, regardless of who the email is from.  IF you receive an email asking for personal information to be sent via return email, the sender is acting irresponsibly and should not be trusted.  Please notify the ISSO so that we can report this to CINTAX.

4.  Need to Ship Anything Home?

If you have accumulated too many things and don’t have enough room in your luggage you might need to consider shipping things home!  There are many different ways to do this, and one source is “Navis Pack & Ship”.  For free estimates call Mike Patterson at 704-423-0330 (office) or 704-609-5974 (mobile). 

5.  OPT Workshop for Summer Graduates – Please Attend!

·         Summer graduates interested in applying for Optional Practical Training must attend an information session on Friday, May 9^th at 3pm in CHHS 284.   

THIS IS ESPECIALLY CRITICAL IN LIGHT OF THE RECENT CHANGES IN OPT REGULATIONS, SO PLEASE ATTEND! 

·         J-1 students interested in Academic Training must see Marian or Denise prior to program end date for application information.

·         For more information, see http://www.isso.uncc.edu/optcpt.htm

6.  Summer Registration & Summer Employment

Students must register in the summer only if it is your very last semester.  Otherwise, it is not required.  Also, you may work on campus during the summer if you are registered for Summer and/or Fall Semester.  If you have specific questions, please ask!         

7.  International Student Award Winners!

The International Club and Phi Beta Delta Honor Society for International Scholars co-sponsored the Spring 2008 Student Writing Competition on the theme of "Crossing Borders".  Congratulations to the following students, whose papers were selected as winning papers!   

Graduate Students
1^st place - Lalit Mandal
Honorary mention – Iryna Bugayova and Chengxiu Sun 

Undergraduate Students
1^st place - Ji-Hye Kim
Honorary mention - Russ Powell and George Schaaf 

ELTI students
1^st place - Tam T. Nguyen
Honorary mention - Young Mon Kim and Un Jin Park  

To read these essays, go to http://www.oip.uncc.edu/pbd/writingwinners.htm

8.  Calling all Orientation Volunteers!

Do you remember when you were a new student here?  Do you want to help new students with their transition to UNC Charlotte?  Volunteer your experience and expertise at the fall orientation programs!   

International Undergraduate Orientation will be held on August 20^th from 8:30am-12pm International Graduate Orientation will be held on August 21^st from 8:30am-1pm  

If you are interested and will be available please contact Denise at dvmedei@uncc.edu as soon as possible!  We need your help…  

9.  Address Updates?

Continuing and graduating international students must update local and permanent address in 49er Express, both for SEVIS reporting purposes as well as university communication purposes.  If you are returning to your home country, please also make this update in 49er Express.  

10.  Graduation Questions?

If you are not clear about procedures and times for the May 10^th graduation ceremonies, you may want to check the following website for information:  http://www.uncc.edu/graduation

11.  Marian and Denise out of the office in May/June

Both Marian and Denise will be attending a conference from May 26-30.  Please make sure you have asked any important questions and obtained any travel signatures prior to this time. 

12.  ISSO Summer Office Hours

The ISSO will continue to be open regular hours during both summer sessions; 8am-5pm Monday through Friday.  

13.  Summer Programs/Activities

The ISSO is planning to have 2 International Coffee Hour events during the summer.  They will be on Thursday, June 12 and Thursday, July 10.  If you are around campus, we hope to see you at the Prospector Faculty/Staff Café between 4-6pm!