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September ISSO Newsletter
Welcome or
welcome “back” to a new semester! We in the ISSO wish you both a productive and
an enjoyable semester. As always, our staff is available to provide
information, services and programs that help international students to be
successful and to have positive experiences here in the U.S. In addition, we
are your first source for accurate and up-to-date immigration & employment
information, so we hope that you will come to us with any questions you may
have. Also, please remember to check out our website for all the latest
information. www.isso.uncc.edu
The ISSO
Staff
Marian Beane,
Director
mebeane@uncc.edu
Denise Medeiros, Assistant Director
dvmedei@uncc.edu
Debbie
Wilson, Administrative Assistant
Chau Tran, SEVIS Coordinator
·
Reminder: Monday, Sept. 1 is a holiday and UNC Charlotte is closed
·
Labor
Day Cookout with Campus International Fellowship Sept. 1
· OPT
Information Sessions for Students Wishing to Apply for OPT (F-1 students) Sept 3
&12
·
International Coffee Hour Sept. 4
·
Reminder
to Enroll FULLTIME by Sept. 4
· Immunizations
due Sept.5
·
Yard Sale with
Campus International Fellowship Sept. 6
·
Social Security Visit Sept. 11
· Health
Insurance Waivers due Sept. 23
· Reminder
to update your MAILING address in 49er Express
·
Be a Cultural Ambassador - Teach
Others about your Country!
·
Apply
for a ‘Host Family’ in Charlotte & Learn about US Culture
·
Letters of Invitation or
Enrollment
·
Find Out What’s Happening
Off-Campus!
· Ifest
2008 - Represent Your Country
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Reminder: Monday, Sept. 1 is a holiday and UNC Charlotte is closed on this day.
Labor
Day Cookout with Campus International Fellowship Sept. 1
Join Campus
International Fellowship for an American-style cook-out on the Front Field (near
the Highrises), on Monday Labor Day (Sept. 1) from 6:00pm until dark. There
will be food, games, and fun.
OPT Information Sessions for Students Wishing to Apply for OPT (F-1 students)
Sept. 3 & 12
Information
Sessions will be held for any December graduate or student in the thesis only
portion of their program who is interested in applying for Optional Practical
Training (work authorization in your field of study).
Please plan
to attend one of the following sessions, so that we can answer all of
your questions in a group setting. It’s best to apply for OPT prior to program
completion since processing time can be up to 3 months!
·
Wednesday,
September 3rd at 4pm in CHHS room 289
·
Friday,
September 12th at 4pm in CHHS room 289
International Coffee Hour Sept. 4
Fall semester
has begun and that means International Coffee Hour is back! It is a great place
to come, meet other students and relax with coffee, snacks and good
conversation! It is always held the 1st and 3rd Thursdays
of each month, and the first one of the semester is next Thursday, September 4th!
Take a friend with you or meet one there.
·
Where?
The Prospector Faculty/Staff Dining Room
When? Anytime between 4 and 6pm
Reminder to Enroll FULLTIME by
Sept. 4
Fulltime
status is calculated as follows:
Undergraduate
= 12 credit hours
Graduate
= 9 credit hours without assistantship or with ‘GASP’ award; 6 credit hours with
Graduate School approved Assistantship; or enrollment in ‘thesis’, ‘project’,
‘dissertation’ or ‘residency’ upon completion of all required coursework.
·
If you are in
your final semester of coursework and do not need a full course of study to
graduate, then you MUST turn in a “Reduced Courseload Authorization Form”
to the ISSO immediately.
·
If you are a
graduate student who has or will be receiving a Graduate Assistantship, make
sure that you have returned your signed contract to the Graduate School.
Immunizations due Sept. 5
Remember, if
the Student Health Center does not have records of your immunizations (shots) by
September 5th then your classes will be canceled. If you still need
some immunizations or you’re not sure if they received your records it’s
critical that you call the health center to schedule an appointment
704-687-4619. For more information go to
http://www.studenthealth.uncc.edu/immunizations information for new students.htm
Yard Sale with
Campus International Fellowship Sept. 6
Looking for
some inexpensive used items for your apartment or residence hall? Check out the
famous ‘Yard Sale’ by Campus International Fellowship from 8:30am-12:30pm in
parking lot 5B. Arrive early for the best deals!
Social Security Visit Sept. 11
Any student
who works on campus must have a social security number. After completing the
I-9 employment paperwork, an employment offer letter will be created for each
student and should be picked-up in the ISSO on Sept. 8th.
On Sept. 11th
between 1-4pm a representative from the Social Security Administration will be
in CHHS 2nd floor lounge to accept applications. Please take the
following with you for this meeting:
·
your passport
with I-94 card
·
your I-20 or
DS-2019
·
your letter
of employment
Health Insurance Waivers due
Sept. 23
Don’t forget
– submit your health insurance waiver by the end of the day on Sept. 23rd
if you DO NOT wish to purchase the UNC Charlotte health insurance plan. If you
do not submit a waiver by this date, you will automatically be billed for the
full amount of the health insurance. Go to
http://www.healthsvcs.uncc.edu for
more information.
Reminder to
update your MAILING address in 49er Express
New students
living off-campus, if you haven’t done so already, please update your MAILING
address in 49er Express. Without this information, we can’t report to USCIS
that you are here and enrolled fulltime! This address needs to be where you are
currently residing in the Charlotte area.
Be a Cultural Ambassador!
The Cultural Ambassador program provides international students with an
opportunity to educate UNC Charlotte students, faculty and staff about their
culture and experience as international students in the US.
How does it
work? When the ISSO staff is contacted by a professor or staff member we will
notify a small group of international students who have signed-up for this
program and organize a panel with discussion questions. The panel discussion
will be facilitated by an ISSO staff member and the audience may ask questions
at the end. If you are interested in this opportunity, please send an email to
dvmedei@uncc.edu
Apply for a ‘Host Family’ in Charlotte & Learn about US Culture
The Host
Family program is a friendship-based program between international students and
Charlotte-area families. It is not a live-in situation but rather a hospitality
program which provides an opportunity for friendship cross-cultural learning.
To submit an application, please come to the ISSO in the Health & Human Services
Building, Room 202.
Letters of Invitation or
Enrollment
Are you
thinking about inviting your family or friends for a visit to Charlotte? If so,
the ISSO can issue a letter of invitation if you make a request at
http://www.isso.uncc.edu/forms.htm
. Requests for letters of enrollment are also available at the same site.
Find Out
What’s Happening Off-Campus!
Expand your
horizons and explore Charlotte. There are plenty of things to do and new places
to discover. Check out the ‘Creative Loafing’ newspaper for a full listing of
events, bars & restaurants, theater, music, etc.
http://charlotte.creativeloafing.com/gyrobase/index
Ifest 2008 – Represent Your
Country!
UNC
Charlotte’s 32nd Annual International Festival (Ifest) will be held
on Saturday, September 29th. This event is attended by nearly 10,000 people in
Charlotte and beyond, and over 50 countries are represented each year! For more
information on how to participate, send an email to Marian Beane, Chair of the
Ifest Committee at
mebeane@uncc.edu
Other Questions?
If you have
other questions that we did not address in this newsletter, please let us know!
Send an email to Denise Medeiros
dvmedei@uncc.edu or Marian Beane
mebeane@uncc.edu or schedule an appointment by calling 704-687-7781.
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