TL;DR: Read this entire email for important and time sensitive information about proposed changes to duration of SEVIS status for F and J visa holders. Submit public comments to oppose these changes by September 29th.
We hope this email finds you well. As our campus welcomes a new cohort of graduate students and postdocs, we would like to celebrate the strength of our international community for standing strong in the face of unprecedented attacks by the federal administration. On September 26 from 1:00PM – 3:00PM, our union will be hosting a social to welcome new and current international scholars – we encourage all workers to attend. This is a good opportunity for us to come together to celebrate the universal values of scientific pursuit and solidarity, especially in light of recent attacks on science funding and international scholar rights.
It is only month eight of the Trump administration and the Department of Homeland Security is announcing historic changes to the SEVIS program. These changes are vast in scope, and affect every international student and postdoctoral scholar in the country, not to mention the future of US academia. Please refer to the International Student Program’s “ISP Special Alert” for a comprehensive outlook on the situation. Disclaimer: there have been no concrete policy changes as of this moment. The proposed rule also contains minutiae and ambiguities that complicate things further, as laid out by NAFSA: Association of International Educators. Some of the proposed policy changes are –
- The current proposal is to have F-1 SEVIS statuses lapse at the four year mark.
- The first change is to end “Duration of Status” (seen as “D/S” on the I-94) for F and J nonimmigrants.
- Currently the D/S policy allows international students and scholars to stay in the U.S. as long as they maintain a valid visa status and are pursuing an academic or research program or in an OPT program.
- The second change requires international scholars to have USCIS approve changes to course of study, level of study as well as extensions of stay.
- Shorten grace periods that are important when international students and scholars need to change jobs to transition between visa types.
Again, it’s important to remember these changes have not gone into effect yet. The Federal Register is accepting public comment on these proposed changes here until the 29th of September. When similar policy changes were proposed by the Trump administration in 2020, public comment from individuals, universities, and the UAW International helped stop the changes from passing. Read more on best practices for public comment.
- Here is a draft email that members can send the DHS
- And UAW has set up a form for you to submit comments: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/2025-dhs-comment
It seems DHS has been shortsighted, or is deliberately ignoring the fact that graduate programs extend past four years. Further, requiring approval from USCIS to change our courses of study might prevent international students who are in abusive or discriminatory work-place environments. Recently-enacted changes such as a “Visa Integrity Fee” of $250 are also going to burden international scholars.
What can we do?
On the 27th of August our union hosted a Question and Answer session with Caltech’s International Offices. We made some progress in understanding Caltech’s response to these far reaching changes. As it stands these are the resources that international scholars can access.
- Gumpel fund – supports emergency needs of international workers and their dependants regarding unplanned immigration-related expenses
- $500 visa reimbursement per our collective bargaining agreement
- Now includes possible legal fees
- UAW International’s Immigration Hotline (888) 416-2110 – where international grads and postdocs can access pro-bono legal services or ask questions about changes to immigration law.
We know that our collective voice has the potential to move policy in this country. Our recent town hall with Reps Judy Chu and George Whitesides pushed our issues all the way to Congress. By engaging with DHS’s public comment forum we can show that this issue is of grave concern to our community. After the Question and Answer session Caltech indicated it as an institution would be leaving an official comment against these proposed rule changes.
No change is possible without the advocacy and engagement of our international community – the more we stay engaged in our union’s democracy the stronger we are for the next 3+ years of the Trump administration.
In solidarity,
UAW 2478 International Workers Committee