For international students who decide to fly to the U.S., an experience of studying abroad comes with much enthusiasm but also responsibilities. It is important for students to be fully equipped with knowledge on what they can and cannot do while in the country.  

Many international students looking for those answers attend Indiana University Southeast.

Luckily, the Office of International Services at Indiana University Bloomington has collaborated with IU branches, including IU Southeast, to create an online orientation program that focuses on the regulations and immigration laws that F1-Visa holders need to be aware of.  

American colleges and universities hosted more than 1.1 million students in the past year, according to a 2021 report from the Migration Policy Institute. 

According to IU Bloomington, approximately 6,500 are enrolled in Indiana University, 22 of which study at IUS. India shares the largest percentage of students across all IU campuses, followed by China and South Korea. 

Abigail Caprio works for the international service office at IUS. She studied abroad in Spain when she was college and is now an international adviser for the university.

“I think the joy with that is seeing the success stories after the students take the challenging situations and then making something of it — learning the U.S. education system and then progressing through their degree programs and seeing them having great campus experiences,” Caprio said.  

She added that It is very common for many international students to face culture shock when they first arrive in a country. Throughout the process of adjusting, IU provides support through international advisers who are willing and excited to offer help in the situations that the students may encounter, Caprio told The Horizon.

As an international adviser, she sometimes must have difficult conversations with students. 

“Unfortunately, there are certain things that we have to report to the government: Students work(ing) without authorization, not enrolling full-time. Situations where students maybe have to travel back to their country,” she said. “Those are always tough conversations to have.”

U.S. immigration law strictly specifies the number of hours and location that the international students are allowed to work. However, due to the pandemic and a shift in working styles, there are cases where the recognition of those regulations became blurred or not understood correctly.  

As a result, some students have encountered issues that could lead to the termination of their F1 visa. 

To prevent students from making mistakes, a new orientation page called “OIS Immigration & Other U.S. Laws” is now on all IU branch Canvas pages.  

The page provides short clips, scripts and a quiz aiming to educate international students about their responsibilities and to clarify government immigration law policies. The page also includes an overview of U.S. laws that students need to be aware of. 

International students are also encouraged to contact their local international advisers, who are equipped with the most up-to-date information on F1 visa regulations.