A new immigration report was released in the news that ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a sub division of the US Department of Homeland Security) will pass a new guidance that students enrolled in online courses of study due to COVI19 cannot be in the US on an I-20. SEVP, a sub division of ICE, emailed universities on the interpretation of this guidance.

You may read the SEVP guidance here: https://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/bcm2007-01.pdf

Please understand the following:

Tennessee Tech international students are not affected by this policy. 

• We will need to modify everyone’s I-20 and you will need this new modified I-20 to enter the US.
• We will email everyone later on how I will send the new I-20s to you.

Per the President of Tennessee Tech’s email last month, the fall semester at Tennessee Tech is a normal semester where the majority of courses are in class courses (like what we had at the beginning of Spring 2020).

Any student who is stuck outside the US due to flight issues or visa issues, we can provide you options. The options include:

• Work with your department to turn classes into online classes, and then when arriving to Tennessee Tech, resume regular courses.
• Work with your department to turn classes into online classes and stay outside of the US (the I-20 will need to be cancelled and we may have the ability to reactivate it with SEVP in December).
• Not taking classes in fall and staying outside the US. The I-20 would be cancelled and a new one would need to be issued before you return in spring 2021.

If you have any questions, please contact us.