On July 14th, the US government agreed to rescind the July 6th policy directive that would have required international students to enroll in at least one in-person course in order to remain in the US. With the rescinding of the new policy, visa regulations will continue to follow the temporary regulatory exception of March 2020 that allowed continuing international students to proceed with their education wholly remotely for spring and summer 2020 terms. The US government’s reversal was in immediate response to a suit filed by Harvard and MIT; however, this suit was part of a nationwide effort to counter this policy, which included legal actions by the UC and the State of California. Please know that we, and faculty and administrative colleagues, will continue to monitor any developments related to this rescinding of policy, as well as any other matters that may affect our international community. As always, you are welcome to reach out to us with any questions or if we can otherwise be of assistance.

• Garett Gietzen, Director of International Affairs: ggietzen@ucmerced.edu; 209-285-9780
• Becky Mirza, Assistant Director for ISS (H, O, TN, E-3, Perm. Residency): bmirza@ucmerced.edu; 209-355-0913
• Rico Johnson, Scholar Visa Specialist (J-1 scholars): rjohnson26@ucmerced.edu; 209-355-1018
• Lacey Long-Vejar, Student Visa Specialist (F-1, incl. OPT & CPT, J-1 students): llongvejar@ucmerced.edu; 209-259-8913

ISS-related emergencies: Becky Mirza (209-355-0913)