Information for International Students

If you are an international student holding a U.S. visa you might have some questions regarding impact of study abroad on your visa status. Here we provide some guidance and try to address some concerns based on experiences by previous participants of the overseas sessions. The information provided here should be used only to make a preliminary assessment of your particular situation, but it should not be considered legal advise. You must always check with the International Students Services (ISS) office to get a definitive answer for your case and the appropriate paperwork completed.

Can I participate on a study abroad program?

International students are regular participants in the Overseas Summer Lab, at a proportion similar to the fraction in the overall CBE student body. Your visa status does not prevent you from going overseas for the summer lab, but of course you should be aware of how travel can be affected by changes in your student status on graduation.

Do I need to get a new visa if I travel overseas?

Your UW student visa is generally valid until you have completed your degree requirements. Typically your I-94 admission document will show D/S as expiration date, meaning "Duration of Status". So, any students on track for graduation at the end of the Fall Semester (some required fall classes remaining to finish the BS in Chemical Engineering) should have no particular concern about re-entering the US after the overseas summer lab to finish their last courses and graduate as planned. Go to ISS early to get a travel endorsement on your I-20 or DS-2019 or any other required paperwork done before you travel.

What if summer lab is my last course before graduation?

Students graduating in August (with Summer Lab as their final course) will have their student visa status change when they complete their last educational activity. Generally ISS notes the schedules of the first and second Madison section, and the overseas sections, and converts the visa status of International students after the date when the last course has been finished. Once the degree requirements are completed, students who are in the US on student visas have 60 days to depart the US. For students outside the US on the date of completion, the prior student visa may no longer be valid for re-entry into the US. This has different impact on students taking the lab overseas in different situations:

  1. Students returning to their home countries or other non-US destinations can proceed from the Overseas Summer Lab site to their desired location. Of course, they will want to have already moved out of their Madison housing before heading out for the Summer Lab session, to avoid any need to return to Madison.

  2. Students going on to graduate school at other US universities will get new student visas from their new university, which can happen only after the UW visa status is terminated. This usually involves getting the visa at a consulate in your home country or elsewhere outside the US. Students taking Summer Lab in Madison may travel to Canada or go home to get their new visas, and students overseas for the lab have options too. With planning and coordination it is possible to receive the new visa in July or August and re-enter the US in the new visa status for graduate school classes starting in the fall.

  3. Students planning on returning and working in the US must carefully arrange their transition from their F-1 student visa to their new visa in coordination with their employer and ISS. This is slightly easier for students staying in Madison for Summer Lab, but can be managed by students in the Overseas Summer Lab sections too if you plan ahead before leaving the US for the lab course. Students intending to stay on an Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension should pay close attention to the timeline for applying for OPT status and have a secured OPT appointment from an employer within the window around the degree completion date. Further information is available from US Immigration online (https://www.uscis.gov/opt) and from ISS .

I heard that grades might not arrive on time to get my transcript ready, is this true?

While the campus IAP office generally discourages all students from doing Study Abroad for their last semester because of possible administrative delays in receipt of grades from host institutions, this does not apply to Overseas Summer Lab. We send 30-40 students abroad for our three overseas lab sections every year. Our courses are lead by UW staff, and so grades and completion documentation are reliably available immediately after each section finishes. Thus, August graduates can freely take the lab course in Madison or any of the overseas sections and still graduate on schedule, without delay.