General Information for International Students
Note: Click on the underlined Topic to link to information below or to another link.
1. Appointments with Tampa USCIS
2. Approaching Age 21 & What Is Needed (for Dependent Child on Visa Status other than F-1)
4. Credential Evaluation Services
5. Economic Hardship Checklist
6. English Language Programs, Intensive
7. Entry & Re-Entry into U.S. (USICE Rules & Regulations)
8. Forms & Fees: U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS)
9. Health/Accident Insurance Requirements H/A Company Listings & H/A Insurance Form
10. Keeping Documents Up To Date
11. Local Housing
14. Practical Training, Curricular
15. Practical Training, Optional
16. Social Security Number, Getting a
19. Traveling Within the United States of America
20. Tutoring On-line
21. Web-Based or Distance Learning Classes
22. Work Permits
1. Appointments with Tampa USCIS.
All appointments with the Tampa Field Office of the Department of Homeland Security,
U.S. Citizen & Immigration Services (USCIS) must be made online. You may not just
walk in or call them anymore. For information about the Tampa Field Office or to make an appointment go to: Infopass
2. Approaching Age 21 & What Is Needed (for Dependent Child on Visa Status other than F-1)
Any Dependent Child whose parents are here on some type of work status may be in the U.S. only until age 21--No matter what the I-94 Card or Visa may say! For example, if a student is in the local area with their family on, lets say, the E-2 status, and they will be age 21 on August 2, 2006, even though their I-94 Card states their status expires July 26, 2007, they are illegal on August 2, 2006. Anyone in this situation may want to start to change their status to the F-1 status at least 6 months prior to their 21st birth date. For the change of status process please contact The Coordinator of Educational Records. This office will guide the student through the entire process.
7. Entry & Re-Entry into the U.S. (USICE Rules & Regulations)
It is of utmost importance for any student here on any visa to study the rules, regulations and procedures on the USICE Web site before making any plans to leave the United States, to make sure all the rules and regulations are followed so that the student will be able to re-enter the U.S. at a future time.
8. Forms & Fees: U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS)
see Forms and Fees
Required Information for USICE/SEVIS: As international students arrive in the U.S.,
they must provide the Coordinator of Educational Records on the SCF-Bradenton Campus
with their original passport, I-94 Card, I-20 to be copied, and their new local address.
Once students gain a Florida Driver's License and/or Social Security Card, these documents
must also be provided to the Office of International Student Services for copying.
Students attending college on SCF Venice Campus may present these same documents to
the Educational Records office on that campus.
10 Keeping Documents Up to Date: All international students must keep their passports up to date with at least 6 months or more remaining before expiration. Renewing a passport is completed by contacting the student's embassy and following their instructions.
For the location and contact information go to the foreign embassies and consular offices in the U. S. pages on the U.S. State Department's Web site.
All students on a visa other than the F-1 Student Status, must make sure the expiration date listed on their I-94 card does not expire.
Any student who is a dependent on their parent's visa status must apply to change their status to the F-1 Student Status 4 to 6 months prior to their 21st birth date.
All students on the F-1 Student Status must follow the completion date on their I-20 and make sure they graduate by that date. If it looks like the student will not graduate by that date, the student must contact the Coordinator of Educational Records for guidance.
As international students arrive in the U.S., they must provide the Coordinator of Admissions & International Student Services on the SCF Bradenton Campus with their original passport, I-94 Card, I-20 to be copied, and their new local address. Once students gain a Florida Driver's License and/or Social Security Card, these documents must also be provided to the Office of International Student Services for copying.
Students attending college on SCF Venice Campus may present these same documents to the Educational Records office on that campus.
Click here for Assessment Testing Forms/Information
Hours of Operation
Contact Information for SCF Bradenton or SCF Venice
Downloadable Test Review & Information Guide
On-line Practice Placement Test
Other Testing Forms
Click on the following if you are:
Transfer Students from U.S. High Schools
Transfer Students from U.S. Colleges & Universities
Transfer Students from Universities Outside the U.S.
19. Traveling Within the United States of America
The U. S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (USICE) is advising all international students who are on any type of visa, when traveling in the local area to carry photocopies of their I-94 card, picture page of passport, visa and SEVIS-issued I-20 (if on F-1 status) with them at all times.
If an international student travels outside of the Tampa Bay area anywhere in the U.S. (including possible hurricane evacuations), they must carry with them at all times their original documents: driver's license, visa, passport, SEVIS-issued I-20 or DS 2019, I-94 card, Social Security card, EAC card, SCF ID card, special medical information, insurance policies, financial records, CASH, checks, credit cards, plane tickets, and anything else of value to the student's staying in the U.S.
21. WEB-Based or Distance Learning Classes
For F-1 students enrolled in classes for credit (classroom) hours, no more than the equivalent of one class or three credit hours per session, term or semester may be taken on-line or through distance learning in a course that does not require the student's physical attendance for the classes, examination, or other purposes integral to completion of the class. An on-line or distance-learning course is a course that is offered principally through the use of television, audio, or computer transmission including open broadcast, closed circuit, cable, microwave, or satellite, audio conferencing, or computer conferencing.
For those students who have registered for nine (9) semester hours of on-campus courses and one (1) 3-credit-hours distance-learning course for a total of 12 credit hours, the regulations also state that additional distance-learning courses may be taken. However, the student must never withdraw from any of the 9 semester hours of on-campus courses, or the student would be considered illegal with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (USICE).
22. Work Permits
General Information
Curricular Practical Training (Eligibility Criteria for Pay)
Optional Practical Training Checklist
Severe Economic Hardship Checklist
Social Security Information
Working On Campus
All students on the F-1 Student Status are permitted to work only on campus. If there
is employment available, work would be only for up to 20 hours per week. Please note: It is very important that you see the Coordinator of Admissions & International Student Services BEFORE taking any steps towards obtaining employment to help walk you through the process so
everything is done correctly.
