June 25: International Student Graduation Reception June 26: 49th Annual Foothill College Commencement June 29: Summer Session 09 Starts July 3: Campus closed for Independence Day July 10: Campus closed Fridays, July 3 Sep.4
We hope that you will join us for a spectacular event to honor your friends and celebrate various achievements of our international students (International Night volunteers, Honors Scholars, Scholarship Recipients, etc.) as well as all students who will be graduating, transferring or leaving Foothill this summer.
When: Thursday, June 25
3:00 pm -4:00 pm Ceremony (Student Lounge)
4:00 pm 5:00 pm Reception with entertainment, games and prizes (Campus Center Plaza)
The program includes:
Welcome by International Programs staff
Keynote Speaker: Professor Scott Lankford
Student Speaker: Jessica Lays (Singapore)
Inspirational vocal performance by Colin Madondo
Special award announcements - find out which international students are selected for one-of-a-kind awards and prizes
Certificate ceremony for all graduating/transferring students
Current students:Fill out the form to nominate an international student/instructor.You can nominate an international student for a multicultural contribution award and also an outstanding instructor for an award. All respondents will be entered into a free backpack drawing. The awards will be announced at the Graduation Reception.
Delicious international hors doeuvres and ice cream will be cordially provided.
NB! Participation in the ceremony is NOT limited only to graduating students. All international students (graduating, transferring, etc.) will be publicly recognized.
Attendance is open to all!
For more information and photo slideshow, visit the International Graduation Reception website. If you have any questions, please contact Viktoria Kolesnikova (650-949-7159) or Allison Largent (650-949-7105).
If you have plans to travel outside of the U.S. this summer, please request a travel signature on your I-20 as soon as possible by coming to the International Student Office in Room 5922. The official deadline for requesting travel signatures is June 22, so please request your signature immediately, and we will do our best to process it in time.
Check your I-20 to make certain it is signed for travel and reentry on the bottom of page 3. If the I-20 is not signed for travel, or if the signature will be more than 6 months old at the time of your expected return to the U.S., you must request another signature.
If you dont apply by June 22, your I-20 may not be ready by the time you are scheduled to leave the country. Please stop by the International Student Office in Room 5922 to drop off your I-20 for a travel signature.
If you are planning to travel outside the United States, please check the validity of the F-1 visa in your passport.
If your F-1 visa is expired, you must re-apply for a new F-1 visa only if you plan to leave the United States and re-enter. It is not necessary to re-apply for your F-1 visa if you are not planning a trip outside the U.S. Remember that you cannot re-enter the U.S. with an expired F-1 visa and will have to obtain a new F-1 visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate (unless you are visiting Canada, Mexico or adjacent islands for less than 30 days see Arthur Levine for more information).
If you dont have an F-1 visa in your passport because you changed to F-1 status while in the United States, you must get an F-1 visa in order to re-enter United States. If you are in this situation, please come in to the office to have a personal consultation with Arthur Levine before departing the U.S. You should carefully consider whether or not you should travel, because it is highly possible that you may not be able get an F-1 visa at the U.S. consulate or embassy.
SEVIS Fee: If you have never had an F-1 visa, you must pay the I-901fee/SEVIS fee of $200.00 (the fee may increase in the near future) online before you apply for the visa and attach the fee receipt to your visa application. The SEVIS fee is in addition to the visa application fee and cannot be paid at the embassy/consulate. If the embassy requires the SEVIS fee, the visa will not be issued until you submit a receipt showing that the fee has been paid. You can pay the fee online with a credit card and print a receipt immediately. Please visit our office if you need more information about this fee.
If you are a continuing F-1 student that has paid the fee in the past, or if you are a continuing student that was in the U.S. prior to September 1, 2004, you should not be required to pay the fee again. However, it is possible that the embassy will insist that you pay the fee anyway, because some consular officers are not aware of the SEVIS fee requirements. If the consular officer insists that you pay the fee, only you can decide if it is easier to pay it or dispute the fee with the consular officer.
Valid Passport: The expiration date in your passport should always be at least 6 months into the future when you apply for a visa and re-enter the U.S. To extend your passport beyond the expiration date, please contact your countrys nearest consulate or embassy in the United States or an appropriate organization in your home country.
Instructions: Even if you missed the June 15 deadline, please do not neglect this obligation, fill out Form 8843 manually and send it out as soon as you can. All instructions, including the address, the sample filled-out form and the blank form can be found in the Tax Edition of I-NEWS under What Forms You Should File in the 3rd paragraph.
In order to comply with U.S. regulations, EVERY nonimmigrant who was physically present (whether you worked OR NOT) in the U.S. in 2008 should file some type of form with the Internal Revenue Service. This applies to every nonimmigrant in F-1/ F-2, and J-1/ J-2 status.
If you did not earn any income but were PRESENT in the US in 2008 (EVEN FOR 1 DAY), you are REQUIRED to file a federal Form 8843 with the Internal Revenue Service by June 15, 2009
IMPORTANT: This rule is also applicable to your dependents, spouses and children in F-2 and J-2 immigration status.
Note: If you are considered a resident for tax purposes, you do not have to fill out Form 8843. For more information about tax residency, please check the special Tax Edition of I-NEWS.
Note that June 15, 2009 deadline is not applicable to those individuals who already filed their 2008 tax returns by April 15, 2009.
Meet the conditions for admission by the school/university to which you intend to transfer.
Submit a copy of your acceptance letter and a completed Foothill Transfer Out Request Form to the ISO after the 8th week of your last quarter. Your new school may also give you its own transfer form to be completed by our office.
The transfer form and acceptance notification will be reviewed by the International Student Advisor to determine if you are in lawful (valid) immigration status. Since the review process can take 1 to 2 weeks, please submit your request as early as possible.
If approved, Foothill will enter the name of the school/university you want to transfer to and the "release date" into SEVIS. The "release date" is the official last day of your last quarter as stated in the Foothill College schedule.
When the release date is reached, SEVIS will electronically transfer your immigration record to the new school. SEVIS does not allow the new school to issue an I-20 to you prior to the release date, only on or after. If you are not traveling outside the USA before attending the new school, many universities will not give you the new I-20 until you arrive on campus.
If you are planning to travel outside the U.S. after Spring 09 and are not returning to Foothill, you must use the I-20 of the new school to re-enter. It would be a violation of immigration regulations to use the Foothill I-20 to re-enter the U.S. if you are planning to attend another college/university.
If you have applied to more than one school/university, it is very important for you to consider the timing while notifying Foothill about your transfer school choice. Before the release date, Foothill can change the name of the school to which you want to transfer. For example, if you told us you want to transfer to school "A", and we enter the transfer information about school "A" into SEVIS, we can change the transfer school name to "B" or "C" only until the day before the release date. However, if we enter the name of school "A" into SEVIS, and you inform us after the release date that you want to transfer to a different school or remain at Foothill, the process becomes much more complicated. After the release date Foothill cannot stop the transfer process, and your SEVIS record will be transferred to school "A". In that case, you would have to request school "A", the original transfer school entered into SEVIS, to transfer you to another school that you would like to attend. You should be certain of the school you want to attend before you request Foothill to release you.
If you are unsure of your school choice, you have 60 days after June 26 to request Foothill College to release your record in SEVIS and to complete the transfer out procedure. Please see Barbara Brown in the ISO if you have questions.
If you are transferring to another institution for the Fall 09 quarter, your health insurance will end on August 14. Ask your new school for the date your new insurance coverage will begin. If you will be without insurance, you can ask your new college/university if you can purchase one month of insurance in advance.
Summer session will begin the week of June 26 and end on August 9, 2009. If youre interested in taking classes during the summer, please note that registration began on June 2. All continuing international students are permitted to take summer session classes and may enroll in zero to twelve units before consulting their counselor. For more information, please visit Summer Session 2009 Schedule.
Curricular Practical Training (CPT) will be available at Foothill during the summer but you must enroll in the necessary COOP class by the end of the first week of summer session. June 29 is the earliest date that you can begin employment, and it must be completed no later than August 21. If you have questions about CPT, please consult Arthur Levine in Room 5922.
Are you staying in Silicon Valley this summer, perhaps taking summer classes? Would you like a chance to travel to a local attraction, make new friends, and have fun with old friends? Join our summer field trip!
The International Programs Office will be organizing a field trip for all international students this summer, most likely on or around August 6, 2009. If you are going to be in the area and are interested in joining, please stay tuned for more information or contact CrattyLark@fhda.edu or LargentAllison@fhda.edu. This field trip will include new students participating in our Summer Bridge Intensive ESL Program as well as continuing students. The location will be announced soon, but will likely be Alcatraz and San Francisco, Monterey and Carmel, or another exciting area! Please contact us with any suggestions or requests.
Foothill College will host its annual graduation ceremonies at the following times:
Reconocimiento (Latina/Latino Student Recognition Ceremony): Thursday, June 25 at 5:30 - 7:30pm in Appreciation Hall
International Student Graduation Luncheon: Thursday, June 25 from 3:00 - 5:00 pm in the Student Lounge and Campus Center Plaza
APAN (Asian Pacific American Network): Friday, June 26 at 3:00 pm
Harambe (Students of African Ancestry): Friday, June 26 at 3:00 pm in the Student Lounge
Foothill College 49th Commencement Ceremony: Friday, June 26 at 6:00 pm in the Library Quad
Mandatory graduation rehearsal will be from 10:00 am -11:00 am on June 26. If you are graduating in June, dont forget to pick up information about Commencement from Student Activities or Counseling.
There is still space available in our Summer Bridge Intensive ESL Program for new international students. This program will be held from June 29-August 11, and the application deadline for students currently present in the U.S. is June 22. More information about the Summer Bridge Program.
The Career and Transfer Center will have the following university representatives visit this month:
National University June 23, 10:00 am 1:00 pm, Campus Center
UC Davis June 11, 18 & 25, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm, Transfer Center
This is your chance to ask questions, find out about the academic institution to which you might like to transfer, and prepare the admissions requirements with the help of an admissions officer.
Congratulations to international students who won the ASFC (Associated Students of Foothill College) elections held on May 18-19! We are very proud to see your involvement in student government to represent and highlight the diversity of perspectives and cultures at Foothill.
Johnson Chan (Hong Kong) Vice President of Finance
Ashley Chan (Hong Kong) Vice President of Administration
Angus Ng (Hong Kong) Vice President of Intramural
Jessica Kong (Hong Kong) Vice President of Organizations
Dominic Wong (Hong Kong) Senator
Isaac Lee (Hong Kong) Senator
Setareh Taei (UK/Sweden) Senator
Stanley Halim (Indonesia) Senator
The remaining ASFC officers for the next academic year are:
Foothill College has recently awarded scholarships to the students who demonstrated the qualities and dedication desired by the scholarship committee and donors, and we are very proud of the international students who received some of the awards. Congratulations!
Sing Ruby Siu (Hong Kong) Foothill-De Anza Faculty Association Transfer Scholarship
Wing Tung Ko (Hong Kong) APAN Scholarship & Woo Family Scholarship
Michelle Lau (Hong Kong) APAN Scholarship, Sequoia Japanese American Citizens League & Woo Family Scholarship
Ting Chan (Hong Kong) Daughters of the American Revolution Scholarship
Kristopher Ryan Szeto (Canada) Academic Senate Transfer Scholarship
Johnson Chi Chan (Hong Kong) Henning Bundgaard Memorial Scholarship
Johanna Maria Fiskback (Sweden) Galina Family Scholarship, Reynen Memorial Scholarship for Veterinary Tech Students & Peninsula Veterinary Medical Association Scholarship
Yat Cheung Lee (Hong Kong) California Retired Teachers Association-Hilde J. Leopold Memorial Scholarship
Faith V. Cabanilla (Philippines) California Retired Teachers Association-Hilde J. Leopold Memorial Scholarship & Woo Family Scholarship
David Lees (United Kingdom) Academic Senate School to Career Scholarship
Caifeng Zhu (China) Physical Science, Math and Engineering Scholarship
Willy Tin-Wai Ng (Venezuela) Santa Clara County Employer Advisory Council Scholarship
Jorge Sung (Brazil) Dale M. Schoettler Scholarship
Rachel Alice Siliki Mbassa (Sweden) Vice Chancellor Scholarship
In addition, we would like to congratulate the following international students who are recognized as this years Foothill College Honors Scholars:
Chun Yim Chan (Hong Kong), Ho Wun Chan (Hong Kong), Ka Shing Chan (Hong Kong), Kwok Lung Chan (Hong Kong), Kwun Ching Chris Chan (Hong Kong), Pun Hai Chan (Hong Kong), Ka Lam Cheng (Hong Kong), Hoi Ki Cheung (Hong Kong), Yan Tang Choy (Hong Kong), Lok Sum Lydia Fung (United Kingdom), Sze Hang Ho (Hong Kong), Ka Yuet Kwan (Hong Kong), Kit Yee Lau (Hong Kong), Kwun Lun Lau (Canada), Michelle Lau (Hong Kong), Jessica Lays (Singapore), Chee Wai Ivan Lee (Canada), Yat Cheung Lee (Hong Kong), Sio Sang Lei (Macau), Chung Kuen Victor Lin (Hong Kong), Yen-Wen Lin (Taiwan), Yiu Lam Lo (Hong Kong), Chung Tung Ma (Hong Kong), Sau Yu Mak (Hong Kong), Charles Mark (Brazil), Yee Lam Mo (Hong Kong), Willy Tin-Wai Ng (Venezuela), Or Shai (Israel), Sing Ruby Siu (Hong Kong), Tsz Lui So (Hong Kong), Yik Sze-To (Hong Kong), Kristopher Ryan Szeto (Canada), Lok Ting Tam (Hong Kong), Sau Tsz Simone Tam (Hong Kong), Yim Mui Tam (Hong Kong), Ewey Tan (Hong Kong), Fatima Traore (Ivory Coast), Hei Wong (Hong Kong), Sam I. Wong (Portugal), Siu Ho Yeung (Hong Kong), Ming Sum Yum (Hong Kong)
Get the chance to immerse yourself in an entirely different culture and expand your career potential while earning college credit! Foothill and De Anza Colleges offer study abroad programs this summer in Vietnam, Ecuador and Peru.
The month of June is the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender (LGBT) heritage month at Foothill. The highlights for this month include film festivals, annual student drag show contest, Indian classical concert featuring Mahesh Kale, and lecture series.
While most of your friends are going back to their countries for vacation, you may be left here wondering where to go for a trip this summer. Here are some suggestions for those of you who want to explore California during the school break.
In the Spotlight...