Communique, volume 20, number 5
December 2024
Greetings from the ISSO!
In this issue:
- Immigration and Travel Considerations Before a New Federal Administration
- Scholar Services Departmental Caseload
- ISSO Closed for BU Intersession
Immigration and Travel Considerations Before a New Federal Administration
As with every election, a new federal administration can implement changes in policies, regulations and procedures. It is still too early to know if, or when, there may be changes to travel, visa processing and immigration regulations that could impact our community. The ISSO is closely monitoring the change in administration and has messaged BU’s international scholar and employee community regarding immigration and travel considerations. While we always send travel reminders during this time of year to help individuals plan for travel over the Intersession break, we have also included a recommendation that individuals who are traveling return to the US on or before Inauguration Day on 1/20/2025. In addition, we have added a news post to our ISSO news page and have added some information to our travel advisory. At this moment it is still too soon to know any details of what may or may not come but we know there is anxiety so if any of your scholars/employees are coming to you with questions or concerns, please refer them to their ISSO scholar advisor and we are happy to talk to them.
Scholar Services Departmental Caseload Changes
We are pleased to announce our new Scholar Services advisor caseload distribution. These changes insure an even distribution of our current client population across the Charles River, Medical and Fenway campuses. The new distribution is effective as of January 2, 2025 so please direct your inquiries appropriately. If you require assistance before that time, you can connect with your current scholar advisor or e-mail us at issosch@bu.edu. The ISSO scholar advising team has nearly 50 years of combined experience in employment/scholar-based immigration, so even if your assigned ISSO contact has changed, you will continue to get the same outstanding service that you expect from our team.
ISSO Closed for BU Intersession
Please be reminded that the ISSO will be closed for BU’s Intersession break. If you are expecting any arriving scholars and employees during this time, please advise them to connect with us after we return on January 2, 2025. Arriving employees can schedule their in-person check-in here and arriving J-1 scholars can confirm their attendance at the mandatory, virtual J-1 orientation session here. Non-J-1 visitors can check-in with us via e-mail with their scholar advisor
If you have any requests pending with the ISSO, please contact your ISSO scholar advisor to discuss related timelines for your request. While will not be processing routine requests during Intersession, urgent inquiries can be sent to the general ISSO e-mail at isso@bu.edu, as these messages will be reviewed periodically throughout this break.
The Scholar Services Team wishes you the best for the holiday season and remains committed to advising and assisting our international scholar community. We appreciate your continued support!