The ICE Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) announced it will extend COVID-19 related flexibilities through the 2021-22 school year, including allowing continuing international students to count online classes towards a full course of study. These flexibilities were originally announced in March 2020.
An updated FAQ can be found here.
Members of the UW community with specific questions should contact ISS or ISO depending on their affiliation.
To coincide with Earth Day, the Biden Administration announced yesterday 12 nominations for key climate and infrastructure positions. Included among the dozen were those for NOAA Administrator and Director of the Office of Science at the Department of Energy.
NOAA veteran and current Oregon State University faculty member Rick Spinrad has been nominated to lead NOAA. Asmeret Berhe, a faculty member and administrator at UC Merced, has been tapped to head the DOE Office of Science.
The official announcement from the White House is available here.
The US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will convene a hearing titled Protecting U.S. Biomedical Research: Efforts to Prevent Undue Foreign Influence.
Date: Thursday, April 22nd, 2021
Time: 10:00am ET (7:00am PT)
Witnesses:
Watch live here.
The Biden Administration released today the broad outlines of it first budget request. Often referred to as the “skinny budget,” the proposal includes very topline Administration budget requests for various departments and agencies for the coming year. The detailed full budget request will not be available until later this spring.
The 58-page document is available on the White House website here.
The entire package calls for approximately $1.5 trillion in discretionary spending for FY2022, and includes a modest 1.7-percent increase for Defense and a16-percent increase for non-defense programs from the current levels. Taken together, the Biden budget proposal calls for an 8-percent increase in all discretionary spending over FY2021.
Some of the topline highlights include:
In addition to ED, the budget request calls for the following funding levels for the following agencies:
Within the ED budget, the Biden plan calls for an increase of $400 in the Pell Grant maximum from the discretionary side of the budget. The Pell Grant program is funded with both discretionary and mandatory spending and it remains to be seen whether an increase in mandatory spending for Pell will be included in the detailed budget proposal that is expected to be released later this spring.
The US Department of State has published updated FAQs regarding visa processing, which can be found here. Visa processing will resume as local conditions at embassies and consulates allow.
Travel restrictions remain in place for foreigners who have been present in China, Iran, Brazil, UK, Ireland, South Africa, and the 26 countries in the Schengen area within 14 days preceding arrival into the US.
Members of the UW community with specific questions about their status should contact International Scholar Operations or International Student Services.