June 22, 2011
"The Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) is pleased to announce that we have received confirmation that the Libyan Ministry of Education and Scientific Research has transferred funding to us through the Libyan Central Bank for the purposes of the continued operations of the Libyan-North American Scholarship Program. The new funding will cover monthly living allowances, health insurance and tuition fees to the end of May 2012, for the benefit of 2,500 Libyan scholars as well as their dependents studying at several hundred educational institutions across Canada and the United States." See a CBIE announcement to Libyan students and a CBIE media release for additional information.
June 18, 2011
The Student and Exchange Visitor Program's (SEVP) June 16, 2011 Broadcast Message 1106-01A clarified that F-1 Libyan students who attend
English as a Second
Language (ESL) programs are eligible for special student relief. This
was an
update to SEVP's original June 9, 2011 Broadcast Message 1106-01, which
had stated that Libyan ESL students were not eligible for special
student relief. Broadcast Message 1106-01A did not specify the minimum
number of credit or clock hours an ESL student must maintain to comply
with the special student relief regulations and notice. DSOs should
contact SEVP if they have questions about this.
June 10, 2011
Special student relief notices for both F-1 and J-1 students from
Libya were published in the Friday, June 10, 2011 Federal Register. The
notices are effective on the day of publication, through December 31, 2011. Read the notices for details on eligibility, limitations, and procedures:
May 11, 2011
NAFSA Joins the American Council on Education, Other Higher Education Associations in Requesting Assistance for Libyan Students
May 9, 2011
In a May 6, 2011 letter to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, NAFSA Executive Director & CEO Marlene M. Johnson requested that if Libyan frozen assets are made available for humanitarian purposes, provisions be included for Libyan students and exchange visitors currently in the United States.
May 3, 2011
NAFSA Requests Temporary Protected Status for Libya. On May 2, NAFSA sent a letter to Secretary Janet Napolitano at the Department of Homeland Security requesting Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for the country of Libya. NAFSA expressed concern in the letter for the approximately 2,000 Libyan exchange visitors and students currently in the United States and recommended that automatic extensions of current immigration status or other deferred action remedies be taken in the interim.
May 3, 2011
A NAFSA resource, Immigration Assistance for Students from Countries in Crisis, is a brief discussion of things to consider when helping students from countries in crisis understand immigration options that might be available to them.
April 28, 2011
Review the transcript of an April 11, 2011 NAFSA Collegial Conversation on Crisis Management and Sponsored Students
April 19, 2011
On April 18, 2011, NAFSA sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security and a letter to the Department of State requesting that those agencies grant "special student relief" benefits to F-1 and J-1 students from Libya.
April 5, 2011
In response to NAFSA's April 1 inquiry, USCIS Service Center Operations informed NAFSA that they have sent a message to USCIS Service Centers instructing them to expedite the adjudication of requests for OPT and off-campus employment authorization for and F-1 students from Libya and Yemen who are experiencing severe economic hardship.
April 1, 2011
NAFSA has asked U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to issue guidance for Libyan nationals similar to the guidance they have issued for Japanese nationals, regarding immigration benefits already in place that Libyan students and scholars may qualify for, depending on their immigration category and personal situation. NAFSA also asked USCIS to consider providing notice or guidance to adjudicators that they may begin receiving requests for economic hardship work authorization, fee waiver requests, requests for expedited processing, and related requests from students from Libya and other countries in crisis, and that adjudicators should, in light of current circumstances, carefully avoid delaying or denying benefits to eligible applicants. In the meantime, advisers should also review USCIS' general guidance on Special Situations, which USCIS says are applicable to any "natural catastrophes and other extreme situations."
March 30, 2011
Nonimmigrant visa processing in Libya. The following message is posted on the Web site of the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli:
"Important Notice: Visa Services in Tripoli Suspended. The U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Libya, has suspended all visa services until further notice. If you have an appointment for a nonimmigrant visa or to file an I-130, Petition for Alien Relative, we will contact you to reschedule when visa operations resume. You may apply for a U.S. nonimmigrant visa at another U.S. Embassy or Consulate. However, if you already have paid the machine-readable visa fee, it cannot be transferred or refunded. If you wish to apply elsewhere while visa operations are suspended at the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, you will be required to pay the fee again."
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