Passports, Visas/Permits and International Student Information
Passports
It is necessary to have a valid passport in order to enter any foreign country. If the country in which you will be working requires you to have a visa or work permit, you must have your passport prior to the visa application deadline. If you already have a passport, be sure that it is valid for the duration of your program, including any post-program travel you plan to do. If it will expire during your stay, you need to have it renewed before leaving. We recommend (and some countries require) that your passport be valid for at least 6 months after the tentative end date of your stay. Please make sure to fill out the emergency contact information in your passport.
Processing can take as long as 8 weeks during the peak summer travel season, so apply for your passport immediately if you haven’t already done so. For complete information about obtaining a U.S. passport, please contact your local U.S. Post Office or go to http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html.
Visas/Permits
The type of work authorization needed for your work abroad experience varies greatly according to the country of training, your citizenship, the length of your stay, and several other factors. You may be required to obtain a work permit, residence permit, and/or visa in order to enter and legally work in your country of training. Every country has different requirements, and they are always subject to change. After being accepted by your overseas employer, our office will give you a customized set of instructions as to what sort of documentation you will need, as well as how to obtain it. Please follow these instructions carefully and immediately, as failure to do so may result in being refused permission to enter the country.
If you will be traveling to countries outside of your country of training, you should check on visa requirements for these countries as well. If, before leaving the U.S., you find out that a visa is not required for a country you would like to visit, you should still call the U.S. Embassy or Consular office in your host country to double-check directly before your departure. Visa requirements are subject to change at any time. We recommend that you get a multiple-entry visa for your country of training.
U.S. Permanent Residents
U.S. permanent residents must be certain that they have valid passports or special travel documents in addition to the Alien Resident Card (“Green Card”).
Non-U.S. Citizens
Foreign students on “F” or “J” visas must have valid passports. They must also have a properly issued I-20 form (for F-students) or DS-2019 form (for J-students), as well as a valid U.S. visa and reentry document if they plan to return to the U.S. after training. Even if non-citizens don’t plan to return to the U.S., some countries will not issue a visa without a valid U.S. visa. All non-U.S. citizens must visit their international student advisor as soon as they receive an offer of training from an employer overseas, even if it is in a student’s home country. The Division of Professional Practice will not work with any international student who has not spoken to their international student advisor regarding the regulations of their visa.
If F-1 students are absent from the U.S. for five months or more, the validity of their I-20 is cancelled. In order to receive a new I-20, students must provide financial documents to the Office of International Education. In addition, if a student has not been enrolled for 2 or more semesters, s/he will need to be readmitted by the Registrar’s Office before an I-20 can be issued. On receipt of the new I-20, the student should pay the $100 SEVIS fee (payable at: http://www.fmjfee.com). In order to be eligible for off-campus work such as CPT or OPT, the student will need to be a full-time student for two semesters after entering the U.S. with the new I-20.
Time spent studying abroad on a Georgia Tech Study Abroad program does not count towards the five months’ absence from the U.S. Work abroad does count towards the five-month absence, even if the student is registered for the work. For example, the beginning of the absence from the U.S. for a student studying abroad during the summer, and working abroad during the fall, would begin at the end of the summer semester.
When traveling outside the United States, you should be aware of some additional health and safety concerns. We hope you will give serious consideration to the topics addressed in this chapter so that you will be better prepared to deal with any safety or health concerns that you encounter during your overseas travels.
