DIRECTOR'S CORNER

Emergency Preparedness Resources for International Students

As you may know, September is National Preparedness Month! At SEVP, we’d like to highlight helpful resources that schools and students can reference to help prepare for emergency events, especially as many international students have returned to in-person learning on campus in the United States.

While studying in the United States, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security understands that international students could potentially face emergency situations while attending their SEVP-certified school. It’s important that F and M students maintain their nonimmigrant student status, even during a possible emergency event. This means that F and M students should take all the necessary actions to remain in status and communicate with their designated school official (DSO) for emergency plans on their campus. Students should also visit Study in the States’ blog post, “Be Prepared: Emergency Preparedness Resources” for more resources surrounding emergency preparedness, such as Ready.gov’s “Planning for Disasters During COVID” Video Series and Ready.gov’s National Preparedness Month webpage.

DSOs play a significant role in helping F and M students prepare for and respond to emergencies. We encourage DSOs to familiarize themselves with this blog post on Study in the States for tips and resources to share with their international students. By preparing for emergencies with their students, DSOs help build a more resilient school that is better positioned to respond to a disaster and recover quickly. Helpful tips include:

• Advise F and M students of your school’s continuity of operations plan, and how and where they can find more information.
• Remind students to sign up for notifications from your campus’ alert system.
• Create and test a communications plan between you and your students.

Lastly, COVID-19 continues to impact international students studying in the United States. We advise both students and school officials to visit Ready.gov’s Pandemics webpage to find preparedness resources for the academic community, as well as tips to stay safe during and after the pandemic.

We also encourage readers to contact their DSO with any questions, or in the event of an emergency, call 911 if they are in danger. Students can also call the SEVP Response Center (SRC). The SRC is available to serve as their point of contact and provide emergency contact services during disruptions. You can also follow Study in the States on Twitter, Facebook and SEVP on LinkedIn for additional tips and resources on staying safe during emergencies.

Wishing the academic community a safe start to the school year.

Respectfully,

Rachel Canty