Please read this information as a guide to help you with your studies and maintain a valid immigration status. The information below may not apply to international students at all campuses.
On-campus employment reminder
The IP-International Student and Scholar Services office would like to remind you that international students require employment authorization to work off campus, either through our office or through a personal benefit application. Working off-campus without proper authorization is a status violation and could result in the termination of your SEVIS record or other negative consequences further down the road (such as during a green card application adjudication).
Reminder about on-campus employment and reporting:
Per Federal regulations, international students can only work up to 20 hours per week only on-campus while school is in session.
Professors and other staff at WSU have no authority over your immigration record or visa. Come talk to us in ISSS if you have questions.
Any discrimination or harassment at WSU should be reported to Compliance and Civil Rights. Such reporting does not impact immigration status. Reporting can be done on WSU’s Compliance and Civil Rights webpage.
For our international graduate students, any engagement with a union such as Academic Student Employees (ASEs) also does not impact immigration status nor does reporting or engaging with WSU Human Resource Services.
Update on D/S Final rule
On September 14, 2026, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Department of Homeland Security’s new rule that would have ended “duration of status” on September 15, 2026. The new rule would have placed a four-year cap on international student and exchange visitor visas.
What the Court Ruling Means for You:
- Current Rules Stay Active: Because of the temporary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV, previous immigration procedures remain fully in place while the lawsuit moves forward.
- No Immediate Changes: You do not need to apply for extensions through USCIS right now or worry about an immediate fixed four-year termination date on your current status. Extensions will go through WSU International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) for the time being. Please understand that WSU ISSS reviews each I-20 extension request. In general, ISSS will not extend I-20s that have more than 12 months remaining until the program end date. Please note that the request must go through your Advisor as well.
We will monitor the status of this rule and continue to communicate changes to you via our regular email immigration advisory. It is possible that a higher court could reinstate the new rule in the coming days too so please maintain your vigilance and stay in touch with ISSS. Questions? Get in touch! Email ip.intlservices@wsu.edu or schedule an in-person or virtual advising appointment with our office.
Social Security scam
Every semester there are several scam calls where the caller is seeking personal information. The calls include individuals posing as employees of the Social Security Administration or federal agents; they are seeking personal information and often threatening future arrest warrants unless the recipient provides information. The information requested includes name, Social Security number, and bank information. Another scam used an email that was designed to look like it came from Social Security. It provided information about the annual cost-of-living adjustment and directed readers to a website designed to look like Social Security’s site, so people could update their personal information. These are SCAMS! Do NOT give out your personal information.
To combat such scams, please note: Social Security will NOT call or send you an email asking you for your personal information (Social Security number, date of birth, etc.). Do NOT reply to these calls or emails.
If you are uncertain about the validity of an inquiry reportedly from “Social Security,” contact your local Social Security office or call 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) to verify the request. Here’s what you need to know:
- The SSA will NEVER call and ask for your Social Security number. It won’t ask you to pay anything. And it won’t call to threaten your benefits.
- Your caller ID might show the SSA’s real phone number (1-800-772-1213), but that’s not the real SSA calling. Computers make it easy to show any number on caller ID.
- NEVER give your Social Security number to anyone who contacts you. Do NOT confirm the last 4 digits. Do NOT give a bank account or credit card number to anybody who contacts you asking for it.
- Anyone who tells you to wire money, pay with a gift card, or send cash is a scammer.
- Always REPORT SOCIAL SECURITY SCAMS to SOCIAL SECURITY.
You may report suspicious activity or communications claiming to be from the Social Security Administration on the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at the Social Security Administration (SSA) here at their Report Fraud webpage.
If you believe you have been a victim of an IRS impersonation scam, you can report that activity to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration on their Submit a Complaint webpage.
The Federal Trade Commission has many resources to help you report and recover from identity theft. Visit their Identity Theft webpage for more details.
If you have already shared information
- Report it to your local police or the WSU Police: 509-335-8548.
Call your local bank and credit card companies to let them know that you have been the victim of a scam and that you provided personal information.