SSR (Special Student Relief)

“Special Student Relief (SSR) is the suspension of certain regulatory requirements by the secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for an F‑1 student from parts of the world that are experiencing emergent circumstances. Regulatory requirements that may be suspended or altered for an F-1 student include: duration of status, full course of study and off-campus employment eligibility.”

Eligibility

• Must be a citizen of the country stated in the Federal Register Notice, regardless of country of birth;
• Have been lawfully present in the United States in F-1 non-immigration status at the time of the Federal Notice;
• Be currently maintaining F-1 nonimmigrant status;
• Be enrolled at a SEVP-certified academic institution (SJSU); and
• Be experiencing severe economic hardship as stated per the Federal Notice. 

Current Notices

Afghanistan

• Federal Register Notice
• Effective May 20, 2022 through May 20, 2025
• Student must have been in F-1 status on September 25, 2023.

Burma/Myanmar

• Federal Register Notice
• Effective May 26, 2024 through November 25, 2025.
• Student must have been in F-1 status on March 25, 2024.

Cameroon

• Federal Register Notice
• Effective June 7, 2022 through June 07, 2025.
• Student must have been in F-1 status on October 10, 2023.

Ethiopia

• Federal Register Notice
• Effective December 12, 2022 through June 12, 2024.
• Student must have been in F-1 status on December 12, 2022.

Haiti

• Federal Register Notice
• Effective August 03, 2021 through August 3, 2024.
• Student must have been in F-1 status on January 26, 2023.

Hong Kong

• Federal Register Notice
• Effective November 26, 2021 through February 05, 2025.
• Student must have been in F-1 status on January 26, 2023.

Somalia

• Federal Register Notice
• Effective September 18, 2021 through September 17, 2024.
• Student must have been in F-1 status on March 13, 2023.

South Sudan

• Federal Register Notice
• Effective March 3, 2022 through May 03, 2025.
• Student must have been in F-1 status on September 06, 2023.

Sudan

• Federal Register Notice
• Effective April 19, 2022 through April 19, 2025.
• Student must have been in F-1 status on August 21, 2023.

Syria

• Federal Register Notice
• Effective April 22, 2021 through September 30, 2025.
• Student must have been in F-1 status on January 29, 2024.

Ukraine

• Federal Register Notice
• Effective April 19, 2022 through April 19, 2025.
• Student must have been in F-1 status on August 21, 2023.

Venezuela

• Federal Register Notice
• Effective March 11, 2024 through September 10, 2025.
• Student must have been in F-1 status on March 11, 2024. 

Yemen

• Federal Register Notice
• Effective September 4, 2021 until September 3, 2024.
• Student must have been in F-1 status on January 3, 2023.

Process

1. Schedule an appointment to meet with an ISSS advisor to discuss your eligibility to apply. 
2. Once you have met with an ISSS advisor and they have determined that you meet the required criteria and are eligible, they will email you the economic hardship I-20 request information and form. 
3. You will then need to submit a completed SSR I-20 request to ISSS.
4. Once the completed form is received by ISSS, we ask for 5-7 business days to review and process. ISSS will email you when the new I-20 has been issued. USCIS is accepting digitally signed I-20’s from ISSS, so we will email you the I-20 with Economic Hardship recommendation. You will need this I-20 with Economic Hardship recommendation to file your application with USCIS.

Next Steps: Filing the application with USCIS

Once you have your I-20 with SSR recommendation, you will need to prepare the documents needed for filing the form I-765 for SSR. This application cannot be filed online with USCIS, therefore, you will need to gather all of the following documents and submit them to USCIS.

1. Filing Fee (Subject to Change): $520.00.
2. A personal check, cashier’s check, or money order payable to the “U.S. Department of Homeland Security” (do not abbreviate). If you want, write your I-94 # number on the check. If needed, search online for helpful information about how to write a check, endorse a money order or cashier’s check.
3. Two recent  (within the past 6 months) passport style color-photographs. Please review the Department of State photo guidelines for more details. 
4. Form G-1145, E-notification of Application/Petition Acceptance (highly recommended).
5. Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization. (All pages, completed, and signed).
6. Read the USCIS Instructions for Form I-765.
7. Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization (all pages), completed and signed. Read the USCIS Instructions for Form I-765. Pay special attention to instructions for F-1 student categories on pages 3-4. Failure to follow instructions may result in rejection or denial of your application. We have developed an I-765 Completion Guide to help you. It is your responsibility to ensure Form I-765 is properly completed and signed.
8. Review our I-765 guide, specifically slides 8-26 This guide is for OPT/STEM OPT, but you can use it for how to complete the I-765. However, you must use the code c 3 iii on question 27, which is on page 3, part 2.
9. Filing code for economic hardship is: (c) (3) (iii). 
10. Personal Statement in the form of a letter to USCIS explaining how employment is necessary to avoid severe economic hardship directly resulting from the current crisis in the specified country in the Federal Register Notice. 
11. Photocopy of your new I-20 with Economic Hardship recommendation  issued by ISSS within the last 30 days. (Make sure you have printed the I-20, then signed and dated page 1 in the appropriate section, then make a copy to submit with your application. Do not submit the original I-20.
12. Photocopy of valid passport biographical page.
13. If your passport will be expiring within 6 months, you will need to write a letter acknowledging your passport expiration date and that you plan on renewing your passport before it expires.
14. If your I-94 or F-1 visa has your old passport number on it, then you will need to submit a copy of your current as well as your previous passport.
15. Photocopy of F-1 visa stamp.
16. I-94 record of arrival.
17. Retrieve I-94 at https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov
18. If you have a paper I-94, include a copy of both sides of the card.
19. If you changed your status to F-1 and have not left the US since getting F-1 status, you will need to submit a copy of your I-797A approval notice.
20. Proof of enrollment and study: Official transcript from SJSU, plus proof of enrollment for the current academic semester.

1. Make a copy of your complete application before mailing to USCIS. You will put all of these documents in an envelope which is clearly marked on the front of the envelope, bottom right-hand side, with the phrase 'Special Student Relief.' Failure to include this notation may result in significant processing delays.
2. Mail your complete application to the USCIS lockbox. Refer to ‘Where to File’ instructions on USCIS Form I-765 webpage. 
3. ISSS recommends mailing your application via FedEx or UPS, since you can track your application.
4. Approximately 2-4 weeks after USCIS receives your application, you should receive a receipt notice with a USCIS case number.
5. Wait 2-4 months to receive work authorization from USCIS. You should receive an approval notice (I-797 Notice of Action) and EAD. You must have the EAD card, then you are eligible to work within the authorized dates on the card. 
6. Work is limited to 20 hours per week while school is in session, but can be full-time during official school breaks. The off-campus job does not need to be related to a student's major field of study.