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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 146 / Tuesday, August 3, 2021 / Notices per week of off-campus employment while school is in session; and d The requirement that the student demonstrate that employment under 8
CFR 214.2f9i is unavailable or otherwise insufficient to meet the needs that have arisen as a result of the unforeseen circumstances.
Will an F1 nonimmigrant student who receives off-campus employment authorization under this notice have authorization to reduce the normal course load and still maintain F1
nonimmigrant status?
Yes. DHS will deem an F1
nonimmigrant student who receives offcampus employment authorization by means of this notice to be engaged in a full course of study for purpose of maintaining F1 nonimmigrant student status for the duration of the students employment authorization if the student satisfies the minimum course load requirement described in this notice.
See 8 CFR 214.2f6iF. However, the authorization for reduced course load is solely for DHS purposes of determining valid F1 status. Nothing in this notice mandates that school officials allow an F1 nonimmigrant student to take a reduced course load if such reduced course load would not meet the schools minimum course load requirement.29

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How may an eligible F1 nonimmigrant student obtain employment authorization for off-campus employment with a reduced course load under this notice?
An F1 nonimmigrant student must file a Form I765, Application for Employment Authorization, with USCIS
to apply for off-campus employment authorization based on severe economic hardship resulting from the current crisis in Haiti. Filing instructions are located at: http www.uscis.gov/i-765.
Fee considerations. Submission of a Form I765 currently requires payment of a $410 fee. An applicant who is unable to pay the fee may submit a completed Form I912, Request for Fee Waiver, along with the Form I765
Application for Employment Authorization. See www.uscis.gov/
feewaiver. The submission must include an explanation of why USCIS should grant the fee waiver and the reasons for the inability to pay, and any evidence to support the reasons. See 8
CFR 103.7c.
29 Minimum course load requirement for enrollment in a school must be established in a publicly available document e.g., catalog, website, or operating procedure, and it must be a standard applicable to all students U.S. citizens and foreign students enrolled at the school.

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Supporting documentation. An F1
nonimmigrant student seeking offcampus employment authorization due to severe economic hardship must demonstrate the following to the DSO:
1 This employment is necessary to avoid severe economic hardship; and 2 The hardship is a direct result from the current crisis in Haiti.
If the DSO agrees that the F1
nonimmigrant student should receive such employment authorization, the DSO must recommend application approval to USCIS by entering the following statement in the remarks field of the students SEVIS record, which will then appear on that students Form I20:
Recommended for off-campus employment authorization in excess of 20 hours per week and reduced course load under the Special Student Relief authorization from the date of the USCIS authorization noted on Form I766 until DSO must insert the program end date or the end date of this notice, whichever date comes first.

The F1 nonimmigrant student must then file the properly endorsed Form I
20 and Form I765, according to the instructions for the Form I765. The F
1 nonimmigrant student may begin working off campus only upon receipt of the EAD from USCIS.
DSO recommendation. In making a recommendation that a F1
nonimmigrant student be approved for Special Student Relief, the DSO certifies the following:
a The F1 nonimmigrant student is in good academic standing and is carrying a full course of study 30 at the time of the request for employment authorization;
b The F1 nonimmigrant student is a citizen of Haiti regardless of country of birth and is experiencing severe economic hardship as a direct result of the current crisis in Haiti, as documented on the Form I20;
c The F1 nonimmigrant student has confirmed that the student will comply with the reduced course load requirements of 8 CFR 214.2f5v and register for the duration of the authorized employment for a minimum of six semester or quarter hours of instruction per academic term if at the undergraduate level, or for a minimum of three semester or quarter hours of instruction per academic term if the student is at the graduate level; and d The off-campus employment is necessary to alleviate severe economic hardship to the individual as a direct result of the current crisis in Haiti.
Application Filing. To facilitate prompt adjudication of the students 30 See
PO 00000

8 CFR 214.2f6.

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application for off-campus employment authorization under 8 CFR
214.2f9iiC, the F1 nonimmigrant student should do both of the following:
a Ensure that the application package includes all of the following documents:
1 A completed Form I765;
2 The required fee or properly documented fee waiver request, Form I912; and 3 A signed and dated copy of the students Form I20 with the appropriate DSO recommendation, as previously described in this notice; and b Send the application in an envelope that 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.
If USCIS approves the students Form I765, USCIS will send the student an EAD as evidence of employment authorization. The EAD will contain an expiration date that does not exceed the end of the granted temporary relief.
Temporary Protected Status Considerations Can an F1 nonimmigrant student apply for TPS and for benefits under this notice at the same time?
Yes. An F1 nonimmigrant student who has not yet applied for TPS or other relief that reduces the students course load per term and permits an increase number of work hours per week, such as Special Student Relief,31 under this notice has two options.
Under the first option, the student may file the TPS application according to the instructions in the August 3, 2021
Federal Register Notice designating Haiti for TPS. All TPS applicants must file a Form I821, Application for Temporary Protected Status. Although not required to do so, if an F1
nonimmigrant student wants to obtain an EAD based on their TPS application that is valid through February 3, 2023, the student must file Form I765 and pay the Form I765 fee request a fee waiver. After receiving the TPS-related EAD, an F1 nonimmigrant student may request that the students DSO make the required entry in SEVIS, issue an updated Form I20, as described in this notice and notate that the nonimmigrant student has been authorized to carry a reduced course load and is working pursuant to a TPS-related EAD. So long as the nonimmigrant student maintains 31 DHS Study in the States, Special Student Relief available at https studyinthestates.dhs.gov/
students/special-student-relief last accessed March 2021.

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