Global Education Office

Special Student Relief (SSR) is available to a student in F-1 status whose country of citizenship (or, in two cases, residency) has been designated for SSR by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).   

NOTE: DHS does not publish a list of SSR-designated countries.   Instead, DHS announces SSR eligibility by country in the Federal Register, the official journal of the U.S. government that contains government agency public notices.  

The Federal Register is online at https://www.federalregister.gov/ but searching the website can be complicated. 

As of September 2022, DHS has designated SSR for citizens of these countries only:

1. Afghanistan
2. Burma (also known as Myanmar)
3. Cameroon
4. Haiti
5. Hong Kong*
6. Somalia
7. South Sudan*
8. Sudan
9. Syria

• Ukraine
• Venezuela
• Yemen

*For Hong Kong and South Sudan, only residency is required.

SSR consists of a combination of benefits including expanded employment authorization and authorization to drop below the normal full course of study (FCS) requirement. 

1. You need to obtain an updated VCU I-20 from GEO Immigration Services endorsed (marked) for Off Campus Employment and then submit the updated I-20 to USCIS as part of a Form I-765 Application for Employment Authorization.
2. SEH authorization is provided by USCIS in the form an Employment Authorization Document (EAD, sometimes called a work card).

Although you require an updated VCU I-20 from GEO to file the I-765 application, SSR authorization is provided by USCIS, an agency of DHS.

If you are approved by USCIS for SSR, you may:

1. Reduce your VCU enrollment during the Fall and Spring semester to 6 credits if you are an undergraduate student or to 3 credits if you are a graduate student.
2. Be employed for up to 40 hours in the U.S. per week during the Fall and Spring semesters as well as during scheduled VCU Winter, Spring, and Summer breaks.

No.  SSR and Severe Economic Hardship (SEH) may sound similar but they are not the same thing. 

In theory, any F-1 student who experiences severe economic hardship is eligible to apply SEH employment authorization and SEH does not include authorization to reduce enrollment below a full course of study (FCS).  

Only an F-1 student who students whose country of citizenship (or, for Hong Kong and South Sudan, residency) has been designated for SSR by DHS can apply for SSR, and SSR includes authorization for expanded employment and for a reduction in enrollment.  

No.  Although SSR and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) may sound similar, they are not the same thing or even related.

SSR is available only to F-1 status students who are enrolled in a degree or certificate program.  

If you are authorized by USCIS for TPS, you may study and work in the U.S., but TPS is not F-1 status nor are only students eligible for TPS.

To be eligible for SSR employment authorization, all of the following must be true for you:

1. Be a citizen of a country currently approved by DHS for SSR (for Hong Kong, only residency is required).
2. Experience severe economic hardship as a result of the conditions in your country that lead DHS to designate the country for SSR.
3. Be in F-1 status and remain in F-1 status while USCIS processes the I-765 application. Loss of F-1 status for any reason during this time means USCIS will deny the I-765 application.
4. At the time USCIS approves the I-765, be enrolled in full-time study at VCU.
5. Have not completed the requirements for the degree or certificate program.

Yes.  Throughout the period of authorized SSR employment authorization you must

1. Remain in F-1 status and enrolled in the degree or certificate program listed on your current VCU I-20, but at a reduced number of credits, if you wish. See “What are the benefits of SSR?” above.
2. This means that during the SSR period you will continue to be responsible for paying VCU tuition and fees or for making official arrangements for a payment plan with Student Financial Services.
3. SSR employment does not need to be connected to your major, although it can be.
4. SSR employment is not deducted from your eligibility for CPT or OPT.
5. You may have the ability to combine SSR employment authorization with other forms of F-1 employment authorization, such as On Campus Employment Authorization, Curricular Practical Training (CPT) pre-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT) but the total number of hours worked under the combined authorizations cannot exceed 40 hours per week.

GEO’s guidance for filing an SSR I-765 application will be provided to you in writing at the time we provide the updated I-20 to you.    

USCIS will process the application.  

For information about current USCIS processing times for an I-765 OPT application go to https://egov.uscis.gov/processing-times/

When USCIS approves the I-765 application, they will send an Employment Authorization Document (EAD, sometimes called a work card) to you.

You are not eligible for SSR benefits until USCIS approves the I-765 application and issues the EAD to you.