On October 17, 2024, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a Special Student Relief (SSR) notice for students from Lebanon from July 26, 2024 to January 25, 2026. Students must apply for SSR if they would like to be considered for the listed benefits. To be eligible, an F-1 student must:
- Be a citizen of Lebanon, regardless of country of birth (or be an individual having no nationality who last habitually resided in Lebanon);
- Have been lawfully present in the United States in F-1 nonimmigrant status on the date of publication of the Federal Register Notice;
- Be currently maintaining F-1 nonimmigrant status;
- Be enrolled in an SEVP-certified academic institution; and
- Be experiencing severe economic hardship as a direct result of the current humanitarian crisis in Lebanon.
Please refer to the Federal Register notice published on October 17, 2024 for further details.
In summary, F-1 students from Lebanon meeting the conditions above may apply for on-campus or off-campus work authorization for severe economic hardship due to circumstances back home. This suspends the regulatory requirements for such authorizations, allowing work over the 20 hour/week limit while enrolling part-time if needed. Undergraduates will have to maintain at least 6 credit hours per term, while graduate students must maintain at least 3 credit hours. Students must be working in order to receive a reduced course load authorization. Students must apply for this benefit in order to be considered for approval.
For details of this SSR and to apply, students should first make an appointment with an ISS advisor to determine eligibility and to receive the authorization.
