Special Student Relief
In specific situations, an F-1 student may be eligible for off campus employment, authorized by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services who is experiencing severe economic hardship as a direct result of humanitarian crises, natural disasters, armed conflict and other emergent circumstances.
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 employment eligibility
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for Special Student Relief (SSR), F-1 students must meet the following criteria:
- Be a citizen of a country specified in a Federal Register (FR) notice
- Have been lawfully present in the United States for the dates indicated in the FR notice
- Have reported on time to their designated school official (DSO)
- Be enrolled in an SEVP-certified school since the event
- Be currently maintaining F-1 status
- Be experiencing severe economic hardship
Current Countries Eligible for SSR
Visit and scroll to the bottom of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) page to the “Special Student Relief” section to review the full list of eligible countries for SSR.
