Information:

The office of International Faculty and Staff Services (IFSS) provides comprehensive assistance to the University of Wisconsin-Madison on all aspects of non-student immigration.
For more information, please see their website:http://www.ohr.wisc.edu/ifss/

Information about hiring an international student

ISS Compass

The ISS Compass is a biannual e-newsletter from International Student Services designed to provide information to all faculty and staff about student services and resources for the campus in relation to serving international students.

Issue: 1, Summer 2012

Issue: 2, Spring 2013

Online Course Enrollment

International students have restrictions on the number of online credits they can take per semester that will count toward full-time enrollment as well as very specific rules about enrolling on campus in their final term.

US F-1 and J-1 student visa regulations state that:

SPRING & FALL: A student may enroll for up to 3 Credits of Online Coursework in any given Spring or Fall term that may count toward full-time enrollment requirements.

Graduate Full-Time Enrollment = 8 CR  (3 Credits online included)

Undergraduate Full-Time Enrollment = 12 CR (3 credits online included)

*More than 3 Credits of online in Spring or Fall will not count toward enrollment requirements* Students may enroll for more online courses but they will still need to take On-Campus courses equal to Graduate  =5 Credits, or Undergraduate = 9 Credits in order to be full-time.  

SUMMER:   If Summer is the Final Term for the student, they are required to be enrolled ON CAMPUS at the institution listed on their immigration paperwork.

Work Permission Issues: On-Campus Summer Enrollment is a requirement of all F-1 and J-1 students who wish to remain in the US for post-graduation work permission (Optional Practical Training or Academic Training).  If they only enroll in online credits in the US or abroad they will lose any work permission opportunities in the US.

Continuing Students: If the student wishes to take Summer online courses and will return to enroll full-time in the Fall term, there is no limit to the amount of summer online credits they may take in the US or abroad. 

Federal Regulations 8 C.F.R. § 214.2(f)(6)(i)(G)
http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-11261/0-0-0-17197/0-0-0-17636.html