Crisis/Emergency Guidance for International Students and Scholars
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Health or Safety Emergencies: on campus, call UNI Public Safety 319-273-4000 or 911.
Health or Safety Emergencies: off campus, call 911 from any telephone or cell phone.
Be prepared to describe your location, if possible, and provide as much information as
you can about the situation. The dispatcher will then send police, medical, rescue and
other responders as necessary. For more information, please refer to the handbook at
http://www.uni.edu/internationalservices/international-student-handbook/uni/emergencycontacts
Lost Passport: If your passport is lost or significantly damaged you must contact the
nearest consulate or embassy of your country of citizenship for assistance. Many
countries have consulates in Chicago, IL that serve people in Iowa. Other countries serve
their citizens in the U.S. from their Washington, DC embassies. To locate your nearest
embassy or consulate, we recommend the U.S. Department of State’s web directory at
http://www.state.gov/s/cpr/rls/dpl/32122.htm#H. Once you find your country’s embassy
web site, you can search for consulates located in Chicago or other areas. An alternative
embassy directory is available at http://www.embassy.org/embassies/. Wikipedia
provides a list of consulates in the Chicago area at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_diplomatic_missions_in_the_United_States#Chicag
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Legal Issues
o If you are accused of violating the law and you are taken into custody (arrested)
by law enforcement officials, you have the right to know why you are being
detained and you have the right to make a certain number of telephone calls to
contact family members or others who you choose to notify or seek assistance
from. You are entitled to consult with a lawyer if arrested, so you may
respectfully request this of authorities. In many cases, a public defense attorney
will be appointed to your case unless you have chosen your own attorney. You
have the right not to answer law enforcement officer’s questions without a lawyer
present.
o Consular Notification: U.S. law enforcement officials who make arrests are
required in some cases to notify the consulate or embassy representing the foreign
national in the U.S. Countries where this notification is mandatory are:
Albania
Algeria
Antigua and Barbuda
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Barbados
Belarus
Ghana
Grenada
Guyana
Hungary
Jamaica
Kazakhstan
Kiribati
Kuwait
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Tajikistan
Belize
Brunei
Bulgaria
China (including Macao
and Hong Kong)
Costa Rica
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Dominica
Fiji
Gambia
Georgia
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Kyrgyzstan
Malaysia
Malta
Mauritius
Moldova
Mongolia
Nigeria
Philippines
Poland
Romania
Russia
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Tanzania
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Uzbekistan
Zambia
Zimbabwe
If you are from a country not on this list, you may request to have your embassy
notified. Additional information about this topic is available at
http://travel.state.gov/law/consular/consular_753.html
Consular notification is an area addressed by the Vienna Convention on
Diplomatic Relations: http://untreaty.un.org/cod/avl/ha/vcdr/vcdr.html
o If law enforcement officials arrest you and take you into custody for alleged
immigration offenses, we recommend that you seek the assistance of an attorney
who specializes in immigration cases. A directory of licensed immigration
attorneys is available from the American Immigration Lawyers Association here:
http://www.ailalawyer.com/
For information about expectations for student conduct and other policy matters affecting
students, international students should refer to Student Handbook
http://www.uni.edu/deanofstudents/handbook/ in general, and Student Conduct Code
http://www.uni.edu/policies/302 more specifically.
Other Crises
If you experience other problems not mentioned above, you are encouraged to
contact the International Students and Scholars Office during regular business
hours and we can offer guidance and refer you to others on campus who can help.
Outside of regular business hours you should contact UNI Public Safety 319-2734000 and explain your situation. Public Safety can contact ISSO personnel as
necessary, as well as other offices and individuals on campus who can help,
depending upon the nature of your crisis.