Before the International Offices were established, Caltech's "International Desk" was staffed by Ingrid Gumpel as the sole advisor for Caltech's budding international student population. A native of Stockholm, Sweden, Gumpel sought to build community beyond the classroom. "From organizing social events to helping scholars and their spouses prepare for their driver's license tests, Gumpel dedicated herself to supporting students and researchers from around the world. ‘You don't know what will happen when you arrive in a new country...Ingrid spent all of her working life here, taking care of scholars and their families,'" said her long-time friend, Dr. Lajos Piko in Caltech Gift Planning Techniques. She was known as an "advisor, confidante, and friend" to many on campus from 1966 until her retirement from the Institute in 1991.
After Ingrid Gumpel's passing in 2011, Dr. Piko established the Ingrid S. Gumpel Endowed Fund in order to provide support for international students and scholars and their families. Dr. Piko later contributed additional funds to ensure that his friend's legacy would continue in support of the Caltech international community for many years to come.
The Gumpel Emergency Fund supports emergency needs of international students and scholars and their dependents at Caltech and at JPL. It is intended to help with unplanned U.S. immigration-related expenses that international students and scholars may incur.
In order to be eligible to receive support from the Gumpel Emergency Fund, international student and scholar beneficiaries ["beneficiaries"] must be supported by and included in the roster of International Student Programs, International Scholar Services, or the JPL International Office.
Specifically, beneficiaries must be active students or scholars as of the date of the Gumpel Emergency Fund application submission, in one of the following classifications:
- Caltech enrolled undergraduate students, enrolled graduate students.
- Caltech postdoctoral scholars, visitors, visiting associates, staff, and faculty.
- JPL postdoctoral scholars, visiting postdoctoral scholars, volunteers, distinguished visiting scientists, visiting researchers, and temporary and regular hire staff, as defined by JPL's employment classification system.
Note:
- Undergraduate and graduate student beneficiaries must be enrolled as of the date of the Gumpel Emergency Fund application submission.
- Requests from individuals on leaves of absences from the Institute will be reviewed in consultation with the appropriate office.
Examples of unplanned U.S. immigration-related expenses that qualify as emergency needs may include:
- Replacing a lost, stolen, or damaged foreign passport or travel document. Support may include application fees and if required to apply in person, some domestic travel costs.
- Replacing a lost, stolen, or damaged U.S. immigration document, such as an EAD or I-797 Approval Notice. Note: there is no cost to replace a DS-2019 or I-20.
- Consulting with an immigration attorney for assistance with personal U.S. immigration-related emergency events, such as a visa denial, refusal of admission at a Port of Entry, ICE detention, or an arrest.
Other situations will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
The unplanned U.S. immigration-related expenses must have occurred within two months prior to the submission of the Gumpel Emergency Fund application.
The Gumpel Emergency Fund will not cover expenses related to:
- Green card applications.
- U.S. visa applications or travel for U.S. visa renewals. Note: A valid U.S. visa is not required to continue studying or working at Caltech or JPL.
- Visa applications for travel to other countries.
- USCIS fees related to employment.
- Premium processing fees. Note: If you believe you have an extenuating circumstance, contact the International Offices.
- Unplanned U.S. immigration-related expenses that occurred more than two months prior to the application.
The Gumpel Emergency Fund is not intended to cover certain visa fees and related reasonable renewal expenses described in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The Gumpel Emergency Fund will reimburse actual expenses or provide support for specific future expenses, up to a maximum amount of $1,000 per beneficiary.
- The beneficiary's maximum amount includes any applications that they submit on behalf of their dependents.
- Dependents include spouses and children under age 21.
Each beneficiary may submit one request per calendar year.
Step 1: Apply
- Complete the application.
- Include receipts or other supporting documentation.
Step 2: Review
- The Director of the International Offices and the Associate Directors of ISP, ISS and JPL International Office will review each request on a case-by-case basis.
- Beneficiaries will be notified of the status of their applications generally within two weeks.
- Applications will be reviewed on a first-come basis, until funds are exhausted annually.
- Caltech retains the sole discretion for determining eligibility and making funding decisions.
Step 3: Receive
- Gumpel Emergency Funds will be disbursed electronically or a check will be mailed to the beneficiary's home address.
The funds disbursed by the Gumpel Emergency Fund are not considered business expenses. They will be taxable income for the Beneficiaries for income tax purposes under Federal and California law.
Please reach out to the International Offices.