Maintaining Your Legal F-1 Status

As an F-1 student, you were admitted to the United States for "duration of status" (D/S). This means you are permitted to be present in the U.S. as long as you maintain your status by complying with the rules and regulations pertaining to F-1 students as set forth by the United States Citizenship and Immigration and Services (USCIS).

Please keep in mind that there is an important difference between an F-1 visa and F-1 status. An F-1 visa is the stamped page in your passport placed there by a U.S. Consular Officer for entry purposes only. F-1 status is granted once you enter the U.S. and is regulated by the USCIS. Even if your visa in your passport is valid, you can still lose your legal F-1 status if you do not comply with the applicable immigration laws regulating your stay in the U.S. If you fail to maintain your legal F-1 student status, you will need to apply for reinstatement, or in some cases, be forced to leave the country. With the recent changes in immigration law brought about by the Illegal Immigration Reform & Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, it is extremely important that all non-immigrants remain in close contact with the Office of International Student & Scholar Services in order to ensure they are maintaining their status

Government Regulations You Must Follow in Order to

Maintain Your Legal F-1 Status

• Maintain a valid passport at all times (unless exempt from passport requirements).
  
  
• Attend the college/university USCIS has authorized you to attend (NOTE: This is indicated in Section 2 of your I-20 Form).
  
  
• Complete an official transfer whenever you change educational institutions. An immigration transfer must be completed within 45 days of the beginning of classes during your first quarter/semester at the new school (NOTE: An immigration transfer is a completely separate process from transferring academic credit from one school to another. An immigration transfer is not complete until a Designated School Official/International Student Advisor, from the school to which you are transferring, endorses your I-20 authorizing the transfer).
  
  
• Complete a full course of study during normal enrollment periods. You are not required by INS to enroll in classes during the summer sessions; however, you may want to check with your department to see if they have any requirements for summer enrollment.
  
  
• Apply for an extension of your program of study if you cannot complete your degree by the ending date listed in Section 5 of your I-20 Form. You can apply for an extension up to 60 days in advance. Please note that if you do not extend in a timely manner, you will be "out-of-status"/"illegal" in the United States. Subsequently, you will need to submit an application for reinstatement to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
  
  
• Obtain a new I-20 Form whenever you make a change in degree levels. This includes changing from bachelor's degree to master's degree, from master's degree to a doctorate degree, from Optional Practical Training to a new degree, from one major to another major within the same degree level (e.g., Master of Science in Engineering to Master of Science in Computer Science), etc.
  
  
• Do NOT work off-campus UNLESS you have first received authorization from a Designated School Official/International Student Advisor and/or USCIS. On-campus work does not require authorization, but is limited to part-time (20 hours or less per week) during normal enrollment periods. On-campus employment may be full-time (more than 20 hours per week) during the summer and official school breaks. When you work on-campus during normal enrollment periods, you MUST maintain your full-time student status or your employment will be considered illegal. Please notify the Office of International Student & Scholar Services if/when you accept on-campus employment.
  
  
• Before traveling outside the U.S. with the intention of re-entering, you must have a Designated School Official/International Student Advisor sign the back of your current I-20 Form authorizing you to re-enter the United States.
  

The information outlined above is not intended to be exhaustive. If you have any questions or need additional information about maintaining your F-1 status, please contact the Office of International Student & Scholar Services at The Johns Hopkins University.