Maintaining Student Status
Your eligibility for opportunities such as employment, school transfers, and program changes depend on maintaining lawful status. When you enter the US, an immigration inspector asks you to read and sign a statement on the Certificate of Eligibility for Non-Immigrant (F-1) student status for academic and language student form, also known as the I-20 form. Your signature signifies your agreement to abide by the conditions of F-1 status while in the US.
To maintain your student status, you must:
• Remain enrolled full-time at the institution you are authorized to attend.
• Hold a valid, current Certificate of Eligibility for Non-Immigrant (F-1) student status ” for academic and language student form, also known as the I-20.
•" Maintain a passport that is valid for at least six months into the future (passport agreements between the US and several countries allow for exceptions to this rule).
• Have appropriate authorization for any work and not be employed for more than 20 hours per week on campus while classes are in session.
F-1 students must possess a Certificate of Eligibility for Non-Immigrant (F-1) student status for academic and language student form, also known as the I-20 form, from the institution they are attending. The I-20 form is the form F-1 students use to enter the US and to notify the USCIS of a transfer to a new institution or program. Students must complete their course of study by the end date shown on the Certificate of Eligibility for Non-Immigrant (F-1) student status for academic and language student form, also known as the I-20 form or request a “program extension” with assistance from the international student advisor.
Students who are maintaining status are permitted an annual vacation period during the year if they intend to enroll the following term.