Maintaining F-1 Student Status
Introduction: Why Maintain F-1 Student Status?
F-1 students are required to understand, acknowledge, and comply with certain rules and regulations. If you fail to comply with these rules and regulations you may lose certain important immigration benefits, including your eligibility to:
- Accept on-campus or off-campus employment, including practical training
- Remain in or return to the United States following a trip abroad
- Transfer to another school
- Change to another non-immigrant status or pursue other immigration benefits
˿Ƶ is required to notify the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in certain cases when a student fails to maintain lawful F-1 student status. For this reason, it is essential that every F-1 student complies with the following rules. Failure to comply for even unintentional or inadvertent reasons is not considered acceptable.
Rules for Maintaining F-1 Student Status
1. MAINTAIN VALID AND UNEXPIRED IMMIGRATION DOCUMENTS. As an F-1 student, you are required to maintain valid, unexpired immigration documents while in the United States. These include:
- An unexpired passport valid at least six months into the future (Canadian citizens excepted)
- A valid, unexpired Form I-20 (see below)
- An I-94 card marked “F-1 D/S” or a printed copy of your electronic I-94.
Your Form I-20 is issued by ˿Ƶ and reflects your biographical information, your degree objective, your academic major / field of study, and your financial information. Your I-20 should reflect correct, up-to-date information at all times. If any significant information on your Form I-20 changes (change of name, school, degree objective, major, financial sources, or address), you must notify the Global Programs Office (GPO) and obtain an updated or revised I-20 no later than ten days after the change becomes effective.
Form I-94 is now issued electronically at the port of entry, with exception of land crossings. You must print out a copy of your I-94 electronic statement each time you enter the US and carry a copy with you and give a copy to the Global Programs Office. It should say "F-1 D/S". This means you were admitted into the country in F-1 status and are allowed to stay for the duration of your status. If it says anything else, notify the Global Programs Office immediately.
For Canadians: Your I-94 card is the small white card issued and processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at a land port-of-entry. Your I-94 card should always be marked "F-1 D/S" to reflect your admission to the U.S. as an F-1 student for "duration of status," i.e., for that time you are a full-time student as indicated on your I-20. If your I-94 card does not have the annotation "F-1 D/S," contact the Global Programs Office immediately.
2. ENROLL IN A FULL COURSE OF STUDY (OR RECEIVE AUTHORIZATION FOR A REDUCED COURSELOAD FROM GPO). You are required to pursue a full courseload (12 credits for undergraduates and 9 credits for graduate students) during the fall and spring semesters. A reduced courseload (part-time study) may be authorized only by the Global Programs Office and only in particular circumstances.
3. MAKE NORMAL, FULL-TIME PROGRESS TOWARD DEGREE COMPLETION. You are expected to make full-time progress toward degree completion. This means you must meet your department's standards and requirements for satisfactory academic performance.
Delays due to unsatisfactory performance, failing grades, incompletes, and lack of consultation or advisement with faculty advisors are not considered acceptable for purposes of maintaining F-1 status or qualifying for extensions of F-1 status. Only valid medical or academic reasons (such as changes in academic advisors, research topics, or problems with methodology or data collection) are considered acceptable grounds for any delays in meeting degree requirements.
4. WORK ONLY WITH THE WRITTEN PERMISSION OF THE GLOBAL PROGRAMS OFFICE AND/OR THE US CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES (USCIS). F-1 students have limited employment benefits. Please note that in all cases employment must receive the prior written authorization of GPO and, in certain cases, USCIS. Failure to obtain employment authorization before starting employment is considered a severe violation of F-1 immigration regulations.
5. FILE REQUIRED PROCEDURES FOR EXTENDING OR UPDATING YOUR I-20 OR TRANSFERRING YOUR F-1 SPONSORSHIP AS NECESSARY.
- Program Extension: you must file a request for a program extension if your I-20 is going to expire but you have valid academic or medical reasons for requiring additional time to complete your degree requirements. Your extension request must be made before your I-20 expires.
- Change of Program/New Degree Level: you must file a request for a new I-20 if you are changing your academic major and/or will be pursuing a new degree program or moving to a new degree level. The new I-20 must be issued within 15 days of changing your major or starting your new program.
- School Transfer: notify the GPO is you have completed or will terminate your enrollment at ˿Ƶ in order to pursue a new program of study at another institution. This request must be made no later than 30 days after completing your studies at ˿Ƶ.
6. NOTIFY THE OFFICE OF THE REGISTRAR AND THE GLOBAL PROGRAMS OFFICE OF ANY CHANGE OF NAME OR ADDRESS WITHIN 10 DAYS OF THE CHANGE. You are required to notify ˿Ƶ through the Office of the Registrar of any change of address or change of legal name. This notification must be made within 10 days of the change. Please also update GPO at: international@daemen.edu
7. NOTIFY GPO IF YOU WILL NOT REGISTER, OR IF YOU WILL BE OUTSIDE OF THE US FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME EXCEEDING FIVE (5) MONTHS OR MORE. If you intend to depart the United States for an extended period of time, please notify GPO. Your F-1 status may be terminated if:
- You are not registered as a full-time student during any autumn or spring semester
- You are outside the United States for five months or more for non-academic reasons (personal/family leave, non-academic employment)
Students who will be outside of the United States for an extended period of time for data collection, fieldwork, and research-related reasons may retain F-1 student status but must maintain full-time registration during the autumn and spring semesters. Registration during the summer is not required.
8. DEPART THE UNITED STATES WITHIN SIXTY (60) DAYS OF COMPLETING YOUR DEGREE REQUIREMENTS AND/OR ANY POST-COMPLETION OPTIONAL PRACTICAL TRAINING BENEFITS. Your F-1 status comes to an end within 60 days of completing your degree requirements or any post-completion Optional Practical Training benefits for which you have been authorized. You are required to depart from the United States by the end of the 60-day period.