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Language and Culture Center

Language and Culture Center

Understand F-1 Visa and Status

F-1 Visa vs. Status

An F-1 visa is a sticker placed by the U.S. embassy or consulate in your passport. When you travel to the United States from your home country, your F-1 visa acts like a key, allowing you board the plane and at a U.S. airport (or the land border), allowing you to request entry to the United States.

You present your passport, F-1 visa, and Form I-20 to a Customs and Border Protection officer. After inspection, the officer may decide to admit you to the United States as an F-1 student. Then you obtain F-1 status.

Your F-1 visa does not determine whether or how long you may stay in the United States. In fact, you might still be eligible to remain in the United States even though your F-1 visa has expired.

To stay in the United States, you are required to keep your Form I-20 valid at all time and maintain active F-1 status. If you leave the United States, you must have a valid and unexpired F-1 visa to re-enter.

 

F-1 Status
The Language and Culture Center (LCC) continually updates your F-1 status in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), a system that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security uses to maintain information of F-1 students. Here are some common F-1 statuses and circumstances in which they apply:

Active

  • A student is studying full time and is not violating rules of F-1 status.

Terminated

  • Unauthorized Drop below Full Course of Study: A student is dropped from the LCC for accumulating 40 hours of absence (or 20 hours, if the student enrolls in a Summer II semester). The student submits an appeal within three calendar days of the drop. The appeal is denied by the LCC Student Appeals Committee.
  • Failure to Enroll: A student is on an annual vacation approved by the Program Director of Counseling and Student Services. The decides not to enroll in the LCC for the semester after the vacation, usually Fall.
  • Authorized Early Withdrawal. A student withdraws from the LCC. The student informs the Program Director of Student Services that he or she will depart the United States within 15 days of the withdrawal.
  • Suspension: The student is suspended from the LCC and can no longer maintain a full course of study.
  • Unauthorized Withdrawal: A student quits attending class without notice during a semester.
  • Unauthorized Employment:
    • A student works on campus exceeding 20 hours per week when school is in session.
    • A student works off campus.

Completed

  • A student successfully complets Level 6. The student must either depart the United States or transfer to another school or program within 60 days of graduation.

 

Academic Status
Listed below are three academic statuses and how they will affect your F-1 status:

Enrolled

Your F-1 status will remain active.

Withdrawn

If you will stop attending the LCC, you must withdraw officially. Also, you must meet with the Director of Student Services immediately.

  • If you plan to leave the United States, you must depart within 15 days of the withdrawal. Your F-1 record will be terminated for Authorized Early Withdrawal.
  • If you wish to transfer out, you must continue attending the LCC until you begin classes at the new school or program. There must be no gap between the school transfer. Your F-1 status will remain active if you maintain full-time enrollment.

Dropped

If you accumulate 40 hours of absences (or 20 hours if you enroll in the Summer II semester), your teachers may drop you. You may submit an appeal within three calendar days of the drop.

  • If your appeal is approved by the LCC Student Appeals Committee, your F-1 record will remain active.
  • If your appeal is denied by the LCC Student Appeals Committee, you must depart the United States immediately. Your F-1 record will be terminated for Unauthorized Drop below Full Course of Study.