Information about F-1 Student Status

The USCIS is the name of the government agency that replaced the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in November 2003. It serves immigrants and foreign students and tries to promote national security.

SEVIS is a national computerized data collection system that allows schools to transmit electronic information about F-1 and J-1 students by means of the Internet to the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State. All international students and their dependents are assigned a SEVIS ID Number and their status is checked several times during the year.

The SEVIS ID is the eleven-digit number above the bar code in the upper right corner of page one of your I-20 or DS-2019 Form.

First apply to study at the college or university. If you are accepted, send USCIS Form I-20 A-b/IID (Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant [F-1] Student Status), which the admissions office sends you, plus a USCIS Form I-539 (to extend or change non-immigration status) to the USCIS, and all other required evidence and fees.

If you have been admitted as a B1 or B-2 (temporary visitor) or F-2 (dependent status) you may not begin program studies until your application for change of status has been approved.

If you are a full-time student in good standing, you may transfer. First, notify the foreign student advisor at your current school that you intend to transfer. Ask the new school to give you a new I20 Form. Complete your portion of the I-20 and give it to your new designated school official (DSO) within fifteen days of transferring. The DSO should give you the last two pages of the I-20 ID and forward a copy of the first two pages to the USCIS and your prior school.

As long as you are a full-time student enrolled in a program at an approved college or university and making progress toward a degree you may stay in the United States. You also, if approved, may stay an additional twelve months after the completion of your degree to pursue practical training in your field. At the end of your studies or practical training you will be granted sixty days to prepare to leave the country.

You must be enrolled at RIC as a full-time student: 12 credits per semester for undergraduates and 9 credits for graduate students. You must obtain permission from the foreign student advisor before dropping a class or falling below the full-time load requirement.

If you cannot complete your degree by the date printed on your I-20, item #5, you must request an extension from the International Student Adviser. You will be asked to substantiate your request with academic and/or medical documents and testimony.

You may not accept off-campus employment unless you have been a student for a full twelve months and have applied for and received permission to work off campus from USCIS. You may work on campus on nongovernmental funds. Therefore, you are not eligible for work study positions but may apply for non-work-study jobs in places such as the Library, the Help Desk, the Records Office, the Donovan Dining Center, and academic departments.

You must obtain the signature of a DSO on your I-20 before you travel outside the United States if you plan to return as a student. See the International Student Advisor or in summers, the Dean of Students.

You must report changes in major, degree, or funding to USCIS. Ask the International Student Advisor to update this information. Address changes must be reported within ten days.

Students who drop out of school with USCIS approval have fifteen days to prepare to leave the country. If you drop out of school without USCIS approval, you must immediately leave the country.

If you fall out of status for any reason, you must apply to the USCIS for reinstatement. Your DSO must file the request on the SEVIS database. You may also be reinstated by leaving the United States and returning on a new I-20.

If illness prevents full-time enrollment, substantiate this by bringing a physician’s statement to the international student advisor. A reduced load or short leave of absence may be approved. If academic or language difficulties threaten your enrollment, consult your international student advisor.