If you have questions about maintaining your immigration status contact the Office of International and Off-Campus Programs and the Summer School. Our advisors are here to answer all of your questions on maintaining status.

In order for you to stay temporarily in the U.S. as a lawful F-1 student, you must comply with specific regulations of Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which are listed below. (This is not an exhaustive list.) This is referred to as "maintaining status" or "being in status". In addition to making normal progress toward completing a course of study at TCNJ, you must:

• Report to the DSO (Designated School Official) to have his/her SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System) record registered in SEVIS in a timely fashion no later than 20 days after the "program start date" on the I-20.

NEW STUDENTS: Initial SEVIS Registration must take place no later than 5 days after the "drop/ add" of semester that corresponds to the "program start date" designated on the I-20.

CONTINUING STUDENTS: Continuing SEVIS Registration must take place each term or session, no later than 5 days after each "drop/add" period of each semester that corresponds to the "next session start date" in the SEVIS record

 

• Enroll full-time (12 semester credits for undergraduate; 9 semester credits for graduate students) during fall and spring semesters at the school listed on the currently valid Form I-20; exceptions include official school breaks or approved specific exceptions in advance by the DSO

• Maintain attendance at the designated school in the I-20

• Keep your passport valid at all times.

• Complete your degree or request a program extension prior to the program end date specified on your I-20.

• Comply with required procedures for a school transfer

• Obtain a new I-20 for change in educational level, major or source of funding.

• Abide by the F-1 grace period rules (LISTED BELOW)

• Report a change of address to the DSO within 10 days of the change, so that SEVIS can be updated

• Abide by the rules requiring disclosure of information and prohibition on criminal activity

• Not work, either on or off-campus, unless specifically authorized under the F-1 employment regulations
  
  

If you fail to comply with any of the above regulations, you will be considered out of status. Subsequently, your status violation will be reported to DHS via SEVIS, and you will be ineligible for any immigration benefits

F-1 Grace Periods

The three "grace periods" in F-1 status are:

 

• An F-1 student may be admitted up to 30 days before the program start date listed on the Form I-20

• An F-1 Student may remain in the United States for up to 60 days beyond:

 

1.    The completion date on Form I-20, or the completion of the program of study, if earlier than the date on Form I-20
2.    The completion date of any authorized optional practical training following completion of studies

 

• An F-1 student who has been granted an authorized early withdrawal by a DSO may remain in the United States for up to 15 days following the withdrawal noted in SEVIS, to prepare to depart the United States.
  

 

Who Must Go Through Initial SEVIS Registration?

• New F-1 students who enter the United States in "Initial" SEVIS status;

• F-1 students still in "Initial" SEVIS status, whose nonimmigrant status has just been changed to F-1 by USCIS to begin an academic program;

• F-1 students who have had a "change of level" processed; and

• Transfer-in students, who have just transferred to a new school.

  
  

 

REMEMBER, maintaing you F-1 status in the United States is your responsibility. You are expected to know and comply with federal regulatory restrictions relative to your status.