Rules for Maintaining Valid F-1 Status
AS AN F-1 STUDENT, YOU ARE MAINTAINING YOUR STATUS WHEN YOU:
- Keep your passport valid at all times
- Within 10 days of moving, report any change of address to the Office of International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS). This address change is then reported by the ISSS to the federal immigration authorities.
- Attend the school that you are authorized to attend, as indicated on your I-20
- Pursue a full course of study
- Maintain registration each semester until graduation or transfer to a new school
- Obtain prior authorization from the ISSS before dropping below
a full-time course of study. The very limited exceptions to the full-time
course rule are:
- Academic Difficulty
- Medical Condition
- Completion of Course of Study
- Follow required procedures for:
- moving from one educational level to another (e.g., Master's to PhD)
- transferring from one school to another
- filing a timely application for program extension - Limit on-campus employment to 20 hours per week when school is in session.
- Refrain from off-campus employment without authorization
- Possess proof of health and accident insurance which includes a medical
evacuation and repatriation benefit (either the SUNY mandatory
policy or an approved comparable policy).