F-1 Visa

Students may leave the United States and be readmitted after absences of five months or less. Upon your return to the United States, you should provide immigration inspectors with:

• A valid passport.
• A valid F-1 entry visa stamped in the passport (if necessary).
• A current SEVIS Form I-20 ID (Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant (F-1) Student Status - for Academic and Language Students) signed by your appropriate school official (you should have the appropriate school official sign your SEVIS Form I-20 each time you wish to temporarily travel outside the United States).
• A new SEVIS Form I-20 A-B/I-20 ID if there have been any substantive changes in your course of study or place of study.
• Proof of your financial support.

When making your travel plans, please remember that you must be a full-time student to keep your F-1 student status. You will be considered to be "in status" if you take the annual summer vacation, as long as you are eligible and intend to register for the next school term.

Under certain limited circumstances and conditions, you may be allowed to work on-campus or off-campus (after the completion of your first year of study). You may also be eligible for authorization to work after you complete your studies, for a limited period of time, which is known as "Practical training". Your accompanying spouse and child, however, may not accept employment.

Your spouse and children may come with you to the United States in F-2 status. The F-2 status of your family will be dependent upon your status as the F-1 academic student. This means that if you change your status, your family must change their status. If you lose your status, your family will also lose their status.

You do not need to apply to extend your stay in the United States as long as you are maintaining your student status and making normal progress toward completing your academic course of study. The designated school official (DSO) from your school will write down a completion date on your SEVIS Form I-20 A-B (Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant (F-1) Student Status - for Academic and Language Students). Under normal circumstances, you should be able to complete your studies by this date. If you need to extend your stay for compelling academic or medical reasons, then you should contact your designated school official (DSO).

You first must apply to study at a SEVIS approved school in the United States. When you contact a school that you are interested in attending, you should be told immediately if the school accepts foreign national students.

The Congressional Research Service (CRS), issued a report on Foreign Students in the United States: Policies and Legislation . Read the full PDF here (212KB).

You are allowed to stay in the United States for as long as you are enrolled as a full-time student in an educational program and making normal progress toward completing your course of study. If approved, you also will be allowed to stay in the country up to twelve additional months beyond the completion of your studies to pursue practical training. At the end of your studies or practical training, you will be given sixty days to prepare to leave the country.

If you wish to attend public high school (grades 9-12) in the United States in student (F-1) status, you must submit evidence that the local school district has been reimbursed in advance for the unsubsidized per capita cost of the education. Also, attendance at U.S. public high schools cannot exceed a total of 12 months. F-1 students are prohibited from attending public elementary schools and publicly-funded adult education programs in the United States.

A U.S. Department of State statement about this topic appears below.  

 

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New Legal Requirements for F-1 Foreign Students in Public Schools

The F-1 Visa is one of the most popular visas used by students. It is intended for individuals wishing to pursue academic studies and/or language training programs. The F-1 category includes academic students in colleges, universities, seminaries, conservatories, academic high schools, other academic institutions, and in language training.