The Office of Global Initiatives will help you regarding your visa status, but remember that it is primarily YOUR responsibility to maintain legal immigration status during your stay in the US.
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES
- Know your documents, how to keep them current, and when to update them.
- Be registered full-time per semester (minimum 12 hours for undergraduate students, 9 hours for graduate students).
- Maintain good academic standing and make normal progress towards completing your degree.
- Check your documents to be sure they are in order before leaving the US, even for a brief trip, and be sure to have the proper documents to re-enter the US.
- Limit on-campus employment or any authorized off-campus employment to a total of 20 hours per week during the academic semester.
- Do not work off-campus (paid or unpaid) without first obtaining proper authorization from USCIS. (Working without proper authorization constitutes illegal employment, an offense that can lead to deportation.)
- Report promptly any of the following information to someone on the Office of Global Initiatives team:
- Change of Address
- Change of Major
- Change in Passport Information
- New Visa
- Change of name
- File for a Program Extension in a timely manner if you must remain in the US longer than the time estimated for completion of your program as stated on your I-20.
- Follow appropriate procedures to notify the Office of the Registrar, the Office of Global Initiatives and USCIS if you transfer schools or if you change from one educational level to another.
(The above list is an overview of the main responsibilities during your stay in the US, but is in no way a comprehensive list.)
The best information source for F-1 students is always the US Department of Homeland Security's Study in the States website.
