Maintaining your legal status as an F-1 of J-1 student in the United States is your
responsibility and easy to do by following these three guidelines which are explained
in more detail below:
- Register for a full-time course of study
- Observe rules regarding employment (do not work illegally)
- Do not exceed your authorized period of stay
Our office provides information, advice and assistance regarding your immigration
service status. However, we do not monitor your status nor are we in a position
of enforcing the immigration service laws. Here’s what you need to do in order to
maintain your F-1 or J-1 student status.
- Register for a Full-Time Course Load: You are required to be a full-time
registered student during each of the academic terms (Fall, Winter, Spring quarters).
Undergraduate students must enroll in a minimum of 12 units per quarter and graduate
students in a minimum of 8 units. (Some departments may require that a graduate
student register for more than 8 units.) You are not required to be a registered
student during the break periods (i.e., Summer break). You are considered to be
maintaining your immigration service status while you are pursuing a full course
of study toward your educational objective.
If for some reason you are unable to register for a full-time course load, or will
be dropping classes that would bring you below the minimum units required, please
contact OISS as soon as possible to discuss your situation.
Exception to requirement for full-time enrollment during the academic terms:
If in your last academic term you require less than the minimum units in order to
graduate, you are not required to register for more units than needed for graduation.
For example, if you need only four units in the Spring term to graduate, you can
register for 4 units and still be considered maintaining your legal status. If you
decide to take less than the minimum units in your last quarter, you do need to
contact OISS.
- Observe Rules Regarding Employment (Do Not Work Illegally): You must not
engage in unauthorized employment. Generally speaking, if you are in valid F-1 or
J-1 status and are a full-time continuing student, you are eligible to be employed
on the UCSB campus without any special authorization. All off-campus employment
requires some form of documented authorization issued by either the OISS or UC Immigration
service and Customs Enforcement (US ICE) depending on the nature of the employment.
Employment (both on and off campus combined) is restricted to 50%-time (20 hours
per week or less) while school is in session, but can be full-time during the break
periods. Information on off-campus employment authorization can be obtained at OISS.
(See also section on F-1 Student Employment
or J-1 Student Employment)
- Do Not Exceed Your Authorized Period of Stay: You must not remain
in the US beyond your authorized period of stay. You were admitted to the US as
an F-1 or J-1 student for what is termed Duration of Status (D/S). This means you
are authorized for a limited stay in the US for the duration of the study program
indicated on your I-20 form (F-1 students) or DS-2019 (J-1 students).
There are two issues to be aware of regarding this requirement:
- You need to be sure that your I-20 or DS-2019 is current. The date on item #5
of the I-20 form, or item #3 of the DS-2019 , indicates the period of time you are
allowed to pursue your educational objective. This date can be extended, if necessary,
by coming into OISS. (An extension will most probably be necessary for J-1 students
since the initial DS-2019 is typically made up for only a one-year period). You
will need to extend your I-20 or DS-2019 BEFORE it expires. Please contact our office
at least two months before the expiration of your I-20 or DS-2019 in order to process
an extension.
- Your authorized period of stay ends when you complete your program of study
or otherwise stop being a full-time continuing student, even if your I-20 or DS-2019
has not expired. When you complete your program of study you are allowed to
remain legally in the US for an additional period of time - 60 days for F-1 students
and 30 days for J-1 students.
Failure to Maintain Status
In case you wonder what might happen if you were to fail to maintain your immigration
service status, you should be aware that you would be technically illegally in the
US and, while very unlikely, you could be asked by US Immigration service and Customs
Enforcement (US ICE) to leave the United States. More likely, being out-of-status
(violating your immigration service status) will cause problems for you in participating
in the benefits of your immigration service status (e.g., employment) or making
later changes in your plans in the US (e.g., applying to change your immigration
service status or transferring schools). Once out-of-status, you can only be reinstated
back to a legal status through an US ICE Office or the State Department (for J-1
status holders). Therefore, it is imperative that you are aware of what
is required of you to maintain a legal immigration service status in the US.