Student Visas

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.

Under certain circumstances you may be able to extend your stay in the United States if your studies will take longer than the date listed on your I-20 ID or your vocational program lasts longer than a year.

You are allowed to stay in the United States for one year or for as long as you are enrolled as a full-time student in a vocational program (plus thirty days to prepare to leave the country), whichever is shorter. You should be allowed to stay in the United States 30 days beyond the departure date on your INS Form I-94 (Arrival-Departure Record) and SEVIS Form I-20ID (Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant (M-1) Student Status - For Vocational Students), as long as your stay does not exceed one year.

You may also apply to stay in the country after the completion of your studies to pursue practical training.

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).

Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 years of age may come with you to the United States in M-2 nonimmigrant status. The M-2 status of your family will be dependent upon your status as the M-1 vocational student. This means that if you change your status, your family must change their status as well. If you lose your status, your family will also lose their status. (For more information on changing status, please see

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. If you are accepted, the school should send you SEVIS Form I-20M-N/ID (Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant (M-1) Student Status - For Vocational Students).

The M-1 visa is intended or individuals wishing to pursue nonacademic or vocational studies. The M-1 category includes students in vocational or other nonacademic programs, other than language training.

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.

In general, all non-U.S. citizens must have some type of immigration authorization in order to study in the U.S. Some non-U.S. citizens who are attending schools in the U.S. do so based on some type of derivative status from their parents. For example, a child accompanying a parent on H-1B status, may be in the U.S. on H-4 status, which permits the child to attend school. However, in order for a non-U.S citizen, who has no such derivative status, to study in the U.S., he or she must obtain some type of "student visa". There are basically three types of visas which allow for some type of study in the U.S.:

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

Students may leave the United States and be readmitted after temporary absences.

Students should consult their Designated School Official (DSO) prior to traveling. Your DSO generally works in the International Student Office. You must have a current SEVIS Form I-20 endorsed for travel and your DSO needs to be able to verify that your SEVIS record is accurate and up-to-date.

When making your travel plans, please remember that you must be a full-time student to keep your M-1 student status. Upon your return to the United States, you should provide immigration inspectors with:

You and your spouse and children may not accept employment. However, you may apply for practical training after you complete your studies.

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.