F-1 Maintenance of Status

Fall and Spring Semester                         

• Undergraduate (Associates & Bachelor’s Degrees) = 12 credit hours
• Graduate students (Masters & PhD Degrees) = 9 credit hours
• IEP (Intensive English Program) students = 18 credit hours

Summer Semester

• Continuing students: no enrollment required, and part-time is permitted.
• New students: 6 credit hours required if summer is your 1st semester.
• Change of Status: 6 credit hours required if your change of status was approved after spring semester registration closed.
• IEP (Intensive English Program) students: 18 hours required if summer is your 1st semester. No enrollment is required if you were full-time the Spring semester prior to summer.

Final Term / Graduating

• If your final term degree requirements don't add up to full-time enrollment, you must request authorization for "Reduced Course Load" (RCL). Please see #3 below for more details.

Regulatory Reference: 8 C.F.R. 3.23.5

Definition:

A concurrently-enrolled student is a student who is currently on the visa sponsorship of Georgia State and who is also taking classes at another SEVIS-approved institution.

Full-time Enrollment Requirement:

Concurrently-enrolled students must maintain full-time enrollment (at least twelve (12) hours for undergraduate students and at least nine (9) hours for graduate students). If summer is your first semester, you must be enrolled full-time (at least six (6) credit hours for both undergraduate and graduate students) for the summer semester. Continuing students are not required to enroll at Georgia State in the summer semester. Credits to count towards full-time enrollment may come from either school, as long as the total combined credits amount to a full course load. At least one course must be taken at Georgia State.

Documentation Required:

A concurrently-enrolled student must provide the SEVIS school code of the other institution to the Georgia State International Student and Scholar Services office (ISSS). Concurrently-enrolled students must provide proof of full-time enrollment (for example, registration record or unofficial transcript, listing credit hours, from the other school where the student is taking classes).

Final Degree Requirement Completed at Georgia State:

University policy states that Georgia State students may NOT complete their final degree requirement at another school; the final degree requirement must be completed at Georgia State. If you have questions about this policy please speak with your academic department.

Additional requirements for Graduate Students:

Graduate students seeking concurrent enrollment must provide written approval from the academic advisor or professor in their major department. The approval must state that classes taken as concurrent enrollment will transfer back to Georgia State and count towards your intended degree.

•  Only one online course (3 credit hours) may count towards full-time enrollment each semester.
• This does not prevent you from taking additional courses in any given semester. This is sometimes referred to as “overload.” Those courses can be online or in-person but may be subject to academic limits or requirements. Always check with your academic advisor before registering in additional / overload courses.
• Audited courses do not count towards enrollment requirements. You may only audit a course over and beyond the minimum requirements above for credit-bearing courses.

Approval for Reduced Course Load (RCL) is possible in certain situations. RCL approval is the only way to receive an exception to full-time enrollment requirements.  All RCL's require pre-authorization by ISSS.

• Do Not withdraw from courses without ISSS advisement, even if you are failing.

Reasons for RCL and authorization duration:

1. Final Term (semester authorization): you are in your final term, and less than a full course load is required to complete your program, and the class(es) left are required for degree/program completion.
2. Dissertation / Thesis (length determined by academic advisor): you have completed all courses and you're currently working on a dissertation or thesis only.
3. Research Abroad (semester authorization): you will be conducting research abroad that is directly related to your thesis or dissertation. Note: You must still be registered in at least 1 credit hour at Georgia State during your time abroad.
4. Difficulty with English Language (semester authorization): you are experiencing difficulties with the English language during your 1st semester only.
5. Improper Course Placement (1st-semester authorization only): you have been placed in an improper course level in error by the university. This requires a written statement from a university official. Students cannot request this type of RCL based on their own opinions.
6. Medical Condition (semester authorization): you have a medical condition with written documentation from a Medical Doctor (M.D.), Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O) or a Clinical Psychologist that recommends temporary part-time enrollment or no enrollment for a specific academic term. Pregnancy - see below. For all medical RCL's, a representative from The Access and Accommodations Center (AACE) (see below) will also review your request. *

Duration: Students must return to full-time enrollment the semester following an approved RCL. A medical RCL can be extended into the following term if necessary; however, the student must request the authorization and submit updated medical documentation in iStart.

Pregnancy: a normal pregnancy or delivery is not considered a medical condition eligible for an RCL, unless there are medical complications outside of a normal pregnancy/delivery. In that case, ISSS may authorize medical RCL on a case-by-case basis.  Contact ISSS if you have any questions.

• Academic RCL requests are due by 5:15 p.m. on the last day of the 1st week of class.
• Requests for RCL are submitted via iStart

ISSS strives to make Georgia State a welcoming, supportive and accessible campus for students with disabilities, and other debilitating conditions. ISSS has partnered with The Access and Accommodations Center (AACE) here on campus to help enable all students with any kind of disability to reach their goals. The Disability Services staff works diligently with students to provide accommodation services and programs to assist students. Together, ISSS and The Access and Accommodations Center (AACE) want our students to have a positive educational experience in the USA.

View more information about the Access and Accommodations Center (AACE).

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ensures that no qualified individual with a disability can be denied access or participation in services, programs and activities at Georgia State. This act applies to all aspects of campus activities, employment, student programming and services provided to the whole community.

At Georgia State, international students and domestic students receive access to the same services and resources to support access and accommodations. The Access and Accommodations Center serves students with:

• physical
• learning
• sensory
• psychological

disabilities that substantially alter a major life activity. Examples of major life activities include, but are not limited to:

• walking
• communicating
• thinking and learning
• seeing

It is important to note that many students have non-visible disabilities such as diabetes, arthritis, HIV/AIDS, depression and other conditions.

For more information about ADA, please contact the Access and Accommodations Center.

F-1 students who have completed their program of study have 60 days to leave the United States, apply for change of status or transfer to another school. Note that this does not apply if you do not complete your program; if you leave without graduating, you do not receive a grace period.

F-1 students who have withdrawn from classes after receiving authorization from ISSS have 15 days to leave the U.S.

If you have withdrawn from classes without previous authorization from ISSS, you have no grace period and must leave the U.S. immediately.

After your F-1 OPT expires, you have 60 days to leave the United States, apply for a change of status or transfer to another school.

If you are transferring from Georgia State to another school after OPT or after you complete your program of study, you need to request that your SEVIS record be transferred to your new school. This transfer must happen within 60 days after the program completion date (end of your last semester) or after your OPT expires. Please note that you are not required to start your new program within that 60-day-grace period, but you must start it within 5 months from the end of the semester or the date your record was transferred, whichever is earlier.

If you request your transfer in the middle of the semester, you have no grace period and you need to start studying at your new school immediately.

Depart the U.S. and re-enter with a new initial I-20 from the school where you lost status or from a new school authorized to issue I-20’s. This option requires the student to return to his/her home country. The student may also need a new visa issued by the local U.S. Embassy or Consulate in the student’s home country.

Current Students: To obtain a new I-20 from Georgia State, provide ISSS with updated financial information and be enrolled full-time for the current semester. You are encouraged to contact your ISSS Advisor to discuss risks associated with this option.

Please contact your ISSS advisor to discuss eligibility for reinstatement. A student is allowed to remain in the U.S. while their reinstatement application is pending with USCIS. Full-time enrollment is required while reinstatement is pending. If reinstatement takes longer than the 60-day grace period after completion of your program of study end, you will not be eligible for OPT.

• Failure to enroll or maintain full-time enrollment
• Failure to request an I-20 extension before your current I-20 expires
• Failure to pay all tuition and fees by the payment deadline, resulting in an automatic drop of all enrollment
• Failure to transfer between schools in a timely manner
• Employment without authorization
• Unable to Register new initial SEVIS record due to lack of valid local (U.S.) address

Not everyone is eligible for reinstatement. The eligibility requirements are below. Make sure you contact your ISSS advisor to discuss your particular circumstances as soon as possible after termination of status

Eligibility Requirements:

• You have not been out of status for more than 5 months
• You are enrolled full time or plan to enroll full time as soon as possible
• You have not been employed without authorization
• You are not in deportation proceedings
• You lost status for reasons beyond your control
• You do not have a record of repeated or willful violations or other unlawful activity

Time Limit:

Students who have lost status have a period of 5 months to apply for reinstatement. If you apply beyond the 5-month-period, your application is less likely to be approved because you will have to demonstrate exceptional circumstances€ which prevented you from applying within 5 months.

F1 students who contact ISSS prior to course withdrawal may be eligible for termination of status based on “approved early withdrawal.”  In this case, if they plan to return to the U.S. within 5 months, they can request “Reactivation” of status, which resets status to “active.”  Reactivation protects a student’s eligibility for OPT/CPT associated with the original I-20 and visa if they have not expired. Approval for reactivation is granted by USCIS, not ISSS.

1. Contact ISSS at least 2 months before returning to Georgia State so we can request reactivation.
2. Do not purchase airfare until the outcome of your request is determined.
3. ISSS will contact you when your SEVIS record is reactivated, thus restoring it to “active” status. Processing times vary from 2 - 4 weeks or more.  During this time, it is very important to check email regularly from ISSS if we need additional information for USCIS within a short deadline.
4. Confirm if the travel signature on page 2 of your I-20 is less than 6 months old. If not, request an updated travel signature from ISSS.

If approved for “Reactivation” by USCIS, re-enter the U.S. with unexpired F-1 visa, valid passport and your original I-20.

If you believe that you have lost your F-1 status, contact or visit ISSS to speak with an advisor immediately.

USCIS application processing times are unpredictable. ISSS has no control over the processing time. Therefore, if Reinstatement will likely take longer than the 60-day grace period after your program of study ends, you will not be eligible for OPT.

If you don’t apply for reinstatement or pursue the travel option to regain status, you will be unlawfully present, which is risky. This could lead to deportation proceedings if you encounter law enforcement. In addition, you will not be eligible for F-1 benefits, including employment. The longer you are in the U.S. unlawfully, the harder it will be in the future to present a compelling reason for new status or visa and associated benefits.

Yes, you may continue studying at Georgia State if you are in terminated status. You may also be admitted to Georgia State in terminated status. However, you will not qualify for any benefits of F1 status, such as CPT, OPT, on-campus employment, GRA’s, waivers or Georgia State-funded scholarships, issuance of a Social Security number or a Georgia Driver’s License in terminated status.

 No. Please see Employment in F-1 Status.

No. If you are out of status you are not eligible for any of the benefits related to F-1 status.