International Students

Maintaining Status

Students in F-1 or J-1 status must meet certain obligations to maintain status. The student must

  1. Report any change of address to DISA and the U.S. government within ten days after the change occurs.

    Students must report address changes to ISA by logging onto eLion and following the instructions on line for students. Students must have their Penn State ACCESS (email) account to make changes.

    Since DISA reports all address changes within SEVIS, the government is informed immediately of any address changes.

    The home address must be a foreign address. The local address must be a local address, not a post office box address.

  2. Keep passport valid at all times. In general, passports should always have at least six months before expiration.

  3. Attend the school the student was last authorized by the DHS to attend.

  4. Maintain full-time academic status. Note: Only one 3-credit course in distance education (Independent Learning) or on-line course may be used toward full-time enrollment each semester.

    Undergraduate students should enroll for a minimum of twelve (12) credits to fulfill DHS visa requirements. Generally students will enroll for fourteen (14) to nineteen (19) credits per semester to complete an undergraduate degree in four years. Students beginning in Summer I must be registered for 12 credits; students beginning in Summer II must be registered for 6 credits.

    Graduate students will enroll for variable credits up to fifteen (15), with nine (9) credits being the minimum required to fulfill DHS visa requirements for full-time enrollment. Students beginning in summer must be registered for 5 credits in summer unless they have a 1/2-time assistantship which requires only 4 credits.

    Exceptions to full-time study must be cleared through the International Student Adviser in advance by completing the Request for Reduced Course Load. All exceptions granted by the International Student Adviser must be reported to DHS within 21 days as well as the return to full-time status. Note: Exceptions to full-time study due to academic difficulties are limited to one semester during the entire program of study; documented medical illnesses are limited to one year during the program of study. Failure to enroll for full-time study or to obtain approval from the International Student Adviser in advance is automatically out-of-status.

  5. Apply for an extension no later than 30-45 days before the completion date on the I-20 or before the completion date on the DS-2019. DISA will issue new SEVIS documents. Extensions require new financial documentation as well as an academic adviser form. F-1 students and J-1 students.

  6. Apply for new documents when changing from one education level to another at Penn State, one major to another at Penn State, or one Penn State campus to another Penn State campus (e.g., from the master's to the doctoral level) at Penn State. Complete the form for Request for Updated I-20 or DS-2019 (New Academic Level)

  7. Apply for a transfer from one school to another.

    F-1 students must notify the International Student Adviser at the current school of their plan to transfer to another school. Only after the current school releases the student can the new school issue a new I-20. The student must apply for a transfer through the International Student Adviser at the new school within fifteen (15) days of beginning attendance at the new school.

    J-1 students transferring from one sponsor to another must notify the current sponsor of their intent to transfer to another school. After determining eligibility for transfer, the current sponsor will release the exchange visitor student to the other sponsor and only then will the new sponsor issue the DS-2019.

    Complete the form for Request to Transfer from Penn State

  8. Refrain from off-campus employment without authorization. See the employment information page.

  9. Limit on-campus employment to a total of 20 hours per week while school is in session. Since regulations prohibit students from working more than 20 hours per week, 3/4-time assistantships are not allowed. In addition, the benefit of working on campus requires F-1 and J-1 students to be in status (i.e. full-time registration, valid I-20 or DS-2019 and passport). At Penn State, the I-9 form (Employment Eligibility) is processed by DISA, 410 Boucke Building, for all international students.

  10. Obtain signatures on immigration documents from international student adviser before traveling outside of the United States. Students may need a new visa to re-enter the U.S. Please check with DISA and see the travel information regarding documents required for re-entry.

  11. Keep all immigration documents in a secure place. Students are required to keep all certificates of eligibility (for F-1 students, they should have all I-20 copies together; for J-1 students, they should have all DS-2019 copies (including any previously issued IAP-66s). In addition, students are required to keep safely the I-94 and passport. Students should inform ISA if any of these documents are lost.

  12. Maintain health insurance for student and all dependents (spouse, children).

  13. File tax returns each year by April 15 ( even if there is no income, there are other forms that must be completed)

  14. Ask the international student adviser in DISA, 410 Boucke Building, if unsure about any rules. Students are ultimately responsible for knowing the rules and regulations of their status while in the U.S. Not knowing the rules is not an excuse with the government, and not following the regulations can affect future immigration benefits.