Many students say “my F‑1 visa” when they actually mean three different things: the visa stamp in their passport, the F‑1 status they hold inside the United States, and the SEVIS record and I‑20 connected to their school. These are related, but not identical.
Before choosing a school, check your credit transfer, visa/status situation, work options, total cost and cashback eligibility.
F‑1 visa vs F‑1 status
| Term | What it is |
|---|---|
| F‑1 visa | A travel document from a US consulate or embassy that lets you ask to be admitted. Once you are admitted, it can expire while you stay lawfully (Study in the States). |
| F‑1 status | What you must maintain after you are admitted, by following the rules below. |
| Form I‑20 | Issued in SEVIS by the SEVP-certified school that accepted you, for your programme. |
| SEVIS record | The DHS system that tracks F, M and J students; your school reports changes such as your address and programme to it (ICE). |
The rules that keep your status
| Rule | What it says |
|---|---|
| Full course of study | Undergraduates: at least 12 semester or quarter hours a term. Graduate students: the load your DSO certifies as full-time. |
| Online classes | Only one class, or 3 credits, a term counts toward your full load; none in a language programme. If you need only one course to finish, it cannot be online. |
| Reduced course load | Only with your DSO's approval first, and at least 6 credit hours. For academic difficulty (early English or reading difficulty, unfamiliarity with US teaching methods, or a wrong course placement), once per programme level. For medical reasons, up to 12 months in total per level, with a letter from a licensed doctor or psychologist. Dropping below full time without approval puts you out of status. |
| On-campus work | Up to 20 hours a week while school is in session; full-time when it is not, or in the annual vacation. A new student may not start more than 30 days before classes begin. |
| Off-campus work | Only with authorisation, such as CPT, which your DSO authorises in SEVIS, or OPT, which USCIS approves with a work permit (EAD). |
| Name or address change | Report it within 10 days; your DSO then updates SEVIS within 21 days. |
| Travel | A DSO travel signature on your I‑20 is valid for 1 year, or 6 months while you are on post-completion OPT (Study in the States). After more than 5 months away without staying enrolled, you generally need a new I‑20. |
These are the rules in 8 CFR 214.2(f) as they stood before the postponed 2026 rule, which USCIS says it is applying (8 CFR 214.2, text before the 2026 rule).
When your studies end
After you complete your programme and any practical training, you have 60 days to leave the US, transfer or change level. If your DSO authorises you to withdraw from classes, you have 15 days. If you fall out of status, there is no grace period.
The 2026 rule on hold
On 17 July 2026 the Department of Homeland Security published a final rule that would replace duration of status with fixed admission periods of up to 4 years, cut the 60-day period after you finish to 30 days, stop students below graduate level from transferring or changing major in their first academic year, and stop graduate students from transferring, except with SEVP approval (Federal Register, 91 FR 44976). It was due to take effect on 15 September 2026.
On 14 September 2026 the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts postponed the rule nationwide and barred DHS from implementing it while the case continues, in Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration v. DHS (court order, docket). USCIS says it will "proceed under the previous regulatory provisions" (USCIS), and the court has set a status conference for 2 October 2026. Neither version is settled: check the current position before you plan around it (as of 24 September 2026).
How F‑1 status affects university transfer
If you transfer schools, your SEVIS record must move correctly. Your current DSO sets a release date, usually the end of your term or earlier, and your new school can issue its I‑20 only after that date. You then contact the new school's DSO within 15 days of the programme start date on the new I‑20, and you must start classes within 5 months (ICE, F‑1 transfers). The F‑1 transfer guide takes you through it.
Common mistakes
- Thinking a valid visa stamp automatically means valid status.
- Working off campus before your DSO authorises CPT, or before USCIS approves OPT and your EAD arrives.
- Taking a second online class that does not count toward your full load.
- Missing transfer release date planning.
- Letting an I‑20 expire before fixing the academic or transfer plan.
- Changing schools without speaking to the DSO.
Official sources to verify
- Study in the States: I‑20, visa and status
- 8 CFR 214.2(f), the text before the 2026 rule
- USCIS: Form I‑539, with its note on the court order
- ICE SEVIS: Transfers for F‑1 students
Rules checked on 24 September 2026 against the official pages linked. They change: confirm on the linked page before you act.
