What Is F-1 Status for International Students?

F-1 status is the U.S. nonimmigrant classification that lets a foreign national study full-time at an accredited academic school — a university, college, seminary, conservatory, academic high school, or language training program — that has been certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). It is regulated jointly by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). F-1 status for international students covers academic study only; vocational and trade-school programs fall under M-1 instead.¹ Holding the status brings strict rules on enrollment, employment, and reporting, and breaking them can cost you your legal right to remain in the country.

Who Qualifies

Three things have to be true before you can apply. First, you must be admitted to a full-time program at an SEVP-certified school that leads to a degree, diploma, or certificate, or that completes a structured language curriculum.² Second, you must have a permanent home abroad and intend to return there after your studies — the foreign residence requirement is what tells a consular officer you are coming temporarily rather than to immigrate.¹ Third, you must show enough money to cover tuition, living costs, and other expenses for at least your first year without working illegally.

How to Apply for the F-1 Visa

The steps run in order. Each one depends on the last.

Get Your Form I-20

Once your school admits you, its Designated School Official (DSO) issues Form I-20, the Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status.¹ The I-20 carries your SEVIS ID, your program details, the school’s cost estimate, and confirmation that you have shown adequate finances. You will need it at the visa interview, at the border, and throughout your studies, so keep it safe.

Pay the SEVIS I-901 Fee

Before your interview, pay the I-901 SEVIS fee of $350 online and keep the receipt.³ It funds the Student and Exchange Visitor Program and is separate from the visa application fee your embassy charges.⁴

File the DS-160 and Interview

Complete Form DS-160, the online nonimmigrant visa application, then schedule your interview at the U.S. embassy or consulate.⁵ Bring your I-20, proof of the SEVIS payment, financial documents such as bank statements or scholarship letters, and any academic records the consulate has asked for. The consular officer will confirm your academic plans and your intent to return home, and fingerprints are typically collected during the appointment.¹

Entering the United States

You may not enter more than 30 days before the program start date on your I-20.⁶ At the port of entry a Customs and Border Protection officer inspects your passport, visa, and I-20 before admitting you.⁷ Your I-94 arrival record will usually be electronic and show “D/S” — Duration of Status — rather than a fixed departure date, meaning your authorized stay lasts as long as you keep valid F-1 status.⁸

Maintaining Your F-1 Status

Keeping status is where most problems happen. Even accidental slips can end your right to work, trigger unlawful presence, and bar you from returning to the U.S. for years.

Full Course of Study

You must be enrolled in a full course of study every academic term. Undergraduates generally need at least 12 credit hours per term. Graduate students take whatever their institution certifies as a full load. Students in language or other non-degree academic programs must meet 18 clock hours a week of classroom instruction, or 22 clock hours a week if the program is primarily lab- or hands-on.⁹ You do not need to enroll during official summer or winter breaks so long as you plan to register for the next term.²

When You Can Drop Below Full-Time

Your DSO can authorize a reduced course load in a few narrow situations:¹⁰

A documented medical condition, for up to 12 months total per program level.
Academic difficulties in your first term only — course placement problems, English proficiency, or unfamiliarity with U.S. teaching methods. You must still take at least six credits or half the required clock hours.
Your final term, when fewer courses are needed to finish, as long as you are enrolled in at least one required class.

A reduced load approved by your DSO in advance is not a status problem. Dropping below full-time without that approval is.

Reporting Changes and Grace Periods

Report any change of address to your DSO within 10 days.¹¹ After you finish your program and any authorized practical training, you get a 60-day grace period to prepare to leave, transfer, or apply for a change of status. If your DSO authorizes you to withdraw from classes, the window is 15 days instead. If you simply drop out or lose status without DSO authorization, there is no grace period at all.¹²

Employment Rules

Unauthorized work is one of the fastest ways to lose F-1 status. The rules limit where you can work, how much, and under whose authorization.

On-Campus Work

You can work on campus without special USCIS authorization: up to 20 hours per week during the school year and full-time during official school breaks.¹³ The job does not have to relate to your field of study.

Curricular Practical Training

For off-campus work that is part of your curriculum — an internship, co-op, or practicum — your DSO can authorize Curricular Practical Training (CPT). The work must be directly related to your major and integrated into your program. Your DSO endorses your I-20, and you must have that endorsement in hand before you start. One trap to watch: 12 months or more of full-time CPT makes you ineligible for Optional Practical Training later.¹²

Severe Economic Hardship

If an unexpected financial crisis hits — a lost scholarship, a currency devaluation at home, large medical bills — you may qualify for off-campus work authorization on severe economic hardship grounds.¹³ Your DSO recommends you, and you file Form I-765 with USCIS. Do not start work until you have the Employment Authorization Document. USCIS grants these in one-year increments, and the authorization ends if you transfer schools or the hardship resolves.

Getting a Social Security Number

You need a Social Security number to work legally and to file taxes. Apply at a Social Security Administration office with your unexpired passport, I-94, and I-20, plus proof of authorized employment: a DSO letter for on-campus work, a CPT-endorsed I-20, or an Employment Authorization Document.¹⁴ All documents must be originals or certified copies; photocopies and notarized copies are not accepted.

Optional Practical Training

Optional Practical Training (OPT) lets you work in a role directly related to your field of study for up to 12 months total. You can use it before graduation (pre-completion) or after (post-completion), but the combined total cannot exceed 12 months.¹⁵ Your DSO first recommends you in SEVIS and endorses your I-20; you then file Form I-765 with USCIS. Do not start work until you have your Employment Authorization Document.

The 90-Day Unemployment Limit

On post-completion OPT you cannot be unemployed for more than 90 cumulative days across the whole OPT period. Hit the limit without qualifying employment and you are out of status.¹⁶

The STEM OPT Extension

If your degree is in an eligible STEM field under the Department of Education’s Classification of Instructional Programs codes, you can apply for a 24-month extension of post-completion OPT, bringing your total practical training to as much as 36 months.¹⁷ The eligible list reaches beyond traditional science and engineering into certain agriculture, computer science, health, and psychology programs.¹⁸

The extension adds requirements. You and your employer complete and sign Form I-983, a formal training plan setting out your learning goals, how the job relates to your degree, and how the employer will supervise and evaluate you.¹⁹ The employer must be enrolled in E-Verify, hold a valid Employer Identification Number, and pay you at a rate comparable to similarly situated U.S. workers, and must report your termination or departure to your DSO within five business days.¹⁷ Total allowable unemployment across the combined OPT and STEM OPT period rises to 150 days — that is the ceiling, not an additional 150 days on top of the original 90.²⁰

Cap-Gap Extension

If an employer files an H-1B petition for you while you are on OPT, and the petition is selected in the annual lottery and requests a change of status, your F-1 status and OPT work authorization are automatically extended to the H-1B start date (typically October 1).²¹ Without it, your OPT could expire before H-1B employment can start, leaving a gap.

Traveling and Re-Entering

You can travel internationally in F-1 status, but plan ahead. Before you leave, get a travel signature from your DSO on your I-20. For F-1 students that signature is valid for one year and covers multiple trips.²² On return, CBP checks that the signature is current, your visa stamp is unexpired, and your SEVIS record is active.

If your visa stamp has expired but your F-1 status is still valid, automatic visa revalidation may let you re-enter from Canada, Mexico, or an adjacent island without getting a new visa, provided the trip was 30 days or less and you have a valid I-94.²³ It does not apply if you applied for a new visa during the trip and were denied, or if you traveled anywhere outside those areas.

Taxes

F-1 students have federal tax filing obligations even with little or no income. For your first five calendar years in F-1 status, you are generally treated as a nonresident alien because you are exempt from the substantial presence test during that period.²⁴

Every F-1 student physically in the U.S. during the tax year — income or not — must file Form 8843, which documents your exempt status and keeps your days in the country from counting toward tax residency.²⁵ Miss it, and you could end up classified as a resident alien under the substantial presence test, changing your whole tax picture.

If you had U.S.-taxable income — wages from an on-campus job, CPT, or OPT — you generally file Form 1040-NR, the nonresident alien return. Even without a tax bill, filing may be how you get back money that was withheld from your paycheck.²⁶ After the first five calendar years you may become a resident alien for tax purposes and file on Form 1040 instead.

Transferring Schools

If you move to a different SEVP-certified school, your SEVIS record has to be transferred formally. Tell your current DSO you want to transfer and give them written proof of admission at the new school, along with its SEVIS code and DSO contact information.²⁷ You and your current DSO agree on a release date. On that date SEVIS releases your record to the new school, whose DSO then issues a transfer I-20. You must report to the new school within 15 days of the program start date and enroll full-time. You do not need a new visa stamp; your current F-1 visa remains valid until it expires.

Falling Out of Status and Reinstatement

The usual ways students lose F-1 status are dropping below full-time without DSO approval, working without authorization, and failing to report to a new school after a transfer. Once you are out of status, any work authorization ends, your SEVIS record may be terminated, and you start accumulating unlawful presence. More than 180 days of unlawful presence triggers a three-year bar on returning to the U.S.; more than a year triggers a ten-year bar. Both apply even if you leave voluntarily.

Applying for Reinstatement

Rather than leave, you may be able to apply for reinstatement. To be eligible you generally must:²⁸

File within five months of falling out of status, unless exceptional circumstances prevented earlier filing.
Not have worked without authorization.
Show the violation was beyond your control, or that your DSO could have approved a reduced course load for the reason you fell below full-time, and that you would face extreme hardship without reinstatement.
Be currently pursuing or ready to immediately resume a full course of study.

Your DSO recommends reinstatement in SEVIS and issues a reinstatement I-20. You file Form I-539 with USCIS along with the fee and supporting documents. If you have been out of status more than five months, you also have to pay the SEVIS I-901 fee again. Processing can take a long time, and approval is not guaranteed.

Bringing Your Spouse and Children

Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can come with you in F-2 dependent status, but the limits are significant. F-2 dependents cannot work in the United States at all. An F-2 spouse or child may attend elementary, middle, or high school full-time, but any study beyond that level is limited to part-time or recreational courses. A dependent who wants to pursue a full-time undergraduate or graduate program must change status to F-1 on their own.²⁹

Costs to Budget For

Beyond tuition, plan for the government fees and other expenses that catch students off guard:

SEVIS I-901 fee: $350, paid before your visa interview.³
Visa application fee: varies by embassy; check your local U.S. consulate for the current amount.
Form I-765 fee for OPT: check the USCIS website, since filing fees change periodically.
Health insurance: most universities require it, and school-sponsored plans typically run from roughly $1,800 to $3,800 or more a year.
Driver’s license: state DMVs verify immigration status through the federal SAVE system before issuing a license; fees and rules vary by state.³⁰

Your I-20 lists the school’s estimated cost of attendance, and you are expected to show access to that amount when applying. Running short during your studies can put your status at risk if it pushes you toward unauthorized work.

1
U.S. Department of State. Student Visa
2
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 3 – Courses and Enrollment, Full Course of Study, and Reduced Course Load
3
ICE. I-901 SEVIS Fee
4
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5
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Department of Homeland Security. Maintaining Status
7
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Admission into United States
8
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. 7.4.2 F-1 and M-1 Nonimmigrant Students
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Study in the States. Students – Ensure Your Address is Correct in SEVIS
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eCFR. 8 CFR 214.2 – Special Requirements for Admission, Extension, and Maintenance of Status
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 6 – Employment
14
Social Security Administration. International Students and Social Security Numbers
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Optional Practical Training (OPT) for F-1 Students
16
Department of Homeland Security. Unemployment Counter
17
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Optional Practical Training Extension for STEM Students (STEM OPT)
18
ICE. DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List
19
Study in the States. Form I-983 Overview
20
Department of Homeland Security. Students – STEM OPT Reporting Requirements
21
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Extension of Post Completion Optional Practical Training (OPT) and F-1 Status for Eligible Students
22
Study in the States. Top 10 Questions from DSOs about the Form I-20
23
U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Automatic Revalidation for Certain Temporary Visitors
24
Internal Revenue Service. Tax Residency Status Examples
25
IRS.gov. Form 8843 – Statement for Exempt Individuals and Individuals With a Medical Condition
26
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1040-NR – U.S. Nonresident Alien Income Tax Return
27
Study in the States. Manage Transfer of F-1 SEVIS Record
28
Study in the States. Reinstatement COE (Form I-20)
29
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Chapter 9 – Dependents
30
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. SAVE Verification Process