The following is a list of all requirements to maintain legal F-1 status. Details for each below.
Details below as well as more information about violation of F-1 status.
Any time your local address changes, please submit MyISS>F-1 and J-1 Student Services>Address Update to provide us with your correct local address. Those whose academic program requires them to be elsewhere in the US, such as during Curricular Practical Training | ISS (purdue.edu), should report their physical, home address near to the program location.
You must notify us through the myISS portal within 10 days of any change to your local (U.S.) address.
Maintain a valid/unexpired passport for yourself and all F-2 dependents (if any). Contact your embassy 6 months prior to the expiration date to renew
Request a Program Extension if you will not graduate by the Program End Date listed on your I-20. Note that once studies are completed, F-1 students are permitted a 60-day grace period, but if you are not completing your program, you must extend prior to the program end date on your I-20. Make the request through myISS as early in the semester as possible. The deadline to extend your I-20 is 14 calendar days before the expiration.
Request a new I-20 from ISS if there are any changes to your academic program. This includes changes such as:
Change of funding
Change of degree level
Name changes: submit MyISS>General Services>Ask Student Counselor to request a change of name, uploading documenation confirming new name, such as new passport.
Minimum Number of Credit Hours Required:
Undergraduate = minimum 12 credit hours
Graduate with Graduate Staff appointment requiring employment (has a work requirement) = minimum 6 credit hours
Graduate with no Graduate Staff appointment = minimum 8 credit hours
Per semester, only the equivalent of one course or three credit hours delivered online or via distance education may be counted toward the minimum full course of study requirement if the class does not require the student's physical attendance for at least 50% of class time.
Additional online or distance education courses may be taken as long as the minimum number of credit hours has been met.
The following are examples of courses that are the equivalent of one course or three credit hours.
In both the examples above, the online course(s) taken are the equivalent to one course or three credit hours.
Undergraduates must have at least 9 credit hours of courses requiring in-person instruction each fall and spring semester. This requirement changes during the Last Semester of Program (see below).
The number of in-person credit hours requirement minimum for graduate students depends on whether they have a Graduate Student Assistantship (GSA).
This requirement changes during the Last Semester of Program (see below).
The Graduate School has stated that thesis research hours are considered in-person instruction credit hours.
Audited courses do NOT count toward your minimum full-time enrollment status.
Summer registration is not required to maintain your legal status if you were full time in the previous spring semester and you will be full time in the subsequent fall semester in the same academic program. However some academic programs require summer enrollment. Check with your academic advisor to learn more about departmental requirements.
If summer is your first or last semester, fulltime registration is required unless you qualify for an exception. Fulltime registration for the summer is six (6) credit hours except for graduate students with a Graduate Staff Appointment when three (3) credit hours is required.
If your final semester will be summer, review instructions below for exceptions to the fulltime registration requirement.
Undergraduate students in their final semester may register part-time, but they must be in at least one class in which they are required to be physically present on campus for the majority of the semester. Students must be enrolled in and pursuing all remaining coursework with the intention of graduation at the end of the semester and no more than three credit hours of the remaining required coursework may be delivered via distance learning.
Graduate students in their final semester needing less than full time registration to complete their degree must request approval for a reduced course load using the Reduced Course Load for Academic Reason e-form in MyISS.
Do not participate in any off-campus employment activities, paid and unpaid opportunities or employment, including mandatory orientation associated with off-campus employment activities without express written permission from ISS or USCIS. See the section on F-1 employment for more information. Off-campus employment can be any of the following: Internship (paid or unpaid), Co-Op (paid or unpaid), casually helping a friend with their business, starting a business, Interns for Indiana, and other similar scenarios.
Do not pursue or continue any employment, paid or unpaid, on the Purdue University campus after the program end date on your I-20, unless you have documented employment authorization from USCIS.
It is important to keep all your immigration documents in a safe place. These documents are proof of your F-1 status. You should keep all immigration documents indefinitely, as you may have to present them in the future if you apply for other immigration benefits.
I-94 Print-out/Card
Current I-20
All previous I-20's
Current or previous EAD cards
It is your responsibility to maintain your immigration status by complying with federal immigration regulations and university policies. The ISS office is here to assist you with this by providing you information and services to ensure you are able to remain compliant.
If you fail to maintain your status (otherwise known as a having “violation of status” or falling “out of status”), this is a very serious matter that must be taken care of as quickly as possible. Please see the Violation of Status webpage for information and instructions.