Immigration

VISA and Document Overview for Students in F-1 Status
Predeparture and Visa Information
Travel Abroad and Re-Entry into the United States
I-20 and Letters of Good Standing Request Forms
Full time study
Immigration and online classes

Visa and Document Overview for Students in F-1 Status

Your Legal Obligations

It is essential to remember that you must take full responsibility for maintaining your status with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). That is, you are responsible for finding out, knowing, and following pertinent regulations.

If you take time early on to familiarize yourself with your obligations to the Department of Homeland Security, you should find it easy to maintain your legal status. If, however, you allow yourself to fall "out of status", it may be extraordinarily difficult to be reinstated to legal F-1 status.

USCIS publishes a fact sheet for F-1 students related to Maintaining Your Immigration Status While a Student or Exchange Visitor that is available at: http://www.ice.gov/sevis/SEVISFactSheet.htm

Additional resources are available by visiting:

Study in the States, Department of Homeland Security        http://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/

U.S. Customs and Border Protection        http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/

International students in F-1 status are in SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System), a national database through which student immigration documents created and student records maintained. As your visa sponsor, the University has legal obligations and reporting requirements to USCIS, which are handled by the Office of International Student Services. Among other things, this office is required to make regular reports on students' enrollment status, completion of program, employment recommendations, and failure to maintain status.

A Few Words of Advice for Students

• Familiarize yourself with USCIS Glossary of Terms. • Bring with you your passport and all relevant immigration documents - including your I-20 and any previous I-20's - when you come to the Office of International Student Services for immigration information or document processing. • The Office of International Student Services is here to help you and advise you during your studies at the University of South Alabama. While most requests are processed in the office during your visit, please allow 2-3 business days for processing of any letters, immigration documents, etc. • Carry financial documentation when you travel. • If you are the least bit uncertain about your status - for example, whether your program will be full-time, whether your permission to stay is valid, or whether you can be paid for an assistantship - check with the Office of International Student Services immediately. Students who do not meet the full-time or normal progress requirements may have problems restoring their status. Therefore, if you believe your circumstances warrant extraordinary consideration, it is extremely important that you consult with the Office of International Student Services before registering for your program.

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Predeparture and Visa Information

Click on the link below in regards to Important Predeparture / Visa Information from the United States of America Department of State

http://educationusa.state.gov/usvisa.htm

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KNOW YOUR VOCABULARY AND TERMINOLOGY

Understand the difference between a visa stamp, a visa document, and visa status:

• A visa stamp in your passport gives you permission to enter the United States in a certain visa status. The modern, machine-readable "stamp" is not a stamp at all, but a special "foil" that is affixed to a page in your passport and carries identity and other information. Many people still use the term "stamp". This entry stamp does not tell you how long you have permission to stay in the United States; it simply tells you how many times and for how long you have permission to apply for entry in the United States in that particular visa category. The visa stamp must be valid only on the day an individual is physically entering the United States Once admitted, as long as a foreign national continues to hold a valid visa document or otherwise maintains status, the visa stamp in the passport can expire without rendering the individual out of status.
• The visa document indicates how long you have permission to remain in the United States, what activities you have permission to pursue, and where you have permission to pursue those activities.
• The visa status or classification is the immigration category you are granted when you are admitted to the United States, and it is noted on your visa document and on your Form I-94. The visa status or classification determines the nature, location, and duration of your authorized activities, as well as your authorized length of stay in the United States.

Travel Abroad: Basic Rules

Before leaving the United States, make sure you have the following:

1. A Valid Passport
2. Your I-94 Card
3. A valid United States visa stamp to return to the United States, or all of the documents you will need to obtain a new visa stamp abroad.

If you are traveling to a country other than your home country you should:

1. Contact the country's consulate or embassy and obtain a visa if one is required for citizens from your country of citizenship or lawful residence.
2. To obtain contact information for the embassy or consulate of the country you plan to visit go to http://www.embassy.lorg/embassies/index.html.

To reenter the United States you must have three things:

1. A valid unexpired passport. Your passport must be valid for at least six months into the future each time you enter the United States
2. A visa document that is valid on and beyond the date you plan to reenter the United States and that has been signed and updated, if needed, by the appropriate official. If you are in F or J status you must have a valid, barcoded, SEVIS Form I-20 or Form DS-2019.
3. A valid and unexpired visa stamp in your passport that matches the visa document.

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Click here for I-20 and “Letter of Good Standing” request forms.

Upon completion, the forms can be sent to the University of South Alabama Department of International Services via the following methods:

Hand Delivery	Office of International Services M-F 8:00 - 5:00 CST Meisler Hall, 2nd Floor, Suite 2200
Fax	(251) 414-8213
Mail	Office of International Services Meisler Hall, Suite 2200 390 Alumni Circle Mobile, AL 36688-0002
E-Mail	internationalservices@usouthal.edu

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Full time study

International (F-1) students must enroll In full time study each academic term. Full time study is defined by USCIS regulations as 12 semester hours for Undergraduate students and 6 semester hours for Graduate students. You must consult with an ISSO adviser before withdrawing from a course of studies. If you fail to comply with USCIS regulations while studying in the United States, you will jeopardize your F-1 status.

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Immigration and online classes

Individuals in F-1 or J-1 student status should be aware that federal regulations restrict enrollment in distance learning and distance accessible programs. Due to these restrictions, full time distance learning or distance accessible programs are not open to F-1 or J-1 student visa status. Those on other visa types (i.e. H-1B, L-2, J-1 Research Scholar, etc.) may be eligible to participate. Please contact the Office of International Student Services (internationalservices@usouthal.edu) to verify your eligibility to study under your visa status. B visa holders are strictly prohibited from academic study in the U.S.

Immigration regulations state that: (G) For F–1 students enrolled in classes for credit or classroom hours, no more than the equivalent of one class or three credits per session, term, semester, trimester, or quarter may be counted toward the full course of study requirement if the class is taken on-line or through distance education and does not require the student's physical attendance for classes, examination or other purposes integral to completion of the class. An on-line or distance education course is a course that is offered principally through the use of television, audio, or computer transmission including open broadcast, closed circuit, cable, microwave, or satellite, audio conferencing, or computer conferencing. If the F–1 student's course of study is in a language study program, no on-line or distance education classes may be considered to count toward a student's full course of study requirement.

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