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Violation of Status/Reinstatement

What is a Violation of Immigration Status?

Violation of status means you have broken one of the immigration regulations pertaining to F-1 visa. If this occurs, you will lose the benefits of your status in the U.S., including employment authorization.

What Causes You to Violate or 'Fall out of' Status?

  • You did not attend the school you were authorized to attend - the school which issued the I-20 used to enter the U.S.
  • You do not follow the correct procedures for continuing from one educational level to another or for transferring from one school to another.
  • You drop below full time in any semester without obtaining permission.
  • You work off-campus without proper authorization.
  • You work on or off-campus for more than 20 hours a week when school is in session, even though you obtained permission to be employed.
  • Your program completion date has passed and you have not filed for a program extension,
  • You have been expelled or dismissed.

Reinstatement To Student (F-1) Immigration Status

  • If you violate the terms of your status, visit the International Students and Scholars office as soon as possible.
  • There are two ways for resuming status: applying through USCIS for resumption or traveling outside of the U.S. and regain status by the Port of Entry.
  • It is very important to make a Reinstatement application immediately. F-1 students who have been out of status for more than 5 months are ineligible for reinstatement through the USCIS, unless they can prove exceptional circumstances.
  • To be eligible for reinstatement, you cannot have a record of repeat violations of regulations.
  • Please refer to the Reinstatement Guide and Checklist (PDF) for more information.