International Student and Scholar Services | Dependents
Both F-1 and J-1 status holders may bring their spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 to the United States for the duration of their course of study, provided they have the financial resources to support them.
Care must be taken to ensure that their statuses are extended or changed whenever you extend or change your status. The registration and address change reporting requirements apply to them as well.
Studying
< ;span class="Normal">F-2 dependents may engage in studying under certain, very limited circumstances. Children attending elementary or secondary schools (kindergarten 12th. grade) are allowed to engage in full-time study. F-2 spouses and children may engage in recreational or avocational study, but cannot be full-time students in a degree granting programs without first changing their status to F-1. US CIS provides the following guidance to help determine what constitutes recreational or avocational study: ìIf a student engages in study to pursue a hobby or if the study is that of an occasional, casual, or recreational nature, such study may be considered as avocational or recreationalî (67 Federal Register, 34862, December 11, 2002, page 76266).
J-2 dependents may engage in full-time study.