International Student and Scholar Services | Maintaining Student Status

Now that you have arrived in the United States and have been admitted to the United States in F-1 or J-1 student status, it is your responsibility to maintain it.  The parameters of F-1 and J-1 student statuses are regulated by the United States government and failure to follow the rules governing your status could have a significant impact on your future plans.  Essentially, you are expected to engage in activities consistent with being a student. The responsibilities of maintaining your student status can be broken down into two intertwined categories:

1. Managing your academic career in a manner consistent with immigration law as well as university policies; and
2. Managing your immigration status also in accordance with applicable immigration laws.

It is important that you manage these two aspects of your stay in the United States well, as poor management in either arena may jeopardize you ability to remain legally in the United States in F-1 or J-1 status.

The university has been authorized both by the U. S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly known as the Immigration and Naturalization Service or I.N.S.) and the Department of State to administer F and J programs.  Under these two programs, the university issued the immigration document that either facilitated your entry into the United States as a foreign student or facilitated your change of status from another nonimmigrant classification to the F or J status you now hold.

In exchange for the ability to sponsor foreign students for study at the university, SAIS is responsible for reporting certain information to the government via the  Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) , a government-administered database designed to monitor the status of international students, exchange visitors, and their dependents in the United States.