Chaffey College International Student Office SEVIS: A Guide
for F1 Visa Students
SEVIS stands for "Student Exchange Visitor Information System." It
is an Internet-based system which collects and maintains current information
on non-immigrant students (F and M visa), exchange visitors (J visa), and their
dependents (F-2, M-2, and J-2). SEVIS enables schools to transmit electronic
information and event notifications via the Internet, to the Bureau of Citizenship
and Immigration Services (BCIS) and Department of State (DOS). The system will
collect data regarding changes in student records that may or may not affect
a student's status. The following rules apply to F-1 and F-2 visa status:
New students may enter the U.S. up to 30 days before the start
date on the I-20.
Students who withdraw from school with approval from their
Foreign Student Advisor/Designated School Official (DSO) have a
15-day grace period to leave the U.S. before they fall out of status.
If DSO did not authorize the withdrawal, the student has no
grace period to leave the U.S. and is immediately out of status.
Distance Education
Students may only take one class (3 credits) of distance learning
per term if that class does not require physical attendance for classes,
exams or other purposes on the campus where it is offered.
Concurrent Enrollment
Students who are also enrolled at a second school in addition to
the school that issued the I-20 (e.g. Biomedical Engineering students)
must provide DSO with copies of their class schedules from both schools
to verify combined full-time enrollment each term. DSO must receive
the class schedules no later than 15 days after the primary school
semester has begun.
Reduced Course Load
Students must first obtain authorization from the DSO before they
drop any classes. Reduced course load may be authorized for the following
reasons:
Academic Reasons: "Initial difficulty
with English or reading requirements, unfamiliarity with American
teaching methods, or improper course level placement" permits
the DSO to authorize the student to reduce his/her course load
to 6 hours for one term only per academic level. Such students
must resume a full course load the next term.
Medical Reasons: Students who fall ill or need
to take maternity leave may be authorized by the DSO to reduce
their course load or take no classes at all for up to 12 months
total per academic level. Such students must provide the DSO with
a letter from a licensed Medical Doctor, Doctor of Osteopathy,
or a licensed Clinical Psychologist before dropping courses. The
DSO must re-authorize reduced course load for illness before each
term begins with new documentation from the medical provider.
Program Completion: Students may take a reduced
course load in their final term if only one or two classes are
needed to complete the degree. Student may not continue to be enrolled
only for administrative purposes if all degree requirements are
met.
Students must notify DSO at the beginning of the term in which they
return to class full time after taking a reduced course load to avoid
falling out of status.
I-20 Extensions
Students must apply for an extension of form I-20 prior to current
I-20 end date.
No extension may be granted if students do not request one
prior to their current I-20 end date.
Extensions may be granted at any time prior to the I-20 end
date
Transfer
Upon completion of a degree program, students may remain in
the U.S. for up to 5 months maximum when transferring to a new
degree program. The 5-month period begins on the completion date
of the first degree program.
Students who have fallen out of status are ineligible for transfer;
they must either apply for reinstatement from INS or depart and
re-enter the U.S. with an initial entry I-20 for a new program.
Students wishing to transfer should notify the DSO of the date
they wish to transfer and the name of the new school. DSO will
release student record to new school in SEVIS system. Release date
should be no more than 60 days after end of last term.
Employment
On-campus employment may not begin earlier than
30 days prior to classes starting. For more information please
contact international student office.
Students may get 12 months of Optional Practical
Training (OPT) at each higher degree level. Student may now apply
for 12 months OPT after completion of Associate Degree, and again
after completion of each higher degree.
Students must apply for OPT before completion
of all degree requirements. (120 days prior to the graduation date)
OPT is automatically terminated when students
transfer to another school or begin study at a different academic
level
Students on OPT must report any change of name/address
and interruption of employment to DSO for the duration of authorized
OPT or fall out of status.
Reinstatement
Reinstatement applications to BCIS must be filed within 5 months
of the status violation, unless exceptional circumstances can be
demonstrated by the student.
The status violation must have resulted from circumstances
beyond the student's control - which may include injury, illness,
closure of school, natural disaster, or oversight or neglect on
the part of DSO.
If the student has been employed without authorization, no
reinstatement is possible.
Name & Address Reporting
Students must notify DSO and BCIS of new name/address
within 10 days after the change.
Students may comply by notifying DSO within
10 days; DSO must then update SEVIS within 21 days which takes
care of the BCIS notification.
Students registered with the BCIS for Special
Registration must also submit an address change form to the BCIS
as mandated by that program.
Students must provide their physical home address
unless it is impossible to receive mail there, in which case students
may provide a mailing address.
If students provide a mailing address, they
must also provide their physical home address to DSO.
School Reporting
The school must report to SEVIS within 21 days of the occurrence
of the following:
Students failing to maintain status or complete
program
Change in students/dependents name and/or
address
Students graduating prior to I-20 end date
Disciplinary action taken against students
convicted of a crime
any other request made by SEVIS re: student
status
Each term, no later than 30 days after registration ends, the school
must report to SEVIS:
Registration: if students are enrolled, dropped
below full course of study without DSO authorization, or failed
to enroll
Current address of all enrolled students
Start date of students' next term
To comply with these regulations AND maintain status, students should
consult DSO before making any reportable changes to their records.
F-2 Dependents
F-2 spouses may not engage
in full-time study; only study that is a vocational or recreational,
which means study undertaken for a hobby or study that is "occasional,
casual or recreational in nature."
F-2 children may only engage in full-time study in grades K-12.
F-2 spouses or children enrolled full-time beyond the K-12 level
prior to January 1, 2003, may continue studying full time but must
submit an I-539 for Change of Status to F-1 to BCIS on or before
March 11, 2003, or he/she will be in violation of F-2 status.
