For thousands of Indian students in the US, circumstances such as a job offer, marriage to an H-1B holder or eligibility for another visa category may lead them to consider leaving their degree programme before completion. This raises an important question: Is an F-1 student required to complete the degree or programme for which they came to the US?
Generally, no. However, students must continue to meet the requirements of their F-1 status until any change to a new immigration status takes effect.
But immigration attorneys say students need to be careful about how they leave their course. Simply stopping classes while waiting for another visa status can create immigration problems.
F-1 students do not have to finish their degree
F-1 status does not require a student to complete a particular programme, according to Reddy & Neumann Law Group. A student may take a job, marry or become eligible for another immigration classification. However, as long as the student is relying on F-1 status to stay in the US, they still have to follow F-1 rules.
In most cases, this means remaining enrolled in a full course of study until the new immigration status actually takes effect.
USCIS follows the same basic framework. A student admitted for “duration of status” can remain in the US while enrolled full-time, making normal progress towards completing the programme and following the conditions of F-1 status.
According to DHS, “Duration of status is defined as the time during which an F-1 student is pursuing a full course of study at an educational institution certified by SEVP for attendance by foreign students, or engaging in authorised practical training following completion of studies… The student is considered to be maintaining status if the student is making normal progress toward completing a course of study.”
The ‘pending’ trap
One of the biggest issues for students is the time between applying for a new status and getting approval.
A student who files Form I-539 to change from F-1 to H-4 status does not automatically become an H-4 student. Even receiving a USCIS receipt notice does not mean the new status has been granted.
Attorneys specifically caution students against treating a receipt notice “as though it were an approval notice.”
For example, a master’s student whose spouse is an H-1B holder applies to change her status to H-4 and stops attending classes two weeks later. USCIS then takes another four months to process her application.
During those four months, she may have stopped meeting the requirements of her F-1 status even though her H-4 status had not yet started.
Once the change of status is approved, the situation changes. From the effective date mentioned on the approval notice, the student no longer depends on F-1 status. The full-course-of-study requirement generally stops applying to the student’s stay.
The student can then withdraw from the programme, continue studying or follow a different study schedule, depending on the rules of the new immigration status and the school’s own policies.
This makes the effective date on the approval notice important. The fact that an application has been approved is not enough by itself.
H-1B approval does not always mean a student has changed status
Students moving from F-1 to H-1B also need to check how their H-1B petition was approved.
An H-1B petition can be approved with a change of status inside the US. But it can also be approved for consular processing or notification only.
In the second situation, Reddy & Neumann says the student may still have to leave the US, get an H-1B visa if required and then seek admission to the country in H-1B status.
Students using the cap-gap extension also need to be particularly careful. Cap-gap rules can extend F-1 status and work authorisation while a student waits for an H-1B job to begin in October.
Withdrawing from school without first checking how it affects F-1 status and work authorisation can create problems.
Stopping classes does not automatically give you a 60-day grace period
There is also a common misunderstanding about the 60-day grace period.
The 60-day period is linked to completing a course of study or authorised practical training. It does not automatically apply when a student simply stops attending classes.
A student who wants to leave a programme before completing it should work through their school’s Designated School Official, or DSO. The DSO can authorise an early withdrawal.
Under federal F-1 rules, students generally have a 15-day grace period to leave the US after an authorised early withdrawal.
The DSO also updates the student’s SEVIS record. That record can become relevant again when the student applies for another immigration benefit or visa in the future.
According to DHS, “An F-1 student who has completed a course of study and any authorised practical training following completion of studies will be allowed an additional 60-day period to prepare for departure from the United States or to transfer… An F-1 student authorized by the DSO to withdraw from classes will be allowed a 15-day period for departure from the United States. However, an F-1 student who fails to maintain a full course of study without the approval of the DSO or otherwise fails to maintain status is not eligible for an additional period for departure.”
Immigration lawyer warns about a pattern of conduct
Apart from the technical visa rules, immigration lawyers say students also need to consider how their immigration history may be viewed in future applications.
Immigration attorney Rajiv S. Khanna, speaking to Financial Express (Digital), said students are generally not required to finish a degree before changing status.
“However, the government can question a student’s motives if they have a pattern of using school as a device to increase their length of stay in the United States,” Khanna said.
He added that the current administration “has especially created several norms that depend upon assessing conduct as qualification.”
If the government “dislikes” a student’s conduct, Khanna said, a future change of status can be denied as a matter of discretion. Consulates can also consider the same conduct when processing later visa applications.
And therefore, before withdrawing from a programme, the attorney advises students to answer three basic questions.
First, what immigration status am I in today? Second, when will my new status actually take effect? And third, what will happen to my SEVIS record?
The key issue is not simply whether a student has completed the degree. It is whether they continue to follow the rules of their current status until the new status actually takes effect.