Required Actions to Maintain your Legal Status
To maintain legal status in the U.S., F-1 students are required to notify the ISSS International Advisor of certain personal and academic changes.
Leave of Absence Guidelines (LOA)
All F-1 students must read and fill out the Leave of Absence Guidelines and Form (found in our Forms and Documents Library) before filing for LOA from UCSC because it has a direct impact on your legal status. The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has very strict regulations about leave of absence. There are additional guidelines that International Students must follow in addition to what regular UCSC students have to abide by.
Important things to consider:
- Students can not stay in the U.S. while on LOA. It is a violation of status.
- Students must leave the U.S. within 15 days from the start of the LOA.
- Students on LOA and out of the U.S. for more than 5 months require a new SEVIS record
- (Graduate students may have other options, consult with ISSS for more information)
FIVE MONTH RULE:
Less than five months:
- If the LOA will be less than 5 months, you may use the same I-20 Form to reenter the U.S.
- You will not be required to pay the SEVIS fee.
More than five months:
- Students requesting leave of absence for more than five months must obtain a new I-20 Form and new SEVIS number.
- Students requesting a LOA during the spring quarter, and not returning to UCSC until the fall quarter, will be out of the U.S. for more than 5 months.
- The current SEVIS record will be terminated due to LOA, out of U.S. for more than 5 months.
- The current I-20 will no longer be valid.