F-1, M-1 Continuing Students

A continuing student is one who has not completed or terminated a program of study and has maintained full-time student status.  Continuing students may, under certain circumstances, transfer schools while continuing to maintain status.  F-1 (and F-3) students may also change their level of study while continuing to maintain status.

Continuing students, who are enrolled in schools with a valid record in the SEVIS and who currently hold a valid student visa, are not required to apply for a new visa to return to the United States even if they have transferred to a new school.  These students will have to present their valid student visa and properly endorsed valid I-20 form from their current school when entering the United States. 

Students who have valid student visas in expired passports may continue to use those student visas.  They must present the valid student visa, a valid passport of the same nationality as the expired passport, and a valid I-20 form properly endorsed by the authorized official of their current school. 

Students in or outside the U.S., who have been away from classes for more than five months, will likely need a new visa to enter the U.S., even though their current visa remains valid on its face.  This pertains both to students who have fallen out of student status while in the U.S. and students who have spent more than five months outside the U.S. in an excused absence from school.  Click here for details.

Please note that the length of validity of your visa has nothing to do with the length of time you will be permitted to stay in the U.S. When you enter the United States on a student visa, you will usually be admitted for the duration of your student status.  That means you may stay as long as you are a full time student, even if the visa in your passport expires while you are in the U.S.  For a student who has completed the course of studies shown on the I-20, and any authorized practical training, the student is allowed the following additional time in the U.S. before departure:

• F-1 student - An additional 60 days, to prepare for departure from the U.S. or to transfer to another school.
• M-1 student - An additional 30 days to depart the U.S. (Fixed time period, in total not to exceed one year).  The 30 days to prepare for departure is permitted as long as the student maintained a full course of study and maintained status.  An M student may receive extensions up to three years for the total program.

If you depart the U.S. with an expired visa, you will need to obtain a new one before being able to return to the U.S. and resume your studies.  A student visa cannot be renewed or re-issued in the United States; it must be done at an Embassy or Consulate abroad.

For additional information about student visas,  see the Department of State website.

For information about students’ responsibilities, see the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) website.