International Studies & Programs

Immigration Status Requirements Hold

The Office for International Students & Scholars (OISS) assigns a no-impact hold to international students on F-1 visa. The name of the hold is “OISS: Immigration Status Req.”

This hold WILL NOT restrict students from adding or dropping classes. In fact, this hold WILL NOT impact the student’s enrollment in any way.  

The purpose of this hold is to serve ONLY as a reminder for F-1 students about maintaining their visa status and to continuously educate students about their visa requirements.

All F-1 students will be assigned this hold throughout the duration of the Fall and Spring semesters.  

To maintain your F-1 status, do the following: 

Enrollment 

  1. Enroll full-time during academic semesters (typically Fall & Spring semesters)  
  2. Make normal progress towards your degree by completing studies on or before the expiration of the program completion date on your Form I-20. 
  3. If you require to be less than full-time for any reason, you must receive a reduced course load approval from OISS before dropping below full-time course load.  
  4. During final semester, student who need to be less than full-time must apply for a reduced course load before start of the semester. 
  5. You MUST consult with OISS before dropping any course that may impact your status. 
  6.  Please review the F-1 Student Enrollment Guide for more information  

Online Courses 

  1. You must limit online course enrollment to one online course towards your full-time enrollment. Course modality is not an issue for courses beyond the full-time enrollment. 
    • Example: Undergraduate student who is enrolled in 12 credits, may enroll in one online course. Remaining courses must be in-person or hybrid. If the student wants to add additional 3 credits, the 3 credits can be online.  
  2. If you only need one course to complete your studies, your final course must be in-person or hybrid.
  3. Please review the F-1 Student Enrollment Guide for more information  

Summer Session 

  1. If summer is your first or final semester, you must enroll full-time during summer. If you do not have enough credits to be full-time, you must apply for Reduced Course Load.  
  2. If summer is your first or final semester, you must limit online course enrollment to one online course towards your full-time enrollment. 
  3. If you only need one course to complete your studies during summer semester, your final course must be in-person or hybrid.
  4. If summer is your first or final semester, you must limit on-campus employment to a maximum of 20 hours.   
  5. If your academic department requires enrollment during summer, then summer is a required semester.  

Annual Vacation Period 

  1. An annual vacation is an authorized break in a student’s studies that is taken during summer semester.  
  2. Summer is considered an annual vacation if summer is NOT your first or final semester and you plan enrollment during the subsequent semester.  
  3. During annual vacation, enrollment is NOT required. Students are eligible to enroll in any number of credits. Course modality is not an issue during annual vacation period.  

Employment 

  1. F-1 students may work on-campus a maximum of 20 hours per week while school is in-session
    • The 20-hours per week is across all combined on-campus employment
    • The maximum number of hours F-1 students may work while MSU is in session is 20 hours, regardless of whether Human Resources monitors the hours or not.
    • It is the F-1 student's responsibility to inform their supervisor about visa limitations and to keep track of their weekly on-campus hours. 
    • For information about pay period, review the Payroll Schedule
  2. F-1 students are eligible to work more than 20 hours per week while MSU is NOT in-session.
  3. MSU is NOT in-session during Winter Break and Spring Break weeks as listed in the MSU academic calendar.
  4. Do not work on-campus or off-campus after the last day of final exams of your final semester without a valid employment authorization.  
  5. Do not work off-campus (paid or unpaid), unless specifically authorized by OISS under F-1 regulations.
  6. For additional information about available employment benefits for F-1 students, visit this page.
  7. Do not delay the completion of your students for employment reasons.   

Required Documentation 

  1. Make sure your Form I-20 remains valid by following the proper procedures when extending your stay, changing your educational level, changing your program of study, or transferring schools. 
  2. Your passport must always be valid at least 6 months into the future. It is the student's responsibility to renew it before it expires. 
  3. It is the student’s responsibility to download their I-94 after re-entering to the U.S. and make sure it reflects “F-1” status and “D/S.  
  4. Get a travel endorsement and review Documents Needed to Return to the U.S. before departing the U.S.   

Address and Phone Number 

  • If you live off-campus, you must update your local address within 10 days of any address change.  

Failure to maintain the above requirements may result in TERMINATION of your I-20. A terminated I-20 indicates that the student is no longer maintaining F-1 status and you are considered ‘out of status' by the U.S. government. If you have dependents, they are also not maintaining their F-2 status.

Termination of a SEVIS record is very serious and can have many negative consequences.