If you violate your F-1 or J-1 status, you immediately lose eligibility for immigration benefits such as employment, extension, transfer, or travel signatures. If you are out of status, you must take action to get back into lawful status in order to regain eligibility for immigration benefits.
As soon as you know you have fallen out of status, come to ISS during drop-in advising hours to discuss your situation and evaluate your options to correct your status. You are advised to act quickly.
Common violations of status include:
- Failure to extend I-20/DS-2019 program end date before it expires
- Unauthorized drop below full time enrollment
- Unauthorized off-campus employment
- Exceeding online credit limit
- Failure to pay the SEVIS I-901 fee
- Failure to complete International Student Orientation & ISS Check-in within 30 days of I-20/DS-2019 program start date
How to Correct your Status
F-1 Students
If you are an F-1 Student, follow the steps below. You must stop all work immediately, and report to ISS as soon as possible to work on correcting your status.
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Step 1: Meet with an ISS Advisor
As soon as you know you have fallen out of status, you must get in contact with an ISS Advisor. You can contact an ISS Advisor by: Scheduling an appointment with your ISS Advisor, sending an information request to your ISS Advisor, or attend a in-person or virtual drop-in advising session. When you meet with an ISS Advisor you can discuss your situation and evaluate your options to correct your status.
There are two options to correct F-1 status:
- Travel outside of the U.S.
- Apply for reinstatement while in the US.
To be eligible for either option, you must have approval to continue in your program and have adequate funds.
Step 2: Decide Which Option is Right for You
You will need to consider the positive and negative sides of the two options to correct F-1 status as listed below:
Option 1: Travel & Re-enter U.S. with New SEVIS ID and I-20
Travel outside of the U.S., get an F-1 visa, and reenter using the new I-20. If your current F-1 visa is expired, you will need to apply for a new F-1 visa at a U.S. consulate BEFORE re-entering the US on the new SEVIS ID. This option would allow you to immediately regain F-1 status when you reenter the U.S.
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- Please note that by selecting this option you will need to be enrolled for 1 academic year to be eligible for CPT or OPT employment.
- This option does require you to pay an I-901 fee again since you will be issued a new SEVIS ID.
- This option does involve you traveling, so please plan ahead and make sure you are re-entering the U.S. in the correct status and in the correct timeframe of your new I-20 start date.
Option 2: Reinstatement within U.S.
Submit a reinstatement application to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) within the U.S., and do not travel outside of the U.S. again until your reinstatement application has been approved. This option can take up to 12 months or more. In order for this option to work for you, you must continue to enroll full-time for the whole time your application is pending with USCIS. You are not eligible for any on-campus or off-campus employment while the application is pending.
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- Current processing times for this application are estimated to be over 1 year (12 months).
- There is a fee to apply for reinstatement with USCIS.
Step 3: Apply for Correction of Status on Terra Dotta
After determining which option is the best for you, you will need to apply using the Correction of Status form on Terra Dotta to receive a new I-20. Processing time for this application is around 10-15 business days but may vary.
- Read all instructions in the Terra Dotta form.
- Your academic/faculty advisor or graduate coordinator must complete the electronic verification in Terra Dotta.
- You must submit adequate financial documentation. You can find funding requirements on the Estimated Expenses link in Terra Dotta. Since you are not eligible to work while you are out of status, including while your reinstatement application is pending with USCIS, you cannot submit graduate assistantship or other employment letters.
Based on the option you chose to correct, you can follow the instructions below.
Correction by Travel
Below are the following steps after your Correction of Status application has been approved and you have collected your new I-20 with your new SEVIS ID.
- Pay the SEVIS fee
- Once you’ve received your new SEVIS ID, you will need to pay a SEVIS fee. In order to pay, complete the Form I-901 along with the payment via mail or the Internet (dependents in F-2 status are not required to pay the fee).
- Depart the U.S. and Re-enter with your new SEVIS ID
- This will allow your F-1 status to renew and you will be in status after reporting to ISS.
- If you are crossing into the U.S. by land border (via Canada or Mexico) please apply up to 7 days in advance for a Provisional I-94. For more information about the Provisional I-94 visit the CBP website.
- Complete ISO and Check-in on Terra Dotta to report your new Documents.
- Complete the most current ISO and Check-in on Terra Dotta so our staff can review your information and register your record if you maintaining status.
Things to Remember:
- Plan ahead if you need to renew your visa. Make sure you have an appointment secured before you travel so you can have the new visa before returning to the U.S.
- If your F-1 violation occurred five or more months ago, you are advised to apply for a new F-1 visa. Contact the U.S. consulate in your home country for advice on how to apply.
- Your legal F-1 status begins when you enter the U.S. successfully with a new I-94 record. Because of this, you will NOT be eligible for off-campus work authorization right away.
- You must have two semesters of academic work remaining after reentering the U.S. in your new F-1 status in order to again be eligible for off-campus work. Discuss any concerns you have about employment with an ISS advisor before you request an I-20 for travel outside of the U.S.
Correction by Reinstatement
Below are the following steps after your Correction of Status application has been approved and you have collected your new I-20.
- If you have been without legal status for five months or more, pay the SEVIS fee.
- Once you’ve received your I-20 or DS-2019, you will need to pay a SEVIS fee. In order to pay, complete the Form I-901 along with the payment via mail or the Internet (dependents in F-2 or J-2 status are not required to pay the fee).The SEVIS fee must be paid at least 3 business days prior to the filing of the change of status application in the U.S.
- Submit your reinstatement application to USCIS.
- You have the option to complete Reinstatement online or thru mail. Please review the USCIS website for more information about completing the I-539 form. The I-539 form is used to apply for reinstatement. As mentioned in step 2, there is a fee for this application and the current processing time is over 12 months.
- If you need support with your application, you can send an information request to Barb Kluesner.
- Submit a copy of your USCIS I-797A receipt notice to ISS.
- Once your application has been received by USCIS, you will receive a receipt notice to the address listed on your I-539. Once you receive your I-797A receipt notice, scan and email a copy to iss@studentlife.wisc.edu.
- If you receive a Request for Evidence (RFE) from USCIS, meet with an ISS advisor during drop-in advising or scan and email a copy to iss@studentlife.wisc.edu immediately so that we may assist and advise appropriately.
- Notify ISS when your reinstatement is approved or denied.
- If you have been approved:
- Once you receive your application result from USCIS, complete International Student Orientation and Check-in for the term you were approved on. In that check-in you can report your USCIS approval receipt in replacement of your I-94.
- If USCIS approves your reinstatement application, ISS will issue you a new I-20/DS-2019 reflecting the reinstatement approval.
- If you have been denied:
- Report to ISS by sending the denial notice as a scan to iss@studentlife.wisc.edu email. From there we will notify an ISS Staff to support you.
- If you have been approved:
J-1 Students
J-1 students may apply to reinstate their legal status only if the violation occurred as a result of circumstances beyond their control. You must stop all work immediately, and report to ISS as soon as possible.
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Meet with an ISS Advisor and Determining your Infraction
As soon as you know you have fallen out of status, you must get in contact with an ISS Advisor. You can contact an ISS Advisor by: Scheduling an appointment with your ISS Advisor, sending an information request to your ISS Advisor, or attend a in-person or virtual drop-in advising session. When you meet with an ISS Advisor you can discuss your situation and evaluate your options to correct your status.
You may be given a minor infraction on your J-1 SEVIS record, but with this you must report your request for correction to our office as soon as possible. More information on Rules and Minor/Technical Infractions can be found here. Your discussion with your ISS advisor will determine which classification you will be under, and the steps to correct your status.