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Immigration

Essential Documents

You need certain immigration documents to show that you are legally present in the U.S.  These are: Form I-20 ID, Passport, Visa, and Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record. We recommend that you keep these documents in a safe place and carry them with you only when you are traveling away from Lewiston.

• Form I-20 ID: The I-20ID (Student copy) is the F1 student’s copy of the I-20. The I-20 allows you to apply for a visa and enter or re-enter the U.S. If you change your field of study or level (language study to bachelors or bachelors to masters) you will need a new I-20. Keep all I-20s you have been issued, even after you leave LCSC.
• Passport: Your passport is your own government’s document. It permits you to leave and re-enter your own country. Most passports contain an expiration date. To renew or replace your passport, contact your country’s embassy or consulate in the U.S. See this website for a current list of foreign embassies in the U.S. Keep your passport valid at all times.
• Visa: A visa is the stamp that the U.S. consular officer puts on a page in your passport so that you may enter the U.S. The visa shows the latest date you can enter the U.S. It does not show how long you can stay in the U.S. If it expires while you are in the U.S. and in status, you do not need to renew it unless you plan to travel outside the U.S. If your visa has expired and you plan to travel outside the U.S., you may renew your visa at a U.S. consulate in your home country or the country in which you are traveling. You cannot renew an F-1 visa in the United States.
• Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record: The I-94 is a small white card usually stapled to the U.S. visa page of your passport. It shows that you have been lawfully admitted to the U.S. It also contains the date on which you were admitted, and an 11-digit Admission Number that Immigration uses to keep track of your arrival in and departure from the United States.

Most F-1 I-94s have a hand-written notation "D/S". This notation means that the student can stay in the U.S. for the Duration of Status. That is, you can stay until the date indicated on your I-20 ID, plus any post completion optional practical training. Students may remain in the U.S. up to 60 days after their F-1 status has ended. If you terminate your studies before the date on your I-20, you will have 15 days to leave the country.

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SEVIS

The Student and Exchange Visitor Information Program (SEVIS) is the new U.S. government computer system. LCSC is required to use SEVIS to track international students when they receive their 1-20 (Certificate of Eligibility), enter the U.S., begin their program, travel to another country, change, extend or complete their program, transfer to another school, or leave the U.S. to return home.

How does SEVIS work?

• After the college admits an international student, SEVIS is notified and the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS)—formerly INS—approves the college’s request to issue an I-20 form.
• The student takes the I-20 to the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate where the consulate checks SEVIS to make sure the I-20 is valid. If everything is in order, the consulate issues a visa.
• When the student gets to the U.S., a BCIS officer tells SEVIS the student has entered the country.
• When the student arrives at his or her school, the school tells SEVIS that the student has enrolled.
• The school also sends regular reports to SEVIS throughout the student’s academic career.
• Finally, SEVIS records the student’s departure from the U.S.

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Maintaining Status

If you are in the U.S. on an F1 (student) visa, you are required to maintain your status as a student. To maintain status you must:

• Attend the school whose I-20 you entered the country on.
• Keep LCSC and the U.S. government informed of any change in address within 10 days of the date of change.
• Be enrolled full-time in your program (12 credit hours each semester for undergraduates (summer excluded for continuing students) and at least 18 contact hours for IIE students).
• Limit employment both on and off campus to 20 hours a week on campus.  Request permission for any off campus work.
• Update your I-20 if you change your major or level of study (language training to bachelors or bachelors to masters).
• Complete your educational program by the date specified on your I-20. If you need more time to complete your program, apply to extend your stay at least 15 days before your I-20 expires.
• Notify the Lewis-Clark International Programs Office (IPO) if you plan to transfer to another school or language institute.
• Keep your passport valid at all times.

The college must report to SEVIS any student who fails to maintain status. Students who do not maintain status lose the privileges of their student visa and may be deported. They may not be allowed to re-enter the U.S. and may have future visa applications denied.

A student who is out of status can apply to BCIS for reinstatement. However, reinstatement is only granted in extreme cases such as natural disaster, severe illness or injury or closure of the school.

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Changing Your Address

BCIS requires that all international students report any change in their address within 10 days of the date of change. This is very important. You report the address change on form AR-11. This form is available in the IPO office and is posted on the immigration website at:
http://www.uscis.gov/ar-11

At this time, you cannot report the address change electronically on-line. Before you send the address form to BCIS, make a copy and bring it to the IPO office. For more information about reporting an address change, please check this website:
http://www.uscis.gov/addresschange

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Renewing Your Visa

The visa stamp in your passport shows you are qualified to apply for admission to the U.S. Your visa doesn’t need to remain valid once you have entered the United States.

However, if you leave the U.S. and your visa has expired or your status has changed, you will need to get a new visa at a U.S. consulate before you return.

Apply for your new visa in your own country if you can. It is easier and faster to get a new visa in your home country than in a third country. You cannot have your visa renewed in the U.S. You will be charged a fee for the visa. When you apply, bring the following items to the consulate:

• Visa application form DS-156. Male nonimmigrant visa applicants between the ages of 16 and 45 must complete form DS-157.
• Passport. Your passport must be valid for at least six months when seeking readmission to the U.S.
• Passport-size photos.
• I-20 endorsed for travel by a Designated School Official.
• Financial evidence detailing amount and source of funding. Include as much documentation as possible (official bank statement, scholarship award letters, employment verification, etc.).
• Academic transcript or other evidence of enrollment.
• Please visit the embassy or consulate website where you intend to apply for a visa for further requirements or updates on information.

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Changing Your Level

If you continue at one school but change your level of study from language study to bachelors or from bachelors to masters you will need to update your I-20. The same is true if you begin a new program of study at the same level (such as starting a new bachelors degree). Ask the Coordinator of International Student Services to issue a new I-20 within 15 days of changing your level or program. The coordinator will then notify Immigration of the change. You violate your F-1 status if you change your level of study or program but don’t notify Immigration of the change.

If you travel outside the U.S. and re-enter on a new I-20 indicating the new level or program, you do not need to notify Immigration of the change.

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Extending Your Program

If you cannot complete your course of study before the date noted on #5 of your I-20, you must get a program extension before the expiration date. To be eligible for an extension, you must have continually maintained status. Also, the reason that you need an extension must be medical or academic. Academic probation or suspension is not an acceptable reason. Practical training is not part of the expected completion date.

If you are not traveling outside the U.S., you can extend your I-20 in the following ways:

• Get form I-538 from the Coordinator of International Student Services or download it from the Immigration website http://www.uscis.gov/
• Ask your academic advisor to write a letter explaining the academic or medical reason for the delay in completing your program.
• Get documentation that shows you have financial support for the length of the extension.
• Bring form I-538, the explanation from your advisor and the financial documentation to the Coordinator of International Student Services.
• The Coordinator of International Student Services will update your I-20 for continued attendance.

If you are traveling outside the U.S., you can extend your I-20 in the following way.

• Ask your academic advisor to write a letter explaining the academic or medical reason for the delay in completing your program.
• Get documentation that shows you have financial support for the length of the extension.
• The Coordinator of International Student Services will issue a new I-20 for continued attendance with updated information.
• Use this I-20 to enter the United States.

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Traveling Outside the U.S.

To travel outside the U.S., you must have the following documents:

• A valid passport
• A valid visa
• A valid I-20 with a signature that is less than one year old from a Designated School Official.
• A visitor visa for the country you’ll visit, if necessary. Check with the embassy of the country or countries you’ll visit.
• Documentation showing that you have financial support.
• Current class schedule, which you can print from our Warrior Web page.

If you have been outside the U.S. for more than 5 months or are on practical training, you will need a new I-20.

If you are planning to travel to Canada, you may or may not need a Canadian visitor visa. Please check the following link to see if students from your country need a visa to travel to Canada. http://www.cic.gc.ca/EnGLIsh/visit/visas.asp

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Transferring to a New School

If you want to transfer from LCSC to another school in the U.S. you must be a full-time student and in status with Immigration. You must enroll in the new school in the first term after leaving LCSC or in the first term following an authorized vacation. You may transfer to another school by following the school transfer procedures listed below:

• Apply and be admitted to the new school.
• Inform the IPO office that you are transferring and when.
• A Designated School Official from LCSC will enter a release date (usually the end of your last term at the old school) into SEVIS.
• The new school’s Designated School Official will then be able to view your record.
• After your release date, the new school’s Designated School Official will update your I-20 to show that you have transferred to the new school and will give you an updated copy of the I-20.

If you leave the U.S. before transferring to a new school, you can transfer by giving an I-20 from the new school to the immigration officer at the port of entry. The immigration officer should stamp the I-20 and return it to you. If this is not done at the port of entry, tell your new international student advisor as soon as possible. You must enter the U.S. on the I-20 of the new school. If you use the old school’s I-20 to return to the U.S. you will be out of status.

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