Important Dates

Below is the list of markers on the Academic Calendar that ISSS uses to determine immigration deadlines:

• The day before the first day of classes for a semester
  • The last day F-1/J-1 students can work more than 20 hours per week on-campus
  • The latest CPT end date for students who didn’t graduate in the previous semester
• Last day for students to add/drop courses for a semester without a Q-drop (we use summer II for summer semester)
  • F-1/J-1 students must be enrolled full-time or have applied for an exception by this date
  • Last day to submit Final Term RCL request to ISSS
  • Last day to submit a Leave of Absence or Withdrawal request to ISSS and avoid enrollment for that semester
    • Students who submit Leave of Absence or Withdrawal requests after this date will have to remain enrolled until ISSS approves the request
• Last day of finals for a semester
  • Latest CPT end date for students graduating in that semester
• First day of commencement for a semester
  • This is the date ISSS uses for all F-1/J-1 students that graduate regardless of their degree level 
    • F-1 students who apply for OPT based on graduation or Final Term RCL will have their I-20s shortened to this date
  • Last day for graduating F-1/J-1 students to work on-campus
• The day after the first day of commencement for a semester
  • Earliest start date for CPT and OPT requests
  • F-1/J-1 students can start working more than 20 hours per week on-campus

Full ISSS Deadlines Calendar

Department Recommendations for ISSS Requests

Several immigration requests require a recommendation from the academic department. This includes:

• Work Authorizations
  • Curricular Practical Training (CPT)
  • Optional Practical Training (OPT)
  • Academic Training and Academic Training Evaluation
• Reduced Course Load Requests
• Extension of I-20 or DS-2019
• Leave of Absence or Withdrawal

Department recommendations are digitally requested through the student’s ISSS Portal request. The student must enter the contact information of someone in their department within the request and that person will receive an automatic email with access information for ISSS Portal.

If the recommendation is sent to the wrong person, you are welcome to forward the access email to the correct person in your department.

Q-Drop and ISSS

ISSS is included in the Q-drop process so we can notify F-1 and J-1 students when additional steps are necessary to maintain their status before dropping a course.

After an international student requests a Q-drop through Howdy, the request is routed to ISSS for review. If the student needs to take additional action in order to Q-drop, we will email them and let them know what to do. It’s then up to the student to complete the steps needed to maintain their status. ISSS will not approve the Q-drop until the student has completed the necessary steps.

If the student doesn’t need to take any action, ISSS will approve the Q-drop request.

Enrollment Requirements and Exceptions

General F-1 and J-1 enrollment requirements, including Reduced Course Load requests, Registrar exceptions, and Co-enrollment, can be found here. 

Distance/Online Courses

ISSS considers a course to be online/distance if the instructional method in Compass is Web or Video OR the course section has a DIST attribute. For questions about what courses are considered distance or in-person at TAMU, please contact the Registrar.

While both F-1 and J-1 students are allowed to enroll in distance/online course, there is a restriction on how many distance/online courses can count for maintaining their status. You can find the specific rules for F-1/J-1 distance enrollment here.

F-1 and J-1 students are not allowed to enroll in a fully online or distance education academic program. ISSS cannot issue an I-20 or DS-2019 for students admitted to a fully online or a distance education program.

Exceptions to Full-Time Enrollment:

Obtaining a Reduced Course Load (RCL) authorization from ISSS

RCLs can only be done in the following situations:

• Student’s final semester – student must apply for graduation, can drop classes before ISSS authorizes RCL
  • F-1 and J-1 students can do up to 2 final term RCLs
• Temporary medical condition – 12 months maximum, student can drop to 0 credits after receiving ISSS authorization
• Academic Reasons:

F-1 Students	J-1 Students
Must enroll in at least 6 credit hours	Must enroll in at least 1 credit hour
Reason is Academic Difficulty based on:  Improper Course Level Placement – Can be done anytime. OR  Initial Difficulties – Can only be done in the first year of their F-1 status. This means transfer students or students who went to high school in the U.S. may not be eligible.	Bona Fide Academic Reason based on the academic department's determination.

Both F-1 and J-1 students must enroll full-time in the next major semester after an academic RCL

Obtaining a Full-Time Flag from the Registrar 

• Exceptions to Full Time Enrollment Minimums 
• ISSS accepts a full-time flag in Compass as the student meeting full-time enrollment requirements for that semester. 
• The student does not need to request an RCL from ISSS if they already have been flagged full-time by the Registrar.

NOTE - 
In the final term, ISSS recommends that students obtain a Final Term RCL rather than relying on the full-time flag from the Registrar to maintain status. If the student is unable to graduate as planned, they are still in status by having a Final Term RCL because it is not reversed. However, students who only have a full-time flag are likely to have a status violation because the Registrar will remove this flag if they do not graduate.

Understanding F-1/J-1 Employment

F-1 and J-1 students follow different rules for employment. You can find the full details of F-1/J-1 student employment and SSN info here.

Here’s a summary of what you should know:

• SSN: An F-1 or J-1 student may work while the SSN application is being processed.
  • Employer Responsibilities When Hiring Foreign Workers (SSA)
    • This fact sheet contains information on how to report wages for an employee who has not yet received an SSN.
  • Delays in Issuing SSNs to Aliens by the Social Security Administration (IRS)
  • Refer to the U.S. Dept of Labor, or your state Dept of Labor, for laws regarding timely payment for work performed. See https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa
• F-1 Students
  • On-campus work: Must submit check-in to ISSS through the ISSS Portal. After check-in is completed, they can start working on campus without additional authorization from ISSS. Can only work on campus based on the program dates on page 1 of their I-20.
    • If student needs to work for a TAMU department at an off-campus location, ISSS needs to issue a letter that confirms the student is doing on-campus work at an off-campus location.
  • Off-campus work: Must get work authorization before working.
    • CPT – Directly authorized by ISSS. Information is on page 2 of I-20.
    • OPT– ISSS issues I-20, then OPT is authorized by USCIS. Proof of OPT work authorization is the Employment Authorization Document or EAD card.
      • Category on OPT EAD card is C03A for pre-completion OPT
      • Category on OPT EAD card is C03B for post-completion OPT
    • STEM OPT - ISSS issues I-20, then STEM OPT is authorized by USCIS. Proof of STEM OPT work authorization is the Employment Authorization Document or EAD card.
      • Category on STEM OPT EAD card is C03C
• J-1 Students
  • J-1 students need authorization from ISSS before working on-campus and off-campus.
  • On-campus work: ISSS will email written confirmation to student. More information about J-1 On Campus Work is here.
  • Off-campus work: Requires Academic Training authorization. ISSS will issue DS-2019 and Academic Training Letter to confirm approval.