Maintaining Immigration Status

A professor talks to a student at Orientation
All Oxy students on F-1 or J-1 visa must comply with the following requirements.

Maintaining Status

Review Homeland Security .

Stay Enrolled Full-Time

International students must be enrolled for a minimum of 12 units per semester and be making progress toward completion of the program.

Taking a leave of absence? Medical condition? Initial difficulties? You MUST talk to the IPO before you drop below 12 units. IPO must report this action in the SEVIS system before it occurs. You are required to resume a full course load in the subsequent semester.
Declaring or Changing Major and/or Minor

Alert IPO when you declare or change your major(s) and/or minor; this information must be reported to the US government immigration department.
Prohibited Activities

F1/J1 international students are cautioned against participating in activities that promote or involve violence or destruction of property and/or participating in activities that advocate the use of force, violence, or other unlawful means in opposition to the Government of the United States.  International students who engage in such activity after admission to the U.S. are considered removable.

Maintaining Residence Information

​If you live on-campus

International Programs your campus address through the SEVIS system as required.

If you live off-campus

Report your resident address to International Program as required by F and J regulations.

Notify a Change or Submit Service Request to Update

Please immediately whenever a change occurs regarding your academic and residential status (change of address, major change, course units reduction, transferring to another institution, end date change, travel outside the U.S., and etc).

Special Cases that Need Immediate Assistance

Please contact us immediately in any of the below cases:
  • Replacement of a lost I-20
  • Returning to campus after a leave-of-absence or study abroad
  • Change of status to/from another visa type
  • Enrolling concurrently in another institution
  • Authorization to work off-campus
  • "Reinstatement" to lawful status after violation of status

Frequently Asked Questions

Please contact the International Programs immediately at 323-259-2533 or walk-in at Johnson 102.

Submit your here. Provide IPO with the acceptance letter from the new institution. Complete the Leave/Withdrawal form and submit to relevant Oxy departments and the Registrar's Office.

Students requiring an additional semester to fulfill graduation requirements must apply for an extension of form 1-20 prior to the current I-20 end date (See #5 on your I-20 document). No extension can be granted if students do not request one prior to the end date on the I-20 document.

If you fall out of status for any reason, a reinstatement application must be filed with USCIS (through the SEVIS system and on paper; or by leaving and re-entering the US with a new I-20, see IPO) within 5 months of the violation. The violation must have resulted from circumstances beyond the student’s control (such as illness, injury, closure of school, natural disaster, or oversight or neglect on the part of IPO). Employment off-campus without authorization eliminates the possibility of a SEVIS/paper reinstatement application.

Occidental College is required by law to report certain information to the Federal Government through the system. The following data must be reported through the SEVIS system:

  • name, date of birth, country of birth, country of citizenship
  • Source and amount of financial resources
  • academic program, level of study
  • program start and end dates
  • arrival and enrollment or failure to enroll a change of the student’s legal name or address
  • graduation prior to the end date listed on the I-20 Academic or disciplinary actions taken due to criminal conviction
  • registration for less than a full course of study without PRIOR authorization from the IPO Termination date and reason for termination
  • other data generated by standard procedures such as program extension, school transfer, change in level of study, employment authorization, and reinstatement
  • failure to complete the academic program or program objective
  • declaration of major/minor or change of major/minor Extension of program
Contact International Programs
McKinnon Center for Global Affairs, Johnson 102
Phone: (323) 259-2533
Fax: (323) 341-4976
ipo@oxy.edu