The primary purpose of being under an F-1 student visa immigration status is to study. To maintain status, an F-1 student is required to "make normal progress" toward completing a course of studies (Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral degrees).
International students must complete their program (graduate) by the program end date on their I-20 and in accordance with program requirements. Once an international student qualifies for graduation, they must petition to graduate and graduate in the earliest term possible.
- Ask Yourself: Am I eligible to graduate?
- Ask Yourself: Have I completed all the courses required to earn a particular degree from Santa Clara University?
- Ask Yourself: Do I want to postpone my graduation due to a poor job market, family concerns or for other reasons unrelated to my current academic degree program?
- Ask Yourself: Do I want to postpone my graduation to take just one more class that is really important for my area of study but that is not required to get my degree?
• If Yes, STOP: you must graduate this academic term
• If No, continue on to question 2.
• If you have finished your degree requirements and are eligible to graduate, you must petition to graduate.
• These are not reasons USCIS will accept for delaying graduation, and you could be viewed as violating immigration regulations.
• Courses that are not required by your degree program do not allow you to postpone your graduation. Taking classes not required by your degree program which then delay graduation could be perceived by USCIS as a violation of your status.
• Please remember, you must be fully enrolled each academic term. From an immigration standpoint, full time graduate enrollment is 8 units. The only exception to this full-time enrollment requirement is if a student has an approved Reduced Course Load. You can learn more about the reasons for Reduced Course Load at scu.edu/iss/rcl
Program Extensions can only be approved prior to a student’s program end date. Program Extensions are rare. The following scenarios may qualify a student for a Program Extension:
- Current or previous academic or medical reduced course load
- Delay caused by lost credits upon transfer to SCU
- Delay caused by change in major field of study
- Unforeseen research delay (doctoral students)
To Request a Program Extension, students must submit an I-20 Extension Request through the MyiSCU Portal at least 30 days prior to the end of their program. Requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Please schedule an appointment if you have questions about the Program Extension process or to determine if you qualify.