Check an F-1 or M-1 student's full course of study

Key facts

Human involvement

Yellow · Close supervision

How AI is used

From the enrollment and the credit or clock-hour record, list the program level, the credits or clock hours in the current term, and any reduced-course-load authorization already in SEVIS with its start and end dates. Do not decide that the student is maintaining status, and do not enter a reduced course load.

What the lawyer must review

You decide whether the schedule is a full course and whether a reduced course load may be authorized. Study in the States, full course of study, last updated 6 February 2024, says an F-1 or M-1 student maintains status by enrolling in a full course at the SEVP-certified school whose designated school official issued the Form I-20 used to enter. An F-1 undergraduate must take at least 12 credit hours a term. An F-1 postgraduate student must take a full course as certified by the institution. An F-1 student in another postsecondary liberal arts, fine arts, non-vocational, or English language training program must meet 18 clock hours a week if most instruction is in the classroom, or 22 if most is not. An F-1 student at a private academic school or a public high school in grades 9 to 12 must meet the hours a week that school sets for normal progress toward graduation. The student cannot drop below a full course unless the designated school official approves it and updates SEVIS. The reduced-course-load help page says that official may authorize a reduced load for an F-1 student for specified initial academic difficulties, a temporary illness or medical condition, or fewer courses in the last term. An M-1 student may receive a reduced load only for illness or a medical condition. Authorization is for one term and may be extended the next term if the student is still eligible. For illness, an F-1 authorization cannot exceed a 12-month aggregate per program level and an M-1 authorization cannot exceed five months for the course of study. The student must provide documentation from a licensed medical doctor, doctor of osteopathy, psychologist, or clinical psychologist. Academic-difficulty reasons are only for the initial term, and the student must keep at least six credits, or half the clock hours of a full course. In the final term the student must be enrolled in at least one required class. These pages do not state an attendance percentage.

Written for / version

United States versionUS