F-1 Current Students
Learn what you need to do to maintain your F-1 status while enrolled at RISD, and find other important information for living in the US.
F-1 basics
Maintaining F-1 status
Please note that you are responsible for maintaining your F-1 status. Our office is your campus resource to advise you on maintaining your status. Read page 3 of your Form I-20 and go to Study in the States for more information.
Here’s what you need to do to maintain your F-1 status:
When you arrive in the US: Complete an Arrival Form in your Terra Dotta student portal. You will receive emails about this required step.
Our office must register you with the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVIS) upon receipt. Please pay attention to emails regarding deadlines and instructions.Maintain at least 12 credits in the fall and spring semesters, and three credits during Wintersession. If you need to drop below the 12-credit minimum, you must consult with us first to explore your options. An exception is made in your final semester of study.
Keep your information updated and report within 10 days of a change. Update Workday if your major, name, citizenship or visa status has changed. Submit a request through the Terra Dotta student portal to report changes to your program completion date or address.
Keep your passport valid at all times. Do not at any point let it expire. (Your F-1 visa may expire while you are in the US, but it must be valid if you depart the US and need to re-enter the country.)
Make sure your I-20 program end date matches your academic program completion date. If you need to extend or shorten your I-20, you must start the process with our office before the I-20 end date.
Do not accept off-campus employment without obtaining work authorization from our office.
Consult with us if you want to take a leave of absence or transfer to another school.
See our frequently asked questions for more information.
Immigration documents
F-1 visa
Your F-1 visa must be valid to enter or reenter the US. It is allowed to expire while you are in the country.
If you depart the US with an expired visa, you must renew your visa at a US consulate abroad before you return. You cannot renew your visa from within the US.
Please review your local consulate’s website for documents you must bring to the interview and their process as it may vary slightly from country to country.
Form I-20 (F-1 status)
Information on your Form I-20 should be accurate at all times. If there are any material changes to the document, you must report them within 10 days to ISSA. This includes changes to your biographical information on the immigration document, program or study, degree level, and program dates.
Program extensions: If you will not complete your degree program by the end date noted on your I-20, you must request a program extension prior to the listed date. Failure to request an extension may result in the loss of F-1 status.
To request an extension, speak with your faculty advisor and the Registrar’s Office, and submit an I-20 update form.
Travel
Outside the US while on an F-1 visa
If you travel internationally while on an F-1 visa, you will need the following in order to return:
- your passport, which needs to be valid for at least six months after your return
- your valid F-1 visa
- an I-20 with signed authorization covering at least one year of travel upon your return
Outside the US while on Optional Practical Training (OPT) / STEM OPT
When traveling outside the US while on an OPT or STEM OPT visa, you will need the following in order to reenter the country:
- your passport, which needs to be valid for at least six months after your return
- your valid F-1 visa
- an I-20 with signed authorization covering at least one year of travel upon your return
- your employment authorization document (EAD/OPT card)
Inside the US
Although you are legally allowed to travel within the US without carrying special documents, we recommend that you carry the following in case you are asked for proof of lawful status at any point:
- your passport
- a current, unexpired I-20
Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean
F-1 visa holders traveling for 30 days or less with an expiring visa to any of the above locations (excluding Cuba) may be eligible for automatic visa revalidation upon returning to the US.* Make sure you are eligible for this provision before leaving the country.
While traveling, you must carry the following documents:
- your passport, which needs to be valid for at least six months after your return
- your valid F-1 visa
- an I-20 with signed authorization covering at least one year of travel upon your return
- your unexpired I-94 record
Note that this provision does not apply if you do not have F-1 visa, your visa has been cancelled or your application for visa has been denied.
* Please contact our office before traveling if you are from any of the following countries:
- Iran
- North Korea
- Sudan
- Syria
Social Security Number
A Social Security Number (SSN) is a unique number issued by the US government in order to track an individual’s financial and earnings information. In order to earn an income in the US, you must have an SSN.
F-1 international students must have an employment offer in the US in order to be eligible for an SSN. You can find more information about international student employment from the Student Employment Office. As of July 2024, you do not need an additional letter from our office to obtain an SSN for on-campus employment opportunities.
Notice: International students must receive work authorization from our office in order to accept off-campus employment. If you do not receive prior work authorization, you cannot legally accept employment off campus. Please email us at issa@risd.edu for more information.
Filing taxes
U.S. tax season begins January 1 and the deadline is April 15 every year.
While in the U.S. you will be required to file your taxes every year to the IRS (Internal Revenue Service). You will need to file taxes whether or not you have earned income from the previous year.
If you have not earned any income, you may be eligible to file a simplified Form 8843.
If you have earned income in the U.S., you may or may not have to pay income taxes to the U.S. government. This is determined based on tax treaties between governments.
International students can use Sprintax, a tax filing software, to file their taxes while at RISD. Federal tax filings are free with a Sprintax code provided by our office; you are liable for the cost of your state tax filing.
Sprintax is available from Feb 1–Apr 18. We will send an email once we make the software available.
Please note that ISSA is not trained to answer questions about income taxes, tax treaties, or filing taxes within the U.S. beyond what is stated on this website. Some helpful resources for income tax guidance are:
Driver’s license and state IDs
While in the US you may decide to apply for a US driver’s license or state ID. The Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is the source for both documents. More information can be found on the Rhode Island DMV Licenses & IDs page.
Division of Motor Vehicles
600 New London Avenue
Cranston, RI 02920-3024
Phone: (401) 462-4368
Scams
Scams are common in the U.S. and international students can be targeted based on your immigration status. Most scammers prefer to contact you by phone or email to pressure and scare you into sending money or information. Some scammers will even spoof (fake) their phone number to appear as a legitimate call from your school or a government agency.
Please note that U.S. agencies will contact you by mail with a letter on government stationary if there are any issues. They will NOT contact you by phone to threaten or harass you into providing information, money, or gift cards.
Please review these tips to protect yourself from scams:
Do NOT respond to threats or pressure to provide money over the phone. Hang up and report the scam (see below)
Do NOT provide information about yourself to unknown callers.
If you are uncertain about the legitimacy of a call, ask for the caller’s name or contact information. Hang up and search for the agency or school’s official phone number, call the verified number, and verify the details of the original caller. If you can visit the office in-person, do that.
Do NOT provide money or bank details to anyone over the phone to anyone that you do not know. This includes wire transfer information, gift card information, or app/web-based payment methods.
If you receive a phone call demand for money from someone claiming to be an agent of the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or law enforcement, hang up immediately. It is a scam.
These agencies will never threaten you or ask for money over the phone or in an email. Do not give payment over the phone, by wire transfer or in gift cards to any individual who claims to be an official from one of these organizations. The only way you will receive an official request for payment is by mail, printed on government/law enforcement stationery.
You can get more information about common immigration scams from US Citizenship and Immigration Services. You can read about other common scams and frauds at usa.gov.
If you receive a scam call
- do not give the caller your personal or financial information
- ask for the caller’s contact information (name, badge number, telephone number, etc.)
- end the call immediately if they continue to threaten or attempt to intimidate you
- contact our office at issa@risd.edu
- contact the Homeland Security investigations tip line
Scam reporting
Click the links below if you need to report any of the following types of scam:
On-campus employment
If you are a RISD student on an F-1 visa, you are eligible to work on campus at RISD. This only applies to RISD on-campus employment. Employment at Brown University is not considered and does not qualify as on-campus employment.
Please find more information about international student employment from the Student Employment office, including how to obtain a Social Security Number if this is your first time working in the US.
Note: You can work a maximum of 20 hours per week while school is in session. There are no restrictions on the number of hours per week you can work during academic-year breaks.
Off-campus employment
RISD students on an F-1 visa must obtain work authorization from our office before legally beginning work in the US.
The two primary forms of off-campus employment for current students are:
- Curricular Practical Training (CPT): Temporary employment authorization while enrolled as a student. The employment/internship must be for academic credit. See below for more details.
- Optional Practical Training (OPT): Temporary employment authorization for one year, typically engaged in after graduation (known as Post-Completion OPT). You may apply for OPT up to 90 days before your program end date and up to 60 days after your program end date. See below for more details.
Pre-Completion OPT is a possibility but has additional considerations that you should discuss with an advisor in our office. Please contact issa@risd.edu for more information.
Curricular Practical Training (CPT)
Eligibility
To be eligible for CPT, you need to:
- maintain F-1 status for a minimum of one full academic year (fall, Wintersession and spring terms)
- be currently enrolled with a declared major
- have your internship approved
- earn academic credits toward your degree
How to apply
To apply for CPT you need to:
- register your internship in Artworks.
- enroll in Curricular Practical Training (CPT) 101 and complete the required CPT modules in Canvas.
- fill out our CPT application checklist online and upload the documents listed below.
Once you meet all requirements, an international student advisor will approve your Artworks application and process your CPT request. We will also keep a record of your documents.
Application requirements checklist
- passing final quiz score from Canvas CPT modules
- copies of your current Form 1-20, passport ID page, current F-1 visa
- most recent I-94 record obtained from US Customs and Border Protection
- job offer/internship letter from employer, furnished on company letterhead and that includes: employment start and end date, job responsibilities related to your major, hours worked per week and employer contact information
Optional Practical Training (OPT)
Eligibility
To be eligible for OPT, you need to:
- maintain F-1 status for a minimum of one full academic year (fall, Wintersession and spring terms)
- be currently enrolled or have recently graduated*
* If you have recently graduated, you must submit your application to US Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) within 60 days of your graduation date.
How to apply
First, complete the required OPT modules in Canvas. This course will walk you through how to submit your online OPT application.
To apply you will need to gather the following materials:
- Form 1-765 (create a USCIS account to submit online)
- copies of any previous I-20 forms that include CPT or OPT authorization
- copy of your passport ID page
- copy of your current F-1 visa
- 1-94 record (obtain from the Department of Homeland Security)
- a copy of your employment authorization document (EAD) card
- a US passport-style photograph (2 x 2") taken within the past month that has not been used for a previous government document
- a $410 application fee
After you've completed the above, fill out and submit the OPT I-20 request form and checklist. You will upload the above documents as part of your request submission.
Reporting
If you are on OPT, you must report your employment to our office, as well as any of the following:
- your employer’s name and address
- employment start date and (if known) end date
- employment changes (job change, end of employment, etc.)
- current US address
- any changes to your legal name
- any immigration status changes
- a transfer to a new US school/institution
- a departure from the US that will end your need for F-1 OPT
Remember that:
- your OPT employment must be related to your field of study.
- you must work more than 20 hours per week (can be one full-time or two part-time jobs).
- you can take up to 90 days of unemployment during OPT.
Quick links
Campus support
Outside resources
Contact us
If you need have questions about navigating your F-1 or J-1 status, please email us at issa@risd.edu or call 401 277-4957.