Immigration Counseling
Immigration counseling consists of providing international students with guidance on maintaining F-1 immigration status while attending Pacific Tech, processing F-1 immigration benefits, navigating College policy and understanding F-1 visa restrictions, ensuring College and student compliance with immigration policies, and providing educational tools, including workshops and tutorials.
F-1 students must meet certain obligations in order to maintain legal immigration status. Failure to maintain non-immigrant status can result in serious problems with immigration and could lead to deportation from the U.S. Due to the complexity of U.S. immigration regulations, students are recommended to consult with an International Student Advisor.
To maintain lawful status, F-1 students must:
- Attend the college or university they are authorized to attend.
- Complete immigration school transfer procedure when necessary.
- Be in good academic standing and make progress towards the completion of an academic program.
- Extend their I-20 prior to its expiration date if they are unable to complete their academic program by the original expiration date.
- Extend their I-20 prior to its expiration date if they are unable to complete their academic program by the original expiration date.
- Maintain full-time enrollment during the academic year.
- Suspension, dismissal, enrollment withheld, expulsion, or any other similar action which prevents enrollment may affect legal immigration status.
- Limit on-campus employment to 20 hours per week during the academic year (Consult with the Director of Administration for information about on-campus employment).
- Not accept unauthorized employment and not work off campus without authorization.
- Keep their passport valid at all times. The passport must be valid for at least 6 months into the future on the day you return to the U.S. from a trip abroad.
- Maintain health insurance coverage.
- Follow the College’s official withdrawal procedure if they leave their program before the end date of their I-20.
- Report any change of address to the Office of Administration.