Students holding an F-1 visa status are required to maintain a valid status at all times, which means enrolling full time, keeping their passport valid, avoid unauthorized work and make normal progress towards their degree.

Students who fail to maintain their F-1 status may apply for the reinstatement of their status with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). VIU will evaluate the circumstances in which the student lost the status and only those that went beyond the student’s control will be consider for the reinstatement process. Students who have been out of status for more than five months will not be able to apply for reinstatement.

Applying for Reinstatement

The International Student Advisor will require the following documents for reinstatement:

1. Form I-539, Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status
• The phrase "reinstatement to F-1 status" should be written in at Part 2, item 1, The student should complete the entire form and sign it, and include the proper fee in the form of a check or money order. Instructions for Completing Form I-539
2. Form I-539 fee, made payable to the "US Department of Homeland Security"
• Get the most current fee amount from the USCIS Website
3. A new original I-20, issued for reinstatement and all I-20s previously issued to the student
4. A letter from the student explaining the situation and requesting a reinstatement
• The letter should establish convincingly that the violation resulted from circumstances beyond the student's control or relates to a reduction in course load that would have been within the ISP office's power to authorize
5. A letter from the ISS office recommending reinstatement and providing corroboration of the situation, only when the violation of status resulted from an error on the part of the ISS office
6. Copy of the new financial support documents that supported issuance of the new I-20 for reinstatement
7. Original Form I-94
8. Copy of identity pages of student's passport
9. Any other documentation that might help establish the nature of the violation, to document that the violation occurred less than 5 months ago or to justify why it should be accepted even if the violation occurred more than 5 months ago, and that the student is pursuing or intending to pursue a full course of study
10. Transcripts from all the schools you have attended in the U.S.
11. If you have dependents in the U.S., you must also include them in the application since a violation of your F-1 status affects your dependent family members as well