F-1 Student Adjustment of Status

Basic adjustment eligibility for an F-1 student

An F-1 student seeking ordinary adjustment under INA §245(a) generally must establish that the applicant:

• Was inspected and admitted or paroled;
• Is eligible to receive an immigrant visa;
• Has an immigrant visa immediately available when required;
• Is admissible to the United States;
• Is not subject to an applicable adjustment bar; and
• Warrants adjustment as a matter of discretion where the governing statute makes adjustment discretionary.

F-1 admission for duration of status

Under the F-1 regulations, duration of status generally covers the period during which the student is pursuing a qualifying full course of study or engaging in authorized practical training, together with any additional period specifically authorized by regulation.

Maintaining F-1 status therefore depends on continuing compliance rather than merely possessing:

• An unexpired passport;
• An old F-1 visa;
• A Form I-20 with a future program date; or
• An I-94 marked “D/S.”

Common F-1 status violations

Potential violations include:

• Dropping below a full course of study without authorized reduced course load;
• Failing to attend the school maintaining the student's SEVIS record;
• Unauthorized off-campus employment;
• Employment outside CPT authorization;
• Employment outside OPT or STEM OPT authorization;
• Excessive unemployment during post-completion OPT;
• Failure to comply with STEM OPT reporting or employment requirements;
• Failure to obtain a timely program extension when required;
• SEVIS termination;
• Beginning a new educational level or transferring schools without complying with SEVIS rules; or
• Other conduct inconsistent with F-1 classification.

Curricular Practical Training

CPT is employment authorization tied to the student's curriculum and must be properly authorized through the F-1 regulatory and SEVIS process before the employment begins.

A CPT review should compare:

• Employer;
• Employment location where relevant;
• Start date;
• End date;
• Full-time or part-time authorization;
• Form I-20 endorsement;
• Relationship of the training to the curriculum; and
• Actual employment performed.

OPT and STEM OPT

Optional Practical Training is a separate form of F-1 practical-training authorization directly related to the student's major field of study.

Adjustment review may require examination of:

• Form I-765 filing and approval dates;
• EAD validity dates;
• Employment start and end dates;
• Relationship between employment and degree field;
• Unemployment periods;
• STEM OPT employer eligibility;
• Form I-983 compliance;
• Required reporting; and
• Any automatic extension applicable under current regulations.

Unauthorized employment and F-1 adjustment

Unauthorized employment can simultaneously:

• Terminate or violate F-1 status;
• Create an INA §245(c)(2) issue;
• Create an INA §245(c)(8) issue;
• Affect an employment-based INA §245(k) calculation; and
• Remain relevant to adjustment discretion.

The work itself should also be separated from any conduct used to obtain the job, including:

• False citizenship claims;
• False Forms I-9;
• Use of another person's Social Security number;
• False immigration documents; or
• Other material misrepresentations.

See Unauthorized Employment and Adjustment of Status.

F-1 student who marries a U.S. citizen

A qualifying immediate relative of a U.S. citizen is generally exempt from the principal INA §245(c)(2) and unauthorized-employment adjustment bars.

Accordingly, an F-1 student who was lawfully admitted but later:

• Overstayed;
• Stopped attending school;
• Lost F-1 status; or
• Worked without authorization

may still be able to adjust as the qualifying immediate relative of a U.S. citizen, assuming the remaining adjustment requirements are satisfied.

See Family-Based Adjustment of Status.

Employment-based adjustment from F-1 status

F-1 students frequently pursue employment-based permanent residence through:

• EB-1A extraordinary ability;
• EB-1B outstanding professor or researcher;
• EB-2 national interest waiver;
• PERM-based EB-2;
• EB-3; or
• Another qualifying employment-based category.

Employment-based applicants must pay particular attention to:

• INA §245(c)(2);
• INA §245(c)(7);
• INA §245(c)(8); and
• INA §245(k).

See Employment-Based Adjustment of Status.

INA §245(k) can preserve employment-based adjustment

INA §245(k) allows qualifying employment-based applicants to adjust notwithstanding §245(c)(2), §245(c)(7), and §245(c)(8) where the statutory requirements are met.

The applicant must be present pursuant to a lawful admission and generally must not have accumulated more than 180 days in the aggregate after the relevant lawful admission of:

• Failure to maintain lawful status;
• Unauthorized employment; or
• Other violations of the terms and conditions of admission.

See INA §245(k).

F-1 status and immigrant intent

F-1 is not a statutory dual-intent classification. The F-1 definition requires a residence in a foreign country that the student has no intention of abandoning while seeking temporary student admission.

An immigrant petition or adjustment plan can therefore become relevant when the student later seeks:

• A new F-1 visa;
• Readmission in F-1 classification;
• Change of status to F-1; or
• Another immigration benefit requiring temporary intent.

What happens to F-1 status after Form I-485 is filed?

Filing Form I-485 does not itself extend or recreate F-1 classification.

A student may continue to comply with F-1 requirements while adjustment is pending, but the adjustment filing also creates a separate immigration posture.

Maintaining the underlying F-1 status can provide practical protection if:

• The I-485 is denied;
• The immigrant petition is denied or revoked;
• The priority date retrogresses;
• The applicant later withdraws adjustment; or
• Another problem develops in the permanent-residence case.

Using a C09 adjustment-based EAD

A pending adjustment applicant may obtain employment authorization in category C09.

Using the C09 EAD for employment not independently authorized under F-1 rules can affect the student's ability to claim continuing F-1 status.

This distinction can matter if the adjustment application is later denied.

Travel after filing Form I-485

F-1 students do not receive the regulatory travel exception available to certain H and L nonimmigrants with pending adjustment applications.

Departure while Form I-485 is pending without required advance parole can therefore result in abandonment of adjustment, subject to the governing regulations and any applicable exception.

See Advance Parole and Adjustment of Status.

If the I-485 is denied

The consequences depend heavily on whether the applicant independently maintained F-1 status.

A person who abandoned F-1 compliance and relied solely on the pending adjustment case may have no underlying nonimmigrant status remaining after denial.

Possible consequences include:

• Loss of adjustment-based employment authorization;
• Loss of adjustment-based travel authorization;
• Accrual of unlawful presence depending on the facts and applicable rules;
• Issuance of a Notice to Appear where permitted by current DHS policy; and
• Need to evaluate a motion, refiling, consular processing, or another immigration strategy.

See I-485 Problems and Denials.

Evidence for an F-1 adjustment analysis

A complete review can require:

• Every passport and F-1 visa;
• Every Form I-94;
• All Forms I-20;
• Complete SEVIS history;
• School transcripts;
• Enrollment records;
• CPT endorsements;
• OPT and STEM OPT EADs;
• Forms I-765;
• Forms I-983;
• Employment records;
• Pay statements and tax records;
• Transfer and program-extension records;
• Any reinstatement filing;
• Prior immigrant petitions;
• Prior Forms I-485; and
• A complete entry, status, education, and employment chronology.

Frequently asked questions