Legal Question in Immigration Law in California

I read from the 2009 Memorandum that an F-1 student who drops out of school is said to be in unlawful status. However, he will not start accruing unlawful presence until immigration judge or USCIS makes a determination that he was out of status. My question is, how can he find out if USCIS has made a determination? A formal notification in the mail? I am under the impression that all F1 visa holders are in the electronic SEVIS system, and once an F1 drops out, the school's DSO is required to mark the student as "out of status" in the SEVIS system. By this point, under what circumstances will USCIS not have made a determination?


Asked on 4/07/12, 8:48 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Marlene Hemmings Marlene Hemmings, Attorney at Law

Unfortunately, you need to either apply for an extension or stay, change of status, or leave the country and apply for a new visa, in order for a formal "determination" to be made. So, your status is technically "D/S" until that time. However, I would always recommend that a person change their status before dropping out of school.

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Answered on 4/08/12, 7:25 pm


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