Most, if not all, U.S. colleges and universities have academic requirements that apply to all students including international students. For example, if the student gets below 2.0 out of 4.0 GPA, he or she may be placed on Academic Probation (AP) following the institutional policy for the next term. Students on AP are assigned AP advisors who can help them to increase their GPAs.
If the student’s GPA doesn’t improve or if the student doesn’t successfully complete the AP process, the student may be academically disqualified or receive an Academic Suspension notice. Unless a student didn’t study intentionally, no students would like to receive notices of academic disqualification, academic suspension, and academic probation as it means low GPA and no scholarship, etc.
However, being on academic probation or being academically disqualified is especially a big deal for international students as their nonimmigrant status (student visa) can be impacted. Since the purpose of staying in the U.S. for international students is to study, they may have to leave the U.S. when they cannot register for classes as a consequence of academic disqualification/suspension and probation.
Therefore, this blog post will have a look at what are the impacts of academic disqualification, suspension and probation on international students’ visa status. Frequently asked questions like “Would US consular officers know that I was disqualified,” “What should I do to come out of AP?” “Do I need to leave the country?” or “How can I stay in the U.S?” will be discussed as well.
Contents
Academic Probation
As I briefly mentioned above, usually students are placed on Academic Probation in a way to avoid getting closer to being academically disqualified and resulting in academic suspension. In this sense, most students will be able to continue to be enrolled full-time in the upcoming intake. As long as international students can register for classes full-time for the next term, there will be no impact on the student visa or SEVIS record (Form I-20) at this point.
That being said, AP students should do their bests to come out of the AP status next term to not be suspended from the school and not go out of status. Similarly, students who are in AP status may need more time to satisfy the graduation requirement which can result in not being able to graduate on time by the program end date written on Form I-20.
In this case, students are not eligible to apply for the program extension and thus they would have to go back to their home country to finish the program. To learn more about the outcomes of going “out of status,” click the following related blog post:
Related blog post: International students, be aware not to go “out of status”
If your school prevents AP students from registering for full-time classes, you should communicate with your DSO at your home university to see what you should do because technically you will be out of status unless you are eligible for Reduced Course Load.
International students who would like to know some tips on studying and writing are encouraged to check out the following blog posts:
Related blog post 1: Straight-A study guide: study in the USA for international students
Related blog post 2: Plagiarism? Writing services that all international students should know
Academic Suspension/ Academic Disqualification
Now let’s look at immigration regulations related to academic suspension or disqualification.
Some institutions provide a chance to students who are academically disqualified and thus received a notice of Academic Suspension to appeal. Therefore, if you are academically disqualified, it is important to check if your college or university allows disqualified students to appeal before the final decision is made.
If your college or university doesn’t provide an opportunity for disqualified students to appeal or if your appeal is denied, then you are out of status visa-wise as you are no longer a student of the I-20 issued college/ university.
When international students are suspended, DSOs should terminate their SEVIS records (I-20s) within 21 days according to the immigration regulation 8 CFR 214.3(g)(2)(ii). Now it is worth noting that it is not clear from which date the 21 days are counted. Therefore, if you would like to know exactly when your Form I-20 will be terminated, you should reach out to your DSO.
(ii) Schools are also required to report within 21 days any change of the information contained in paragraph (g)(1) or the occurrence of the following events:(A) Any student who has failed to maintain status or complete his or her program; …
8 CFR 214.3(g)(2)(ii)
Academically disqualified students whose Form I-20 has been terminated for the reason of “suspension,” are required to leave the country immediately. Unlike students who apply for the official withdrawal, suspended students are not given any grace period:
(iv) Preparation for departure. … An F-1 student authorized by the DSO to withdraw from classes will be allowed a 15-day period for departure from the United States. However, an F-1 student who fails to maintain a full course of study without the approval of the DSO or otherwise fails to maintain status is not eligible for an additional period for departure.
8 CFR 214.2(f)(5)(iv)
Thus, when you are suspended, it is important to communicate with your DSO to let them know of your travel plans, etc.
Frequently Asked Questions
In this paragraph, I will answer some of the frequently asked questions for students who are on academic probation/academic suspension/ academic disqualification.
Would US consular officers know that I was disqualified?
If an international student who had been suspended is re-admitted after a certain time, they might need to take a visa interview again to obtain a valid visa. In this case, would U.S. consular officers know that the student was disqualified? If so, would it have negative impacts on the new visa interview?
The consular officer at the U.S. embassy might be able to pull up the past record and see that the previous SEVIS record was terminated due to the academic suspension. Or they might not have time to pull up the past history and just look at the new Form I-20. In either case, if the student is asked about the academic suspension history or academic plan, international students should highlight what they learned from the past and share their new academic plans to do better academically.
The following related blog posts will be helpful for students to brainstorm how they should prepare the answers for visa interview questions. The SEVIS SAVVY readers also can get a discount on the 1:1 consulting session with pre-consular officers. Click the related blog post 2 for more information about the 1:1 consultation session. In short, SEVIS SAVVY and Argo discussed the official partnership to make the one-on-one consultation sessions more affordable for international students. If you would like to get special discounts ($25 off), please click the link here.
Related blog post 1: How to answer for visa interview questions
Related blog post 2: Why 30~60% of student visa applicants get refused
How can I stay in the U.S?
You may know that international students are given 60 days grace period upon graduation. During this given time, international students can transfer to a different institution, change their education level or change their visa status.
Related blog post: My F-1 visa grace period ends soon, what are my options?
Since academically suspended students are not given any grace period after the termination, their SEVIS records may not be transferred to different universities. However, if the student receives the acceptance letter from other universities before the academic suspension decisions are made, they may be able to transfer to a different college or university.
To sum up, I would like to reiterate that it is critical for international students to not be academically disqualified or placed on academic probation as it impacts not only their academic plans but also their career and future in general as their legal status is associated with the student visa which is associated with the academics.
All visa information and study tips for a successful study abroad experience in the U.S. can be found on the F-1 visa page as well as OPT and STEM OPT page. Don’t be ignorant, be savvy with SEVIS SAVVY for your future:)
