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The Immigration Check-In Form is available in the MyISSS portal under the Arrival & Immigration Check-In tab. You will find instructions here: Accessing the F-1 Student Immigration Check-In E-Form in the MyISSS Portal.

• International students in F-1 or J-1 status should complete the check-in form as soon as possible upon admission into the United States and no later than the start date of classes.
• Students who are transferring their F-1 SEVIS record to CU Boulder must complete the check-in form within 15 days of their F-1 program start date as reflected on the Form I-20.

All new international students in F-1 or J-1 status are required to arrive to Boulder by January 8, 2025 to attend the mandatory in-person International Student Orientation program on January 9, 2025.

If you cannot arrive on time, please review the Late Arrival Policies for new international students.

If you are unable to arrive at CU Boulder by these required dates, work with International Admissions to discuss deferring your I-20 program start date:

• Undergraduate students should contact: intladm@colorado.edu
• Graduate students should contact: intlgrad@colorado.edu

The visa stamp in your passport is an entry document and only needs to be valid when you enter the US. This means your F-1 student visa, the stamp in your passport, is allowed to expire while you are in the U.S. If your visa stamp in your passport expires, you do not have to leave the U.S. as long as both your I-20 and passport are valid, and you are otherwise maintaining your F-1 immigration status. Status, is the legal category under which an international visitor is admitted to the U.S.

If your visa expires, you will need to renew it at a U.S. embassy or consulate the next time you are outside of the U.S. to gain re-entry to the U.S. In general, you will not be able to re-enter the U.S. if your visa is expired (exception: Automatic Visa Revalidation). Please review the Visa Renewal Information for Students and Scholars handout for more information about renewing your visa. You cannot renew your visa from inside the U.S.

If you lose your passport, you should apply for a new passport as soon as possible. You can apply for a new passport from within the U.S. at your home country’s consulate or embassy. You should also contact the local police station and report your passport as lost or stolen. After doing so, you will be issued a police report detailing the incident. You should make a copy of this report and keep it for your records.

If your visa was inside the passport that was lost, you should also contact the U.S. embassy or consulate outside of the U.S. that issued your visa. Please note, if you have already reported your visa lost/stolen to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate, and then you later find your misplaced passport, your visa stamp in that passport will be invalid for future travel to the U.S. Therefore, in that situation, you must apply for a new visa at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

Each fall and spring semester a hold is placed on the records of students in F-1 status to prevent them from dropping a class without prior permission from ISSS and unintentionally falling below full-time enrollment, a violation of status. This hold does not affect a student's ability to add a class or drop classes related to future semester enrollment.

If students in F-1 status wish to drop a class after the hold has been placed on their record, they must contact an ISSS advisor to request permission to drop the class(es). If dropping the class(es) will not result in under-enrollment, then the ISSS drop hold will be removed for 48 hours in order to allow students to drop the approved class(es).

Students must receive permission from ISSS to drop below Full-time enrollment before dropping to part-time. Students can only receive permission to drop below full time enrollment for one of the following reasons.

Academic Reduced Course Load - Immigration regulations allow one Academic Reduced Course Load (RCL) per degree-level if a student has a valid academic reason for dropping below full-time. Please see the Academic Reduced Course Loads for further information, including the acceptable reasons for an Academic RCL.

Medical Reduced Course Load - ISSS may authorize a reduced course load or, if necessary, no course load, due to a student's temporary illness or medical condition for a period of time not to exceed an aggregate of 12 months per academic degree level. Please see the Medical Reduced Course Loads for further information, including the eligibility requirements for a medical RCL.

Final Semester - If a student needs less than full-time enrollment credit hours in their final semester to complete their degree program, then the student only needs to enroll in the credits needed to finish their program. Students must submit a Confirmation of Final Semester (available in MyISSS portal) to request part-time enrollment. In-person credits are always required in a student's final term, even if the final term occurs in the summer.

You may qualify for an Academic Reduced Course Load (ARC).  Please review the eligibility requirements for an Academic RCL and contact ISSS  for assistance.

If you are not eligible for an Academic RCL, ISSS encourages you to seek additional academic assistance.

Please review the ISSS Academic Success Resources.

• As a first-year student, you may have the opportunity to seek help from an academic coach provided by your college or department.
• Additionally, if you are struggling in a specific course or courses during your time at CU Boulder, there may be free tutoring resources available for you.
• Please contact your CU Boulder academic advisor for further information on coaching or tutoring resources.

Please see the various CU Boulder English Language Resources available to you such as English Courses, the International English Center, and writing assistance.

To be eligible for on-campus employment, international students in F-1 or J-1 status must:

• Be maintaining their nonimmigrant status;
• Be enrolled in a full-time course load or authorized equivalent in the current term or, in the case of summer or winter vacation, have not completed their degree and are enrolled full-time (or an authorized equivalent) in the next required term.

On-campus employment refers to employment where a student is hired by a unit or department of the University of Colorado Boulder campus and paid by CU Boulder. Students who have questions about whether a job is considered on-campus should consult ISSS. 

To search for available on-campus jobs, please review the Student Employment website. International students in F-1 or J-1 status are not eligible for on-campus jobs classified as “work study,” as such positions are subsidized by federal financial aid for domestic students.

International students can work on-campus up to 20 hours a week while school is in session during the fall and spring semesters. If a student has multiple on-campus jobs, the total hours worked for all jobs cannot exceed 20 hours a week while school is in session.

International students can work on-campus full-time (more than 20 hours) during official school breaks (spring break, summer vacation, Thanksgiving break, and winter vacation). During fall break, winter break, and spring break, if an international student in F-1 status would like to work more than 50 hours in a bi-weekly pay period, Student Employment requires the student to submit an exception request form for approval.

Students can work full-time during the summer term. The official Student Employment Summer Term does not require an exception request, but please see the Student Employment Summer calendar as dates may be different from the school calendar. Please consult the hiring department or Student Employment for more information.

As an international student in F-1 or J-1 status, you are in the U.S. on a student visa, not a work visa, therefore, you must receive special work authorization for off-campus employment.

Below are the types of off-campus employment authorization that students in F-1 status are eligible to apply for only after they have completed one full academic year (fall and spring semester) in active nonimmigrant status:

Curricular Practical Training (CPT): Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is a temporary employment authorization for an “alternative work/study, internship, cooperative education, or any other type of required internship or practicum which is offered by sponsoring employers through cooperative agreements with the school.” CPT can only be authorized prior to your degree completion for a work experience that is in your major field of study and considered to be “an integral part of an established curriculum.”

To be eligible for CPT, you must meet one of the following requirements:

• Be enrolled in an internship course for credit that counts towards your degree. (Enrollment in the course must be concurrent with the training. For example, if the internship is in the summer, you must be enrolled in the internship course during the summer) or
• Your degree must require an internship and that requirement is clearly documented in .

You must also apply for CPT authorization and can expect a processing time of 2-3 weeks. Please see the F-1 Curricular Practical Training page on our ISSS website for more information, including other CPT eligibility requirements.

Optional Practical Training (OPT): Optional Practical Training (OPT) is defined by the regulations as “temporary employment authorization for practical training directly related to a student’s major field of study.” You can be authorized for OPT before you complete your degree program (pre-completion OPT) or after you complete your degree program (post-completion OPT).  The standard processing time for OPT authorization is 2-5 months. Please see the F-1 Pre-Completion OPT and Post-Completion OPT pages on our website for more information.

Students in J-1 status, please see the J-1 Employment webpage.

Please contact ISSS to discuss your specific situation. We also recommend reviewing the Travel Handout: Re-entry from Travel Outside the U.S. & Printing Your Electronic I-94.

No, travel signatures are valid for up to 12 months. You need to make sure you have a valid travel signature on page 2 of your I-20 that was signed within the last 12 months prior to your entry into the U.S. If you do not have a travel signature or your travel signature will be older than 12 months at the time of your re-entry to the U.S., you will need to request a new travel signature from ISSS.

To request a travel signature, complete the I-20 Reprint Request Form (available in MyISSS portal).

• Current I-20 or DS-2019 with Valid Travel Signature
• Valid Passport: Must be valid 6 months beyond the date of re-entry to the U.S.
  • Exception:  can re-enter the U.S. up to the expiration date.
• Valid Visa
  • Exception: Citizens of Canada do not require a visa
  • Exception: If eligible for  after travel to Canada, Mexico, or .
    • If using the Automatic Visa Revalidation provision, travel with your I-94 (printed copy of your Electronic I-94 or paper I-94).
• Current Financial Support Documentation
  • e.g., bank letter, financial guarantee, scholarship letter, affidavit of support
  • Must show funding for expenses noted on I-20 or DS-2019.
• I-901 SEVIS Fee Receipt
  • ​If you do not have your original receipt, you can print a copy from the .
• Unofficial Transcript and/or  indicating full-time enrollment every semester printed from the