Leave of Absence | International Programs & Services

All F-1 Students are required to enroll full-time at their sponsoring university every semester.

Occasionally, students may need time off from school.

Common reasons might include:

Home country mandatory military service
Family emergency
Work opportunities outside of the United States
Financial challenges
Other

There are some F-1 exceptions that allow you to remain in the United States (or take time off abroad) AND maintain an active F-1 SEVIS record and I-20.

Examples include:

Annual vacation semester
Authorized Reduced Course Load

You should check first with the IPS advisor if you might qualify for one of these exceptions to the F-1 full-time enrollment rules. Otherwise, you may need to consider an F-1 leave of absence.

Eligible situations for a leave of absence

You need to take some time off from studies and you do not qualify for any of the exceptions to the F-1 full-time rules
You need to take more time off than would be allowed by the exceptions to the F-1 full-time rules
You are permanently withdrawing from Michigan Tech

This Leave of Absence (LOA) will affect your F-1 status and I-20, depending on the duration of time that you are gone from the United States.

During the Leave of Absence semester

You MUST notify the International Programs and Services department before dropping classes/not enrolling
You must leave the United States during your leave of absence
You will not enroll full-time in the Leave of Absence semester (and you must withdraw if doing LOA for the current semester)
IPS will terminate your F-1 SEVIS record for Authorized Early Withdrawal; this notifies the government of your leave of absence and verifies that our department was made aware of this leave. If you fail to notify IPS of your withdrawal or approved leave, your immigration record will be terminated for “Failure to Enroll” and this could have serious consequences on your future study, work, or travel in the United States.
Your I-20 is canceled and is not valid for travel to the United States
You might lose benefit eligibility like CPT and OPT, depending on the length of your leave.
The F-1 Leave of Absence process is a U.S. immigration-only process. You may need to separately complete academic department/university processes to withdraw (link DoS Withdraw link) and communicate with the Graduate School of your intention to leave. We strongly recommend that you also consult with your academic department to discuss the effect of your absence on course sequences and length of your program.

Departure Deadline

Students physically present in the U.S. must depart the U.S. within 15 days of one of the following dates:

If NOT ENROLLED for the semester, within 15 days of the last day of enrollment
If ENROLLED for the semester, within 15 days of the withdrawal date or SEVIS termination date, whichever comes first.

Students must also stop participating in any F-1 work programs (examples: on-campus employment, CPT, OPT) from this date. These deadlines are enforced by the U.S. government; students who do not depart on time may be directly contacted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Students who want to visit the U.S. during their leave of absence are not eligible to use their Michigan Tech I-20 to enter the U.S. Students would need to enter under a different visa type (such as B-2 visitor or visa-waiver), and later, reenter with a new SEVIS record.

Information About Returning to Michigan Tech after a Leave of Absence

There are two different processes to return to Michigan Tech after a Leave of Absence. We call the processes “Pathway A” and “Pathway B.”

The appropriate pathway depends on your situation.

	Pathway A – Reactivate Current SEVIS Record	Pathway B – New / Different SEVIS Record
Semester student has missed	Only one semester Students who have missed only one semester can also choose Pathway B	2 or more semesters
Process	Complete the SEVIS Reactivation Request. SEVIS reactivation is only necessary if you will travel to the U.S. for the upcoming semester. MTU submits the request to reactivate your terminated SEVIS record (I-20) to the government. Please be aware that MTU does not control the reactivation process, and the SEVIS record might not be reactivated in time. You might have to delay your return or request an initial I-20 with a new SEVIS ID number. It is not possible for MTU to contact the government for status or processing time updates after we file your reactivation request.	May have to submit a returning student application to the Office of the University Registrar and be approved before MTU can issue your new SEVIS record. Must complete the SEVIS Reactivation Request to get your new SEVIS record (initial I-20 with new SEVIS ID number) to return to MTU. Required to provide a copy of your passport and new financial documents showing funding is available for one year of study. You will also need to pay a new SEVIS fee to the government and will need a new visa if your visa has expired.
Eligible for CPT or OPT after return	Eligibility remains the same as it was prior to your Leave of Absence	Ineligible until you have completed 3 semesters after your return
Next eligible for vacation	After completing the next 3 semesters of full-time study (including summer semester, when applicable)	The first summer semester after your return, unless your first semester back is summer
Earliest date to return to the U.S.	30 days before the start of your next study semester	30 days before the start of your next study semester
Timeline of process	Request reactivation 60 days before the start of the next semester (or the date of a visa interview appointment)	Begin process at least 3 months before planned return
In control of the process	The U.S. government	Michigan Tech

Request a Leave of Absence

Carefully review the information about the Leave of Absence process.
If you have additional questions, please email ips@mtu.edu for clarification
Withdraw from classes: Visit the Registrar’s Office to see how to drop classes.
Request a Leave of Absence (LOA) through IPS (ips@mtu.edu). You will report your last date of attendance at Michigan and your U.S. departure date.
Drop / withdraw from all classes for your leave of absence semester (if you are requesting a leave of absence for the next semester).
Depart the U.S. according to the departure deadline. You do not need to wait for an IPS email confirmation to depart. If you will only miss one semester at MTU, check that you have a valid travel signature before departure.
You will receive an email confirmation from IPS when we have terminated your record.

SEVIS Reactivation Request

The chart above describes two pathways for returning to the U.S. after an immigration leave of absence.

Students who meet the following conditions can request a reactivation of the current SEVIS record:

Your immigration leave of absence was only one semester
You will travel to the U.S. for the upcoming semester
You reviewed the chart above and understand the advantages and disadvantages of a SEVIS reactivation.
(Sometimes students choose Pathway B, a new I-20, even though they are also eligible to request the SEVIS reactivation).

Request a reactivation of your current SEVIS record by completing the SEVIS Reactivation Request, and providing financials to prove the expense amount on your I-20. If you are providing bank statements, these must be within the past three months of the date you are requesting reinstatement.

Students who will use Pathway B to return to the U.S. (a new I-20 with a new SEVIS ID), please fill out the SEVIS Reactivation Request Google Form and email ips@mtu.edu to get this process started.