An international student in F-1 visa status is given a specified amount of time to 完成学位课程. This date is indicated on page 1 of a student’s I-20. If a student is unable to complete their degree by their I-20 end date, then they 可能需要延长他们的I-20签证. If a student is eligible for I-20延期, they must extend their I-20 before it expires. Failure to extend an I-20 before its expiration date violates the student’s F-1 status.

Federal regulations, specifically 8 CFR 214.2(f)(7)(iii), stipulate that “delays caused by compelling academic or medical reasons, such as changes of major or research topics, unexpected research problems, or documented illnesses” need to be documented to receive I-20延期. 

I-20延期资格

To apply for I-20延期, as an F-1 student, you must be:

1. 持有有效的F-1签证;
2. Making normal academic progress towards your degree completion;
3. Have a compelling reason for the extension:
   
   1. Academic reasons such as a change of major, change of research topics, unexpected 研究问题; 
   2. Medical reasons such as documented illnesses.
4. Have sufficient funds to cover the additional time needed to complete your degree 要求;
5. Extend your I-20 before it expires. We recommend that you submit the I-20 extension request no later than 3 weeks before your I-20 expiration date. 

However, please note that not all students are eligible for I-20延期. 的 following are NOT valid reasons for I-20延期:

• To enroll in additional courses that are not required to complete your degree.
• To enroll in additional courses that delay your graduation.
• To finish pending coursework for an incomplete grade. 
• Delays caused by academic notice (probation) or disqualification (DQ).

If you have further questions on your eligibility for I-20延期, please 安排约会 to meet with an advisor in 国际空间站 to discuss further.

我如何延长我的I-20签证?

1. Meet with your academic department (e.g. academic advisor or graduate program coordinator) to discuss your academic need for an extension.
2. Meet with an International student advisor in 国际空间站 to discuss your eligibility for I-20延期, per federal regulations.
3. 提交 I-20表格延期申请 在iSpartan. In the extension request, you will need to:
4.  State your qualifying reason for I-20延期.
5. Submit financial documents to cover the additional time to complete your degree. If you are extending your program for only 一个 semester, you may provide proof of finances 所需费用的一半. 
6. 财务声明表格.
7. 财务文件(一).e. bank letter or statement, in English, the account balance 在你.S. 美元). 请参阅 Required Financial Documents for 国际学生 for more information on fees, which include tuition and cost of living estimates, 一学年.
8. When you submit the e-form, it will be sent to your academic department to approve and sign off on your I-20 extension request. If your academic department approves the form, it will then be sent to the 国际空间站 office for processing. 一旦你的学术 department has signed off on your I-20扩展 request, you will receive an email that your request has been routed to 国际空间站 for processing.
9. Once received by 国际空间站, processing time is 5-7 business days. 国际空间站会给你发邮件 updated I-20 with the new program end date, once it has been issued.