Leave of Absence

What is a Leave of Absence?

A Leave of Absence is when a student needs to take a break from their academic program or immigration record, but plans to return after a set period of time.

There are two types of Leave of Absence:

  • Academic Leave of Absence
  • Immigration Leave of Absence

Academic Leave of Absence – also known as Continuous Registration (CR)
An Academic Leave of Absence is when a student takes a break from studying at Marymount. The terminology for this at Marymount is known as Continuous Registration (CR).Students must coordinate with their Academic Advisor to submit a Continuous Registration request.
  • IMPORTANT: If an F-1 student will not maintain a full course of study at an SEVP-certified school, and is not approved for a Reduced Course Load, the student will need to apply for an Immigration Leave of Absence and depart the U.S.

Immigration Leave of Absence
An Immigration Leave of Absence is when a student takes a break from studying in the United States. Students need to coordinate with an ISSS Advisor to request an Immigration Leave of Absence. NOTE: A student may take online courses while on an Immigration Leave of Absence while out of the U.S., but the student will not be in F-1 status.

If you submitted a Continuous Registration form to your Academic Advisor or the Office of Registrar, contact the ISSS office at . It is your responsibility to ensure that you are meeting compliance and reporting requirements related to your F-1 status.

What Happens to Your F-1 Status During a Leave of Absence?

When you take an Immigration Leave of Absence, ISSS will terminate your SEVIS record for Authorized Early Withdrawal if you submit your request before you stop attending classes.  You must leave the U.S. within 15 days of your SEVIS termination date.

Next steps:

  • If you do not plan to continue your studies at Marymount University in the future, you do not need to take further action.
  • If you do plan to continue your studies at Marymount University in the future, what happens to your F-1 status depends on when you will continue your studies. Calculate the number of days between when you last attended class and when you will next attend class.
Less than 5 months: SEVIS Reactivation More than 5 months: New Immigration Record
If less than 5 months pass between the last day you attend classes and the day you continue classes, you may request ISSS to reactivate your I-20/SEVIS record before you return to the U.S.  This maintains your current SEVIS record and you can keep any time accrued for CPT and OPT eligibility. If more than 5 months pass between the last day you attend classes and the day you continue classes, you must request a new Initial I-20 with a new SEVIS ID number and pay the SEVIS Fee again, and then return to the U.S. in Initial status.  You would start a new SEVIS record lose any time earned towards CPT and OPT eligibility.

ISSS cannot guarantee that your request for a Return from Leave of Absence will be approved.

NOTE: ISSS must request approval from SEVP to reactivate your SEVIS / I-20 record. This process may take several weeks. It is possible that SEVP will deny the request. If your request is denied, you may need to request a new Initial I-20, be issued a new SEVIS ID number, and pay the SEVIS Fee again. If issued a new Initial I-20, your time counted toward CPT and OPT eligibility would restart. Contact an ISSS Advisor if you have questions or concerns.

Request a Leave of Absence from ISSS

Before you stop attending classes, submit your Leave of Absence request to ISSS following these steps:

  1. Log in to the ISSS Portal.
  2. Proceed to Tab 4.
  3. Open an Initiate Immigration Leave of Absence request.
  4. Read the information and answer the questions.
  5. Click Submit.
  • ISSS will terminate your SEVIS record for Authorized Early Withdrawal.
  • ISSS will notify you via your Marymount student email account and provide you with instructions for next steps.

Request a Return from a Leave of Absence

Before you can return to the U.S., you must first be issued an updated I-20 from ISSS.

  1. Log in to the ISSS Portal.
  2. Navigate to Tab 4.
  3. Open a Return from Leave of Absence request.
  4. Read the information and answer the questions.
  5. Click Submit.

An ISSS Advisor will review your request. If we have questions or need more information, we will contact you using your Marymount student email account.

 

 

 

10/01/2024