We want to remind all departments of the requirements that F-1 students need to abide by to maintain their immigration status:
Undergraduate students– Students must register for at least 12 credits to maintain their immigration status. Only 3 online credits can be counted toward meeting the full-time requirement. If a student is in his/her last semester, he/she can be part-time (the last class cannot be online and the student and advisor must complete a reduced course load recommendation).
Master’s students- Students must register for at least 9 credits to maintain their immigration status. Only 3 online credits can be counted toward meeting the full-time requirement. If the student is in his/her last semester, he/she can be part-time (the last class cannot be online and the student and advisor must complete a reduced course load recommendation).
Doctoral students- Doctoral students who are registered only for dissertation credits still must complete the reduced course recommendation.
When F-1 students request a reduced course load, an email from the OGE is generated to the advisor/faculty member for recommendation. Please be sure you complete the form in order for the OGE to approve the student’s request.
We would also like to remind you that, if you are ever unsure about the federal regulations for international students regarding their registration (ie., minimum credit requirements, in-person, requirement, last semester, etc.) please reach out to us at oge@montclair.edu. We will be happy to answer your questions.
We will carefully monitor registrations; students who do not follow these guidelines will be at risk of losing their immigration status.
All independent study courses for F-1 students must have a face-to-face component (at least 50% of the time must be in person). International students on an F-1 visa are highly discouraged from taking more than one independent study course per semester. The federal government requires that F-1 students take the majority of their courses in a face-to-face format and make normal progress to graduate on time.
International students may travel outside the USA, for a brief time, while classes are in session as long as they have permission from their professors and OGE.
International students need authorization from the OGE for any type of employment, social security, program extensions, reduced course loads, and leaves of absence. The student will submit this request to the OGE through MyGlobal Portal. These requests generate an email to the academic advisor (or supervisor if on-campus employment). The advisor/supervisor will have to log in to MyGlobal Portal to complete a form to confirm the provided information. Incomplete forms cannot be processed so read carefully and complete each section before submitting it.
An international student can work on campus 20 hours per week while classes are in session and more than 20 hours during breaks/holidays.
If the student already has a social security number then the student needs to be directed to Human Resources to complete the I-9. If the student does not have a social security number then the student needs to complete the social security request in MyGLobal Portal. Once they complete the request, the supervisor will receive an email from our portal in the student’s name confirming employment. The process to obtain a social security number can take 2-3 weeks. However with the receipt notice from social security the student can go to HR.