The following is a list of all requirements to maintain legal J-1 status. Details for each below.
Any time your local address changes, please submit MyISS (purdue.edu)>F-1 and J-1 Student Services>Address Update to provide us with your correct local address. You must notify us through the MyISS portal within 10 days of any change to your local (U.S.) address.
Maintain a valid/unexpired passport for yourself and all J-2 dependents (if any). Contact your embassy 6 months prior to the expiration date to renew.
Request a Program Extension if you will not graduate by the Program End Date listed on your I-20. Note that once studies are completed, J-1 students are permitted a 30-day grace period, but if you are not completing your program, you must extend prior to the program end date on your DS2019. Submit MyISS (purdue.edu)>F-1 and J-1 Student Services>Program Extension as early in the semester as possible.
Request a new DS2019 from ISS if there are any changes to your academic program. This includes changes such as:
Change of funding
Change of degree level
Name changes: submit MyISS>General Services>Ask Student Counselor to request a change of name, uploading documenation confirming new name, such as new passport.
To be considered a J-1 student in status, you must be enrolled full-time every fall and spring semester except during the last semester of your degree program.
Full-time undergraduate = minimum 12 credit hours
Full-time graduate without Grad Staff appointment (Graduate Student Assistantship or GSA; requires employment) = 8 minimum credit hours
Full-time graduate with Grad Staff appointment = 6 minimum credit hours
Audited courses do NOT count toward your minimum full-time enrollment requirement.
Summer registration is not required to maintain your legal status if you were full time in the previous spring semester and you will be full time in the subsequent fall semester in the same academic program. However some academic programs require summer enrollment. Check with your academic advisor to learn more about departmental requirements.
If summer is your first or last semester, fulltime registration is required unless you qualify for an exception. Fulltime registration for the summer is six (6) credit hours except for graduate students with a Graduate Staff Appointment when three (3) credit hours is required.
If your final semester will be summer, review instructions below for exceptions to the fulltime registration requirement.
Undergraduate students in their final semester may register part-time, but they must be in at least one class in which they are required to be physically present on campus for the majority of the semester. Students must be enrolled in and pursuing all remaining coursework with the intention of graduation at the end of the semester and no more than three credit hours of the remaining required coursework may be delivered via distance learning.
Upon completing the academic program, J-1 students are permitted a 30 day grace period in which to depart the US, apply for Academic Training | ISS (purdue.edu), complete a J-1 School Transfer | ISS (purdue.edu) or J-1 Change of Education Level | ISS (purdue.edu). They may also take some other action to maintain their legal right to remain in the US (this last option would involve consulting with an Immigration Attorney).
Do not participate in any off-campus employment activities, paid and unpaid opportunities or employment, including mandatory orientation associated with off-campus employment activities without express written permission from ISS. See the section on J-1 Employment Information | ISS (purdue.edu) for more information. Off-campus employment can be any of the following: Internship (paid or unpaid), Co-Op (paid or unpaid), casually helping a friend with their business, starting a business, and other similar scenarios.
Do not pursue or continue any employment, paid or unpaid, on the Purdue University campus after the program end date on your DS2019 unless you have documented employment authorization from ISS.
It is important to keep all your immigration documents in a safe place. These documents are proof of your J-1 status. You should keep all immigration documents indefinitely, as you may have to present them in the future if you apply for other immigration benefits.
I-94 Print-out/Card
Current DS2019
All previous DS2019's
Also print your I-94 (or make a copy of the paper I-94 if you receive one) and carry it with you at all times.