Enrollment is vital to maintain F-1 and J-1 status 

Visa holders are responsible for meeting course enrollment requirements. 

• Undergraduates must enroll in 12 credit hours
• Graduates must enroll in 9 credit hours

Less Than Full-Time Enrollment

You must obtain approval before you drop your course.

Graduate students must be enrolled in 9 credit hours. Dissertators are considered full-time if enrolled for 3 credit hours. If you are enrolled in fewer credit hours, complete and submit the Graduate Student Full Time Equivalency Form in iNorthTX. 

Undergraduates students must be enrolled in 12 credit hours. For any semester in which you are enrolled less than full-time, complete and submit the Undergraduate Student Full Time Enrollment Exemption Request Form to International Student and Scholar Services via iNorthTX.

Completed forms must be submitted via iNorthTX and approved by International Student & Scholar Services. Do not drop your class until you have received written confirmation from ISSS. All withdrawals must be processed by the student according to university procedures through the Registrar’s office.

Full-Time Enrollment is required during each Fall and Spring Semester. You are also required to enroll full-time in the summer if it is your first or last semester of enrollment at UNT. If you are continuing your required enrollment from a Spring to Fall semester, you are not required to enroll in Summer classes. 

The code of Federal Regulations allows the following for approval to maintain status for less than full-time enrollment:

Academic 

Only one semester per degree allowed in this category. Minimum 6 credits allowed.

• Initial difficulties with the English language, or initial difficulties with reading requirements. (first semester only)
• Unfamiliarity with American teaching methods  (first semester only)
• Improper course level placement

Final Semester

You are only allowed one final semester per degree.

• Completing all degree requirements this semester.

Medical 

Maximum one year aggregate allowed.

• Medical condition
• Medical documentation signed by your licensed medical doctor, licensed doctor of osteopathy, or licensed clinical psychologist, containing recommendations concerning your course-load must be attached.

Concurrent Enrollment

Enrollment at UNT and another institution simultaneously.

This information regarding concurrent enrollment is only in reference to your immigration status only. The decision to concurrently enroll at another school may impact many areas of your UNT studies. Please make sure that you understand what impacts concurrent enrollment may have on your enrollment at UNT prior to concurrently enrolling. Please also be aware that some scholarship awards require full-time enrollment at UNT and verification of enrollment requirements should be completed before you concurrently enroll at another school. Please contact each department where you receive a scholarship award to determine if part-time enrollment at UNT may impact your scholarship(s).

How to Obtain Approval

• Enroll in your UNT class(es). You must be enrolled in at least one face-to-face class at UNT. 
• Check with your department to ensure that your credits will transfer to UNT.
• Complete the Concurrent Enrollment Letter Request Form and submit to International Student and Scholar Services. ISSS will provide a concurrent enrollment letter for you to submit to the other institution.
• As soon as you have registered at the other institution, you must provide proof of registration and credit hours to International Student and Scholar Services. You must complete this step by the 12^th day of class at UNT.
• Once you have completed classes at the other institution, submit a copy of your grade report to International Student and Scholar Services.
• Don’t forget to send a transcript to the UNT Registrar’s Office to get your credits officially transferred!

Online Studies

With the response to COVID-19 and the migration of many classes to online instruction, it is important to note that we have received guidance from the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of State that F-1 and J-1 students who had valid status in Spring 2020 will not have negative immigration consequences for the Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Summer 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, and Summer 2023 semesters while completing courses via online instruction. If you entered the U.S. after March 2020, you are required to enroll in at least one on campus class for Spring 2023. You can read more on our webpage here: https://international.unt.edu/content/immigration-updates 

To clarify, F-1 and J-1 students will remain in status while studying on-line and remotely while in the United States for the duration of the Spring 2023 semester if you maintained valid F1 status during Spring 2020 through Fall 2022. This means you are not required to depart the U.S. 

Spring 2023 enrollment will be required for all international students to maintain their F-1 or J-1 student immigration status. We have received communication that the March 2020 guidance regarding online enrollment will continue to Fall and Summer 2023. Students who entered the U.S. with a new SEVIS ID number in Fall 2020, Spring 2021, Summer 2021, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Summer 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, or Summer 2023 must enroll in at least one course that is delivered face-to-face to fulfill on-campus physical presence requirements. 

With the return to standard on-campus course offerings, Fall 2023 rules will return to pre-COVID online enrollment restrictions. Please prepare for Fall 2023 and beyond following the Standard Online Enrollment Restrictions below.

Standard Online Enrollment Restrictions:

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services regulations state that a student can only apply one 3-credit online course toward the 12-credit undergraduate requirement or the 9-credit graduate requirement each semester.

If international students register for more than the required 9 or 12 credits, students may take additional online education credits. For example, an undergraduate student taking 18 credits could have nine on-campus and nine online credits, with nine on-campus plus three of the online credits completing the full-time course requirement. The additional six online credits are additional credits beyond the full-time requirement.

If a course has any on-campus requirement, it is not considered an online course:

For F-1 students enrolled in classes for credit or classroom hours, no more than the equivalent of one class or three credits per session, term, semester, trimester, or quarter may be counted toward the full course of study requirement if the class is taken on-line or through distance education and does not require the student’s physical attendance for classes, examinations or other purposes integral to completion of the class. An on-line or distance education class is a course that is offered principally through the use of television, audio, or computer transmission including open broadcast, closed circuit, cable, microwave, or satellite, audio conferencing, or computer conferencing. If the F-1 student’s course of study is in a language study program, no on-line or distance education classes may be considered to count toward a student’s full course of study requirement." 8 CFR 214.2(f)(6)(i)(G)

If a student participates in a "physical attendance" activity for an online course, the course is not considered an online course for the purposes of this rule.

Examples of "physical attendance" activities include tests, conferences, presentations, laboratory work, or other class-related activities that takes place on the UNT campus. This activity may be completed individually or as part of a group. This activity that is undertaken by the international student on campus may be an activity that is done online by other students registered in the class.

There is a form available on our forms page here. Completed forms must be submitted to International Student and Scholar Services before the 12^th class day of the semester.