YOU

^thanks! .

Grande Antilles

I am copying this from my international student handbook for you.

Study Abroad

If you choose to participate in a study abroad program, you will most likely be outside of the US for more than 5 months. While you will be need new I-20, the time you spent on the study abroad program counts towards your eligibility for Optional Practical Training.

b@r!um

"While you will be need new I-20" -- I doubt that this comes from a student handbook!

I think what they mean to say is that if you leave the US for more than 5 months, you need a new I-20 and you might have to apply for a new F-1 visa but you will not re-gain any OPT time that you have already used on your old visa/I-20.

Grande Antilles

" I doubt that this comes from a student handbook!"
Well I guess that they put some lie in my international student handbook, I might as well throw it away. Anyway, depending on the reason you are staying abroad, you will need a new I-20. You want need a new I20 if your school keep your Sevis form valide while you are studying abroad. Sorry for the incorrect information about studying abroad and the I-20, my handbook did not go into the details so I looked it up.

"Students who are enrolled in schools in the United States may take a break from studies and return home for a semester or more, with their school’s permission. An F-1 student returning to the United States from a temporary absence of five months or less may be readmitted for study upon presentation of a valid I-20. However, when a student has been out of the country for more than five months (and is not pursuing studies overseas) the student’s F-1 or M-1 visa is considered to be invalid, even though the actual visa may not have expired. In this situation a new visa is required for re-entry into the United States. Students who have the approval of their schools to take an extended break from study must have their SEVIS record terminated for Authorized Withdrawal. When the student is ready to resume study, the school will issue the student a new initial Form I-20 with a new SEVIS number. These students must pay the SEVIS I-901 fee."

Student Visa Validity Following a Break in Studies


I hope that you all get to do whatever you want after or before graduation

Grande Antilles

You want need a new I20 if your school keep your Sevis form valide while you are studying abroad. Stupid mistake again. I better go bed.

I meant that you "won't" need a new......

b@r!um

I didn't say your student handbook lied. All I said is that the paragraph you wrote above was definitely not taken out of a student handbook - at least I would be shocked by a handbook written in such poor grammar.

Grande Antilles

CC members, I apologize if some of the things I told you were confusing. I tried what I could and gave you links to verify anything that I wrote.
B!um, if it was not taken from a handbook I guess that now it is me who was lying. I find it absurd that you are still arguing over this silly thing while the State of Department confirms it on its site. As I said in my last post, the note in the handbook just stated that F-1 students would need a new I-20 if they spend more than 5 months outside of the US. However, it did not give as much details as the site nor explained in which condition the student should get the new I-20. Nevertheless, I looked for more information and posted the details up there but you are still bugging me?
“If you choose to participate in a study abroad program, you will most likely be outside of the US for more than 5 months. While you will be need (a) new I-20, the time you spent on the study abroad program counts towards your eligibility for Optional Practical Training.”
There is no grammatical error in the sentence and if the book is written with "poor grammar” beside the (a) that I omitted when I copied it. The grammar is maybe not complex because the author is not writing stances. It is a handbook that was printed at an English Language Institute for students who came here without any knowledge of English so what kind of "grammar" do you want them to use? If you want, I can scan the page and send it to you.
“I would be shocked by a handbook written in such poor grammar.”
I did not know that you were Lord or Dona "Shakespeare" sinor or sinora. If you can command the English language so perfectly that you feel the need to humiliate people, then good for you. Even if I were the one who wrote what you assumed to be “poor grammar”, I would not feel ashamed of my supposedly “poor grammar” because I never learnt English at school and I only started to learn it this summer. So yeah! I can’t claim to be Larry Shue or Noam Chomsky when it comes to English or good grammar but you are really lucky to have good writing and grammar skills. You should actually think about writing a book. I bet that you can beat Tom Stoppard’s record. You will definitely be successful if you write and publish one with the title “How to write English without poor grammar”. I look forward to reading your ABC of the English grammar. I wish you the best!

b@r!um

Yes there are more errors in that sentence. Let's just look at the phrase "While you will be need new I-20". You already noted that an 'a' is missing. But what is the 'be' doing there? And why are the two pieces of information 'you will need a new I-20' and 'the time spent on a study abroad program will count towards your OPT eligibility' joined with a while clause? I also think that either 'spent' should be in a different tense or 'you' should be omitted but that would be minor issues.

Rister_Chutophs

That's ridiculous, why would studying abroad be part of the OTP?
haha, b@rium, i love how you're bashing the English of this "student handbook"

b@r!um

Thanks for the moral support, Rister!

mohak

if i want to go to grad school which is preferable research or internship??

Does research count as opt?

b@r!um

If you are interested in PhD programs, definitely do research!

If you do the research on campus you won't have to use OPT. Paid off-campus research counts towards your OPT though.

loathed

so to sum it all up, if say i go to a university for 4 years, im entitled to 12 months OPT automatically? 29 months for certain majors?

will i get OPT time if say i attend a community college for 2 years then transfer to a uni?

b@r!um

Well, OPT time is technically not automatic - you have to apply for it and the application fee is a few hundred dollars. But I have never heard of anybody being denied those 12 months so in that sense it is automatic.

You should get 12 months of OPT too when you are transferring from a community college, but I cannot tell you whether you would already be eligible for it at the Community College or only after you have transferred. Usually you can start using OPT after you have completed one full year of studies. The question here is if you can use it after your first your at the community college, your first year at the university or right after you transferred. Maybe someone else can shed some light on this.

tanveer149

can you use the OPT in chunks? or do you have to use the full 12 months at once?