All students in the United States on F-1 or J-1 student visas are
required to complete full-time studies each semester.
Full-time enrollment for:
- Undergraduate students is 12 credit hours
per semester
- LLM students is 10 credit hours per
semester
- JD students is 12 credit hours per
semester
- Graduate students is 6 credit hours per
semester
Exceptions to the USCIS full-time requirement are made under
certain circumstances. Students are
always eligible to drop below full-time in their final term as long as they are
completing the number of units required for their degree. Academic exceptions include improper course
level placement and other academic difficulties that are outside of the
student’s control. Medical reasons to
drop below full-time vary, but require confirmation from a licensed medical
professional that the student health will impact their academic ability. We recommend all academic advisors and
professors to contact ISSS if there are any questions about a student’s
full-time status or the reasons to drop below full-time. ISSS is required to clearly document any
exceptions to the full-time rule.
