To maintain your F-1 status while you are conducting research overseas, you still need to be enrolled in research course work appropriate to your degree program at IU while you are in another country. Please check with your academic advisor about course enrollment options. To maintain your F-1 status while studying abroad, you will need to be enrolled in course work at IU for the duration of your overseas experience.
If you are planning to be overseas during a required term, please call OIS at 812-855-9086 to schedule an appointment with an advisor. If you have already left the country, please log into Atlas and complete the In-Absentia e-form.
Things to know if you are overseas during a required term
- You will need to submit an In-Absentia e-form via Atlas. This e-form is intended to be completed by students who will be registered at Indiana University but who will be studying or doing academic research outside of the United States. The goal of this form is to help the Office of International Services understand your situation so that staff can ensure that your SEVIS record (your I-20) is properly maintained while you are away. This is also the form that you need to complete in order to be considered for an insurance waiver during your time away from the US.
- If you are planning to study overseas during your final semester, please schedule an appointment to speak with an international student advisor.
- You will be billed the international student fee each semester you are enrolled.
- If you are participating in an overseas study program, you will need to submit a copy of your overseas study letter to OIS by the end of the first week of classes during the semester in which you are overseas.
- You should log on to One.IU and update your “local” address to: 330 N. Eagleson Ave., c/o OIS Ferguson International Center, Bloomington, IN 47405. We will use this information to update your SEVIS record. If your academic department prefers that you use their departmental address, please update your “local” address to its address, using “c/o.”
- You need to obtain a new travel signature on your I-20 before you leave the United States. If you have already departed the country, you will need to log in to Atlas and request a travel signature before you return.