{"id":23227,"date":"2024-10-08T18:57:45","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T18:57:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/international.northeastern.edu\/ogs\/?p=23227"},"modified":"2024-12-03T19:21:31","modified_gmt":"2024-12-03T19:21:31","slug":"uscis-policy-alert-five-month-temporary-absence-rule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/international.northeastern.edu\/ogs\/uscis-policy-alert-five-month-temporary-absence-rule\/","title":{"rendered":"USCIS Removes Conflicting Interpretation of the Five-Month Temporary Absence Rule"},"content":{"rendered":"<strong>Last Updated December 3, 2024<\/strong><P>\r\n\r\n<P><span data-contrast=\"none\">On November 26, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) re-published its Policy Manual to remove the conflicting guidance issued on August 27, 2024, regarding the Five-Month Temporary Absence Rule for F-1 students. The USCIS update resolves the confusion created by the August policy update and aligns with the Student and Exchange Visitor Program\u2019s (SEVP) longstanding guidance allowing exceptions to the five-month rule for F-1 students participating in authorized study abroad programs.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559739&quot;:225,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><P>\r\n\r\n<P><em>Therefore, students may continue to engage in a temporary absence abroad that exceeds 5 months if it is an approved academic activity and it is <a href=\"https:\/\/international.northeastern.edu\/ogs\/current-students\/study-research-abroad-global-coop\/\">reported to the Office of Global Services (OGS).<\/a> Approved academic activities abroad for F-1 students include study abroad, global co-op, or research abroad.\u00a0<\/em><P>\r\n\r\n<P><span data-contrast=\"none\">Northeastern University and other institutions, alongside professional international education organizations, advocated for clarity and alignment of federal guidance. We are pleased to see this positive resolution and will continue to monitor related developments.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559739&quot;:225,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><P>\r\n\r\n<P><span data-contrast=\"none\">If you have questions about your F-1 status or upcoming plans to return to the U.S. after an absence of more than five months, please <a href=\"https:\/\/international.northeastern.edu\/ogs\/contact\/\">contact OGS<\/a> for guidance and support.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335557856&quot;:16777215,&quot;335559685&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:225,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><P>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<P><blockquote><strong>Original October 8, 2024 Alert<\/strong><P>\r\n\r\n<P><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Federal regulations state that students in F-1 status maintain nonimmigrant status as long as they return to the U.S. after a temporary absence of five months or less [8 CFR 214.2(f)(4)]. The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) allows an exception to the 5-month rule for F-1 students enrolled in an authorized study abroad program. <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">On August 27, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Alert announcing a new interpretation of the Five-Month Temporary Absence Rule for F-1 students.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><P>\r\n\r\n<P><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The USCIS alert has created confusion as it conflicts with the SEVP\u2019s long-standing agency guidance. Professional international education organizations and institutes of higher education, including Northeastern University, are actively engaged in advocacy efforts to seek clarification in support of F-1 students enrolled in approved academic activities abroad. In the interim, if you are a Northeastern student who has been outside of the U.S. for<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> more than five months<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> due to study abroad, global co-op, or research abroad, <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">please contact OGS (<a href=\"https:\/\/international.northeastern.edu\/ogs\/contact\/\">Contact &#8211; Office of Global Services<\/a>)<\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> to request a letter of support for re-entry into the U.S. as a proactive measure. \u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><P>\r\n\r\n<P><span data-contrast=\"auto\">We are closely monitoring this federal development and will provide additional updates to the Northeastern community as available.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;335551550&quot;:1,&quot;335551620&quot;:1,&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><P>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;<\/blockquote>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;<P>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last Updated December 3, 2024 On November 26, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) re-published its Policy Manual to remove the conflicting guidance issued on August 27, 2024, regarding&#8230;  <a class=\"excerpt-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/international.northeastern.edu\/ogs\/uscis-policy-alert-five-month-temporary-absence-rule\/\" title=\"Read USCIS Removes Conflicting Interpretation of the Five-Month Temporary Absence Rule\">Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-updates"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>USCIS Removes Conflicting Interpretation of the Five-Month Temporary Absence Rule - Office of Global Services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/international.northeastern.edu\/ogs\/uscis-policy-alert-five-month-temporary-absence-rule\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"USCIS Removes Conflicting Interpretation of the Five-Month Temporary Absence Rule - Office of Global Services\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last Updated December 3, 2024 On November 26, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) re-published its Policy Manual to remove the conflicting guidance issued on August 27, 2024, regarding... 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