I-20 duration of stay

[Christa]

Hey everyone,

I received my I-20 today and on it, on section 5 it states that the duration of my academic program (a master's) is 24 months yet the dates are from Sept. 4th 2012 to May 31th 2014 which is 21 months. Has this happened to anyone before?

Also, one of the letters in my last name is capitalized in my password but not capitalized in the I-20. Would this be a problem?

Thanks!

[Galahad]

Hi there!

And yes, the same thing happened to me for my undergraduate degree.

Here's how it goes:

1) You are allowed to enter the USA up to THIRTY DAYS prior to your school starting. So August 5th would be the first day you are allowed to do this.

2) If you need to take another semester of schooling, your school will extend your visa, not a problem.

3) The visa date now is the projected date upon which you will graduate. You have a "lax time" of 60 days from the day your visa expires to eave the country or go on OPT (optional practical training, an option that lets you stay in the USA for one more year, not including said 60 days, to work as long as it's related to your field of study).

Overall, no worries there. You have 60 days after you graduate to get out, you can get in the USA up to 30 days before your program begins and if you need an extra semester... your school will do it. But by "2 years" they do usually mean it the way your visa has it.

The second question I wouldn't know, sorry. I'd call your school's ISSS (International Student and Scholar Services) office and ask them about it. Usually they're very friendly people.

Oh and tip for the future: Make friends with somebody in the ISSS office. It goes a LONG way further on down the roaad, trust me on that one!

[Christa]

Thanks for your response. I didn't know about the 60 grace days after finishing my program

I also did contact the school a few days ago when no one responded here as I needed to get the visa process started. I was told that this difference in my name (capital vs. small letter) makes no difference and that the 24 months period they stated was the norm since they round it up to years not months.

[Galahad]

Glad to hear I could help, and the 60 days great period is lovely I will agree.

I actually once did ask an advisor at ISSS about how was I expected to move out and leave the country the very same day I graduated. o.O Thank goodness this is not the case!