Global Education Office

RCL and FTE are the only legal exceptions to the full course of study (FCS) requirement discussed above. 

At VCU, only GEO Immigration Advising staff are authorized to approve an RCL or FCS request. 

You would need RCL if you:

• Cannot enroll in an FCS due to academic or health/medical reasons.
• Are in the final semester of your current program and do not need to enroll in an FCS to complete the program.
• RCL is available to students in all programs, although some graduate students would need FTE instead of RCL depending on their circumstances.

You would need FTE if you:

• Are Graduate student who has completed all of the course work required for your degree and are in either Pre-Candidate or Degree Candidate status with your program. Please see “Am I eligible for FTE?” below.

Failure to maintain FCS or to obtain a written RCL or FTE authorization from GEO in advance is a serious violation of the F-1 regulations.

If you do not maintain FCS or obtain a written RCL or FTE authorization from GEO in advance, the following will occur:

• You will lose your F-1 status and your SEVIS record will be Terminated as required by U.S. law.
• Resuming F-1 status after SEVIS termination is costly and difficult. You will need either depart the U.S. or file an I-539 reinstatement application with USCIS (each within 14 days of SEVIS termination). 
• You will lose your On Campus employment authorization until you can resume F-1 status.
• You will lose any authorized Curricular Practical Training (CPT) or pre-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT) immediately.
• You will not be eligible for CPT or OPT again until you have completed one full year of study after you resume F-1 status.
• Your U.S. immigration record will show the SEVIS termination, and the reason for it, and this could affect your future visa applications.

Regulatory citation: 8 CFR 214.2(f)(6)(iii) and following

Under the F-1 regulations, there are only 3 situations where an RCL can be authorized:

1. Academic Difficulty
2. Completion of Course of Study
3. Illness or Medical Condition

The three situations are discussed below.

Academic Difficulty

There are 4 kinds of academic difficulty that qualify for RCL:

1. You are having difficulty with the English language. This may be used only 1 time and only during the first year of your academic program.
2. You are having difficulty with reading requirements. This may be used only 1 time and only during the first year of your academic program.
3. You are not familiar with U.S. teaching methods. This may be used only 1 time during the first year of your academic program.
4. You accidentally selected or were placed in the wrong course.  This may be used only if the Add/Drop period for the semester has passed.

Notes:

• You cannot be authorized for more than one Academic Difficulty RCL per semester.
• If you are authorized for an Academic Difficulty RCL for any reason, you are not eligible for a future Academic Difficulty RCL unless you change academic (degree) levels.
• If you are authorized for an Academic Difficulty RCL for one semester, you must resume FCS the immediately following semester.
  
  

Completion of Course of Study

If you are in the final semester of your academic program and you need fewer credits than FCS in order to complete the program and graduate at the end of the semester, you may be eligible for Completion of Course of Study RCL authorization.

Under the F-1 regulations, you are eligible for “final semester” RCL authorization only one time per academic program.

Illness or Medical Condition

If you have an illness or medical condition that prevents you from maintaining FCS, you may be eligible for Medical RCL authorization.

To request a Medical RCL, you will need to present to GEO a letter from a U.S.-licensed Medical Doctor (M.D.), Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.) or Licensed Clinical Psychologist (LCP) confirming that you have an illness or medical condition that prevents you from maintaining FCS.  

The letter:

• Must be on the health care provider’s official letterhead and dated no earlier than 30 days before the start of the semester for which the Medical RCL is requested.
• Must be signed (ink signature or DocuSign only) by the health care provider and include the health care provider’s full name, address, telephone number, and email.
• Must clearly state that your illness or medical condition prevents you from being a full-time student during the semester for which the Medical RCL is requested.
• Should not identify your illness or medical condition or provide other confidential information about your diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescriptions, etc.

 

Note:

Under the F-1 regulations, the maximum duration of a Medical RCL is 12 months (total) in increments of no more than one semester at a time.  

No. RCL authorization does not affect your F-1 “on campus” employment authorization. In fact, RCL authorization preserves your F-1 visa employment authorization by keeping you in F-1 status.

No. RCL authorization does not affect your CPT employment authorization. In fact, RCL authorization preserves your CPT employment authorization by keeping you in F-1 status.

No. RCL authorization does not affect your eligibility to apply for OPT. In fact, RCL authorization preserves your eligibility to apply for OPT by keeping you in F-1 status.

Yes. You need a written RCL authorization from GEO obtained before reducing your enrollment below FCS. If you reduce your enrollment below FCS without receiving a written RCL authorization from GEO in advance, you may lose your F-1 status and GEO may be legally required to terminate your SEVIS record.

For information about what happens when your SEVIS record is terminated, please see the question above, “What happens if I drop below FCS and don’t have RCL or FTE?”

If you would like to request RCL authorization from GEO, please do the following:

1. Send an email to GEOIS@vcu.edu (Subject Line: RCL Request)
2. We will respond by sending you the Request for RCL form. This form is an internal VCU form and is not available online.  It is provided by GEO Immigration Services only upon request.
3. Complete the form and obtain your VCU academic advisor (and, in the case of a medical RCL, your health care provider) signature.
4. Email the completed form to GEOIS@vcu.edu
5. We will review the request within a few business days. If we have any questions about the request, we will contact you by email.
6. If we are legally able to authorize your RCL request, we will send a simple email to you stating the terms of your RCL approval.
7. After you receive our RCL authorization email, you may reduce your enrollment to below FCS. Do not reduce your enrollment below FCS until you receive this authorization from us.  

Note: Except for emergency medical RCL, RCL authorization cannot be provided retroactively.   

Regulatory citation: 8 CFR 214.2(f)(6)(i)(A)

If you meet either of the following criteria, you may request a Full-Time Equivalent authorization from GEO Immigration Services.

1. Pre-Candidate. You are a graduate student who has completed all of the courses required for your degree.   You are either studying for or taking the comprehensive examinations (sometimes called qualifying examinations) required for you to be a degree candidate.
2. Degree Candidate. You have completed all of the courses required for your degree.   You have completed (and passed) all of the comprehensive examinations (sometimes called qualifying examinations) required for you to be a degree candidate.  You are engaged in research for your dissertation, are writing your dissertation, or are about to defend your thesis, dissertation, or other final project.   

Notes:

• Pre-Candidate and Degree Candidate requirements vary by degree program. For information about your program’s requirements, please click here.
  
  
• For FTE purposes, you must register for at least 1 academic credit per semester except in the following cases where you must register for more credits:
  • If your degree program requires you to register for more than 1 credit per semester during Pre-Candidate or Candidate status. In this case, then you must register for more credits during the FTE authorization period (for as many credits as your program requires).
  • If you will be engaged in Curricular Practical Training (CPT) or pre-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT) during the FTE period, you must register for at least NUMBER of academic credits per semester. You cannot register for just 1 credit during FTE and be eligible for CPT or pre-completion OPT during that semester.       
• For more information on enrollment, please see the "Continuous enrollment for degree-seeking graduate students" section in the VCU Graduate Bulletin. Questions about program enrollment and FTE should be directed to the student's school or college.
  
  
• On the time limit for completion of graduate degrees, please see the "Time limit for completion" section of the VCU Graduate Bulletin.

Pre-candidate and Degree Candidate requirements vary by degree program. For information about your program’s requirements, please visit the Graduate school website.

FTE credit requirements vary by degree program. Under the F-1 regulations, you need to register for at least 1 credit per semester. But if your degree program requires you to register for more than 1 credit per semester during Pre-Candidate and Degree Candidate status, your program’s credit requirement is the number of FTE credits for which you must register.

For more information on enrollment, please see the "Continuous enrollment for degree-seeking graduate students" section in the VCU Bulletin. Questions about program enrollment and FTE should be directed to your school or college.

Yes. You are eligible for FTE only for as long as you are permitted by your degree program to remain in the program. On the time limit for completion of graduate degrees, please see the "Time limit for completion" section of the VCU Bulletin.

The question here is whether FTE authorization affects your VCU eligibility for a university Graduate Fellowship or Graduate Assistantship.  

FTE authorization can affect your VCU eligibility for a university Graduate Fellowship or Graduate Assistantship.

Please read the following carefully.

Graduate Fellowship and Graduate Assistant are defined in the VCU Bulletin. If your Graduate Fellowship or Graduate Assistantship meets the definition of these terms, please be advised that:

Under VCU policy, you need to register for at least nine credits per semester for the duration of your Graduate Fellowship or employment as a Graduate Assistant. Since a minimum of nine credits per semester is FCS for a graduate student, if you are required by VCU to register for at least 9 credits for the duration of your Graduate Fellowship or employment as a Graduate Assistant, you are already registered for FCS, and so you do not need (and are not eligible for) FTE.

No. FTE authorization does not affect your F-1 “on campus” employment authorization. In fact, these authorizations preserve your F-1 visa employment authorization by keeping you in F-1 status.

No. FTE authorization does not affect your CPT employment authorization. In fact, FTE authorization preserves your CPT employment authorization by keeping you in F-1 status.

No. FTE authorization does not affect your eligibility to apply for OPT. In fact, FTE authorization preserves your eligibility to apply for OPT by keeping you in F-1 status.

If you would like to request FTE authorization from GEO, please do the following:

1. Send an email to GEOIS@vcu.edu (Subject Line: FTE Request)
2. We will respond by sending you the Request for FTE form. This form is an internal VCU form and is not available online.  It is provided by GEO Immigration Services only upon request.
3. Complete the form and obtain your VCU academic advisor signature.
4. Email the completed form to GEOIS@vcu.edu
5. We will review the request within a few business days. If we have any questions about the request, we will contact you by email.
6. If we are legally able to authorize your FTE request, we will send a simple email to you stating the terms of your FTE approval.
7. After you receive our FTE authorization email, you may reduce your enrollment to below FCS. Do not reduce your enrollment below FCS until you receive this authorization from us.  

 

Note: FTE authorization cannot be provided retroactively.   

Yes. You need a written FTE authorization from GEO obtained before reducing your enrollment below FCS. If you reduce your enrollment below FCS without receiving a written FTE authorization from GEO in advance, you may lose your F-1 status and GEO may be legally required to terminate your SEVIS record.

For information about what happens when your SEVIS record is terminated, please see the question above, “What happens if I drop below FCS and don’t have RCL or FTE?”