Guides
Student Visas
F-1 and M-1 visas, OPT, and maintaining student status.
Student status is the visa category people are most likely to handle without a lawyer — and the one where a small mistake has the longest tail. Falling out of status after a dropped class, working without authorization, or letting a grace period lapse can follow an applicant into every later petition, including the H-1B and green card that usually come next.
These guides cover F-1 eligibility and the I-20, maintaining status while enrolled, on-campus work, CPT and OPT including the STEM extension, changes of status into and out of F-1, and what to do when status has already been lost. Each links to the current USCIS and Department of State rules rather than restating them.
For representation on a student matter — a change of status, a reinstatement, or planning the step after graduation — the student visa service page explains how Atlas Immigration Law handles it on a flat fee.
Need representation? See our student visa services.