• An F-1 status allows you to legally study in the United States.girl image by Brett Bouwer from Fotolia.com
  
  A student visa status, also referred to as an F-1 status, provides a foreign national with certain privileges and restrictions. If you are a foreign student in the United States, understanding the basic rules governing your F-1 status is helpful in ensuring that you do not violate immigration laws. Violating the terms and conditions of an F-1 status is grounds for deportation.
  
  

Change of Address

• If you are in the United States under a student visa status, you must notify the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of any change in your address. Under federal law, you must report this change within 10 days after you move to a new address. If you fail to report your address change, you may lose your student visa status.
  
  

Course Load Requirements

• Federal law stipulates that individuals who are on a student visa status must maintain minimum course load requirements. If you completing you undergraduate studies in the United States, you must maintain a minimum course load of 12 hours per semester. Graduate students must maintain a course load of at least six hours per semester. Failure to maintain your minimum course load is grounds for termination of your student visa status. If you are unable to meet the minimum course load requirements for medical or academic reasons, you may be granted an exemption after submitting documented proof from your physician or academic adviser.
  
  

Employment

• Since a student visa is a non-immigrant status, specific restrictions apply as concerns employment. If you are considering working on campus, you may do so within federal guidelines. Federal law allows you to work on campus legally as long as you do not exceed 20 hours per week. You may only work more than 20 hours on campus if you are on break or on your summer vacation. Federal law prohibits foreign students from seeking off-campus employment. If you are considering working off campus, you must first seek permission from the federal government. If you are caught violating this requirement, you may lose your student status without reinstatement. In addition, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security may deport you from the United States.