Leave of Absence/Continuous Registration
What is a Leave of Absence?
A Leave of Absence is when a student needs to take a break from their academic or immigration records but plans to return after a set period of time.
There are two different types of leaves of absence:
- Academic Leave of Absence
- Immigration Leave of Absence
| Academic Leave of Absence - AKA Continuous Enrollment |
| An Academic Leave of Absence is when a student takes a break from studying at Marymount. The academic term for this at Marymount is known as Continuous Registration. Students need to work with their academic advisor to submit their Continuous Registration form. IMPORTANT NOTE: If an international student on an F-1 student visa will not maintain a full course of study at an SEVP-certified school, and is not approved for a reduced course load, the student will need to apply for an Immigration Leave of Absence and leave the United States. |
| Immigration Leave of Absence |
| An Immigration Leave of Absence is when a student takes a break from studying in the United States. Students should work with the ISSS office to apply for an Immigration Leave of Absence. International students may take courses online from outside of the United States while on an Immigration Leave of Absence. |
If you have submitted a Continuous Registration form with your academic advisor or the Office of Registrar, please make sure to follow up with the ISSS office. Please send us an email at isss@marymount.edu.
What Happens to your Visa Status?
When you take an Immigration Leave of Absence, ISSS will terminate your SEVIS record for Authorized Early Withdrawal if you submit your request before you stop attending classes. You must leave the U.S. within 15 days of your SEVIS termination date.
If you do not plan to continue studies at Marymount University, you do not need to take further action .
If you do plan to continue studies at Marymount University, what happens to your F-1 Visa Status depends on when you will continue studies. Calculate the number of days between when you last attended class and when you will next attend class.
| Less than 5 months: SEVIS Reactivation | More than 5 months: New Immigration Record |
| If less than 5 months pass between the last day you attend classes and the day you continue classes, you can request for ISSS to reactivate your I-20/SEVIS record before you return to the U.S. This maintains your current SEVIS record and you can keep any time accrued for CPT and OPT eligibility. | If more than 5 months pass between the last day you attend classes and the day you continue classes, you must request a new I-20 and return to the U.S. in initial status. You will start a new SEVIS record lose any time earned towards CPT and OPT eligibility. |
Request a Leave of Absence from ISSS
Before you stop attending classes, you need to submit your leave of absence request to ISSS following these steps:
- Log in to the ISSS Portal.
- Navigate to Tab 4.
- Open an Initiate Immigration Leave of Absence request.
- Read the information and answer the questions.
- Click Submit.
Return from a Leave of Absence
Before you can return to the US, you must request an updated I-20 from ISSS.
- Log in to the ISSS Portal.
- Navigate to Tab 4.
- Open a Return from Leave of Absence request.
- Read the information and answer the questions.
- Click Submit.