Guides for life after arrival — keeping your status, working and training, taxes, Social Security and travelling — written from official US sources and checked before publication. Rules change; for anything specific to your case, the agency named in each guide is the deciding voice.
Maintaining F-1 status term by term: the full course load, the online-class limit, 10-day address updates, reduced loads and SEVIS records, explained.
On-campus work and CPT for F-1 students: the 20-hour rule, when you may start, how CPT is authorised, and the 12-month rule that can end OPT eligibility.
OPT and STEM OPT as a process: who qualifies, the 90/60/30-day filing windows, the 90 and 150 unemployment-day limits, I-983 and reporting, explained.
Travelling on F-1 without breaking your return: travel signatures, the re-entry document set, trips on OPT and automatic revalidation, from ICE and State.
Transferring your SEVIS record to a new school: the release date, DSO steps, DHS deadlines, travel between schools and what terminated records cannot do.
Starting work on H-1B: Form I-9 in your first days, the W-4, payroll withholding, checking your I-94 and the Social Security step, from USCIS and the IRS.
Cap-gap explained from USCIS and DHS: who qualifies, the two tiers, the April 1 end date, the cap-gap I-20 and what ends the extension early, in full.
Changing H-1B employers under portability: start-on-filing conditions, receipt notices, denial consequences and family pointers, per USCIS and the CFR.
Life for F-2 and H-4 families: study and work limits, ITIN, driving, Social Security and children starting school, from DHS, USCIS and the IRS, checked.
Renewing an H-4 EAD now: the automatic extension ended for filings on or after 30 Oct 2025 - who is still covered, timely filing, the I-9 documents here.
US taxes for international students: who files Form 8843 even with no income, 1040-NR, the FICA exemption and treaty benefits, as the IRS states them.
Getting a Social Security number: who qualifies through work authorisation, which documents to take, the waiting periods, and what happens next, checked.
ITIN explained from the IRS: who needs one, who must get an SSN instead, how Form W-7 works, the three application routes, renewals and expiry, in full.
Driving as a newcomer: licences are state law — what varies, REAL ID since May 2025, foreign licences and IDPs, and where your own state's rules live.
Your first 30 days in the USA as a week-by-week tick-off checklist: I-94 check, school reporting, SSN timing, bank account, address record and work start.
Renting your first US home: reading a lease, deposits under state law, the FTC rental-scam warning signs, fair housing rights and the HUD complaint route.
Opening a US bank account and starting a credit file from zero: what banks must check, account denials, secured cards and free credit reports, per CFPB.
Moving home in the USA: the 10-day address rule, USCIS's online change and Form AR-11, pending cases, and the separate SEVIS rule for students, checked.
Visa, status and I-94 are three different things: which one controls your stay, and how an I-94 mistake gets fixed — CBP deferred inspection or I-102.
Lost your passport in the USA? Your stay stays valid, your own embassy replaces the passport, and a lost visa is re-applied for abroad, step by step here.
Form I-539 explained from USCIS: who files it, filing before your I-94 date, what a timely filing protects, the no-work rule, biometrics and travel rules.
Grace periods when a course or job ends: F-1's 60 days and H-1B's discretionary 60 days from DHS and USCIS, what grace is for, and planning your departure.
F-1 reinstatement after a status violation: the regulation's criteria, the five-month rule, the DSO step, Form I-539 and the fresh-start alternative path.
Renewing a US visa stamp abroad: a fresh application, the narrowed interview-waiver categories in State's 2025 update, third-country risk, timing advice.
General information based on official sources — not a confirmation for your case. Always check the linked official page.
