In recent times, we have noticed a higher scrutiny at U.S. ports of entry and at pre-clearance locations, particularly for F1 students, returning to the United States.

Some common reasons returning students are prevented from boarding a flight or denied admission at a U.S. port of entry or preclearance facility, are listed below. This list is not exhaustive.

• Students not enrolled for necessary credits to meet the full-time student requirements;
• Students who accrued more than 90 days of unemployment during the post completion optional practical training (OPT) or more than 120 days of unemployment while on the OPT and the STEM OPT timeframe combined;
• Students working without authorization (even briefly);
• Students who were arrested, cited, charged or convicted for any criminal matters after the visa issuance. We reported on prudential revocation of a U.S. visa by the U.S. Department of State in our bulletin dated February 2, 2016. That article can be found here;
• Students with SEVIS terminated for any reason during temporary travel abroad; and
• Students who have used improper or non-existent experience or paid a consultant or adopted unfair methods to secure the OPT employment.

The above factors not only affect the ability of the student to return to the U.S., but also affects students to receive or renew the visas at U.S. consular posts abroad.