Maintaining Legal Status Sessions 2026

Join one of these mandatory sessions to learn how to maintain your legal status while studying at Stanford.

All new international graduate students are required to attend a Maintaining Legal Status session to have their enrollment hold removed. The content for each session is identical, so you only need to attend one. Select whichever session best fits your schedule.

Space is limited to the first 80 students. No registration is required. Students are admitted on a first-come, first-served basis. 

The sessions provide:

• An overview of the legal requirements of the F and J student visa types to help you maintain your status
• An explanation of the immediate and long-term consequences of falling out of status
• An introduction to Bechtel and the center's student advisors
• An overview of classroom expectations at Stanford
• An introduction to practical matters like obtaining a California driver's license, Social Security Number and ITIN, and avoiding fraud.

All sessions are held in person in the Assembly Room at Bechtel International Center.