<p>I'm an international student from Asia. I was told by my counselor to refrain from taking many online classes because taking only several regular classes might affect with my visa renewal. I planned to take 6 online courses and 2 regular courses this year, but I have to change my coursework if his remark is correct. Do you think he is right? If so, at least how many regular classes should I take?</p>
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That might violate the terms of your student visa. </p>
<p>For undergraduate F-1/J-1 students, the rules are as follows: they need to be enrolled in a full-time course of study of at least 12 credits (~ 4 classes) per term, with at most one of these classes being an online class. So, for example, a student could take 3 regular classes (9 credits) and 2 online classes (6 credits) for a total of 15 credits. 3 regular + 1 online class make a full-time courseload in this example. The 2nd online class is a legal addition to the schedule; F-1 students can take as many online courses on top of a full-time courseload as they please. Here’s a reference: [University</a> of Houston | ISSSO](<a href=“http://www.issso.uh.edu/PDF/Online%20or%20Distance%20Education%20%20course%20policy%20for%20F1%20and%20J1%20students.pdf]University”>http://www.issso.uh.edu/PDF/Online%20or%20Distance%20Education%20%20course%20policy%20for%20F1%20and%20J1%20students.pdf)</p>
<p>It seems that you are currently a high school student? I am not quite as familiar with the visa rules for high school students (and you also did not name your visa type). The above reference for undergraduate students was meant to show you that there are restrictions on online courses for some foreign students. Whether similar restrictions apply to high school students, I do not know.</p>
<p>Yes. I’m a high school student with F-1 visa. I really wanted to know the minimum number of regular classes required for international student in high school, but it was quite hard to find it. From your reference, I estimated that I have to take at least 6 regular classes. Since I had never expected that such a restriction was set for F-1 student visa, your post dispelled my doubts about his remark. Thank you.</p>