Five Month Rule ｜ 旧 F1 ｜ 新 I-20

最近因为疫情，研究了一波签证的问题，想和地里的同学讨论下

• 楼主的 F1-Visa expiration date 是 2022年
• 楼主于2019年12月从美本毕业后回国
• 楼主申请到了20FALL的研究生项目，预计入学2020年9月
  

然后这种情况下就碰到了所谓的 five month rule 的情况。由于我在12月就回了国，故并没有在 SEVIS 有效的情况下进行 I-20 transfer，所以新的学校的 I-20 必定有新的 SEVIS 号码。在这种情况下楼主到底要不要重新签证呢？我汇集了一下现在的情况

Five-Month Rule
studyinthestates.dhs.gov
在这个网页上可以看到官方对于 five-month rule 的界定和解释。

The five month rule refers to the termination of a student’s record in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) based on the student being away from classes or not in status for five months. This rule applies to the following students:

Students who have had their student record terminated (i.e., been out of status) for more than five months; and
Students who have spent more than five months outside of the United States during an absence from school, excluding those participating in authorized study abroad programs.

If your student record is terminated, you fall under the five-month rule and you wish to return to the United States as a student, you will need to obtain a new/initial Form I-20, "Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status," with a new SEVIS ID and pay the I-901 SEVIS Fee again. Only if your current student visa is no longer valid, do you possibly also need to apply for and receive a new student visa.

美国 CBP
美国 CBP 的 contact us 邮件回复一般如下

Thank you for contacting the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Information Center.
You are able to enter the United States, as long as you have a valid F-1 visa, a new I-20, and a new SEVIS ID.
Thank you again for contacting our office.

我的研究生学院
我将我的情况发送给了我的研究生院校的 international office, 他们的回复是

Ok, in that case, yes, you will need a new I-20 and SEVIS ID. Your record from University A will have been deactivated and cannot be transferred. However, if your F-1 visa is still valid until 2022, you may continue to use it to enter the US until it expires. All you will need to do once you get your new I-20 is pay the I-901 SEVIS fee to activate your new record.

美领馆
可以发现两者都提到了只要 F1 Visa 仍然 valid, 则可以使用激活过的新 I-20 重新入境。但是关键问题是，如何才算 F1 visa valid?
这个问题貌似很多美领馆的回复中有提到

根据美国移民法，如果学生（F-1 或者 M-1）在转校或转项目后五个月内还未重新开始上课，将丧失其身份。一旦丧失身份，除非 USCIS 予以恢复，否则学生的 F 类或 M 类签证也会失效，从而无法重返美国。如需更多信息，请访问 USCIS 网站，详细了解与恢复身份相关的 I-539 （申请延长/更改非移民身份）表。如果学生中断学习离开美国的时间超过五个月以上，将丧失其 F-1 或 M-1 签证身份，除非其海外活动与课业有关。

I-539
楼主也去看了下 I539，但是只看到了这样一句话，一脸懵逼

If you have been out of status for more than 5 months at the time of filing your request for reinstatement, you must also provide evidence that your failure to file within the 5 month period was the result of exceptional circumstances and that you filed your request for reinstatement as promptly as possible under these exceptional circumstances.

身边的案例
楼主的身边以及看到地里有人在楼主这种情况下未重新申请签证，在美国海关关入小黑屋后重新登记 SEVIS ID 顺利过关的情况。目前没有看到过被遣返的案例（可能是幸存者偏差），但这样应该是高风险的行为。

综上所述，最保险的方法仍然是重新申请美国签证，迫不得已的情况下，可尝试使用旧 F-1 签证 和 新 I-20 尝试过海关。但是在疫情暂停所有签证服务的情况下，两者的选择就变成了一个非常困难的博弈。希望小伙伴们有什么想法可以一起讨论。