 Physical absence from the United States for a contiguous period of over five months automatically deactivates one's student status, even if the student did not explicitly request termination of the SEVIS record.It may happen that the student's actual program end date falls earlier or later than what the student expected.It is necessary that a new I-20 be issued reflecting the current program end date, both prior to the program's actual end and prior to the stated program end date on the Form I-20.