About David Maxon

David Maxon is a practicing Designated School Official (DSO) in New York. He advises F-1 and J-1 international students daily — the OPT deadlines, SEVIS records, transfers, and status questions that the HenryKnows guides are drawn from are the same ones that cross his desk every term.

He also holds a Juris Doctor. He writes here in a personal capacity and as a DSO, not as a lawyer: the guides are general information from a practitioner's vantage point, not legal advice, and not guidance from any school or government agency. Where a guide states a rule, it cites the regulation so you can verify it yourself.

David built Henry, the compliance assistant behind this site, to give students and advisers instant, sourced answers to the questions that can't wait for office hours.