A transfer moves your existing SEVIS record to a new SEVP-certified university. Your SEVIS ID stays the same, there is no new visa application, and no repeat SEVIS fee.
Your current university sets a transfer release date. On that date, your SEVIS record is released to your new university, which then issues your transfer I-20.
You must maintain F-1 status throughout the process, whether you are studying or on approved CPT. Omar & Co Consulting coordinates with universities and helps keep your documentation consistent throughout the transfer.
You have valid F-1 status and want a different university. Your record moves with you, and there is no new SEVIS fee.
You are here on another status, such as B-2 or H-4, and want to become a student. A licensed attorney files this one.
Your F-1 status has ended and you want it back. USCIS reviews each case on its own facts, against set criteria.
Changing universities on an F-1 visa is about more than getting accepted. Each step has to happen in the right order to keep your status protected. First, your current school releases your SEVIS record, and until then you stay enrolled and attend classes as normal.
Once your record moves, your new school issues your new I-20 and you must report to its international student office by the required deadline. Omar & Co Consulting plans each step around your program’s start date and keeps you on track from your current school to your new one.
You are accepted by a new SEVP-certified university and share your SEVIS ID with them.
You and your current DSO agree a transfer release date.
On that date, control of your SEVIS record passes from your current university to your new one.
Your new university issues a transfer I-20 with your new program start date.
You report to your new university within 15 days of its program start date.
You must maintain valid F-1 status until the release date.
