Transfer
Maintaining Status
New Page 1
WELCOME TO SDSM&T!
If you are currently in the US, these are the
instructions for what you need to in order to transfer to our institution.
First of all, my name is Suzi Aadland, and I am at the Ivanhoe International
Center, which is located in the lower level of the Surbeck Student Center.
We help international students with individual needs, various programs and
reference materials. If you need any help, we will do our best to assist
you.
As you may be
aware, the federal regulations governing international students and scholars
changed significantly on January 1, 2003. The primary issue affecting
students and scholars is the SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information
System) program, which is the electronic database the US Citizenship &
Immigration Services (USCIS, formerly known as the INS) will use to track
international students and scholars.
TRANSFER PROCESS IN SEVIS
If a
student in F-1 status decides that he or she wishes to attend a different
school in the US, that student may initiate a transfer process from one
approved school to another. This process applies to students who are
transferring after attending the original school for at least one semester
but have not completed a program, or to students who have completed a
program at one university and wish to begin a second program at another
university. This process is specifically to transfer your F-1 STATUS to
another university.
·
The student
must notify the current school of his or her intent to transfer.
·
The student
must be fully admitted to the school to which he or she intends to transfer.
·
F-1 students
may initiate the transfer process in the 60-day grace period after
completion of a program. They may also initiate the process any time prior
to the completion of a program.
·
The DSO
(designated school official) must indicate the school to which the student
intends to transfer in SEVIS. (Section V, supplementary information, final
regulations published December 11, 2002, and effective January 1, 2003)
·
The student may
not remain in the US between programs if the time between the end of the
original program and the start of the new program is more than 5 months.
(The date used to determine the 5 months period is the program completion
date, NOT the date the DSO enters the information in the SEVIS program.)
Example 1: A student completes a program on
February 28 and is admitted to another program which begins on September 1.
In this case the student must leave the country or apply for OPT, as the
time between programs is longer than 5 months.
Example 2: A student
completes a program on April 15 and is admitted to another program which
begins September 1. The time between programs is less than 5 months, so the
student does not have to leave the country or apply for OPT.
Applying
to more than one school: The transferring student may apply to and be
accepted by any number of schools. However, the rule restricts the number of
SEVIS Forms I-20 that may be issued to a transferring student. For purposes
of fraud prevention, as well as privacy and paperwork reduction concerns,
SEVIS will allow a student's record to be available only to one school at a
time.
Once the
student decides which school he or she intends to attend, the following items
may happen.
·
The DSO of his or
her current school will update SEVIS to reflect this choice and will enter the
release date for the student.
·
The student's name
will then appear in SEVIS at the transfer school as an “alert” containing the
student's name and release date.
·
When the release
date is reached, the transfer school will be able to issue the transferring
student a new SEVIS Form I-20.
·
If the student
changes his or her mind prior to the release date, the DSO at the current school
may cancel the transfer request.
·
If the transfer
request is cancelled the student may continue studies at the current school or
make a new request to be transferred to another school.
·
Once the release
date has been reached, the DSO at the current school may no longer access the
student's record in SEVIS.
Directly from the
regulations at 214.2(f)(8)(ii)(C): “The student must first notify his or her
current school of the intent to transfer and must indicate the school to which
he or she intends to transfer. Upon notification by the student, the current
school will update the student's record in SEVIS as a ‘transfer out’ and
indicate the school to which the student intends to transfer, and a release
date. The release date will be the current semester or session completion date,
or the date of expected transfer if earlier than the established academic cycle.
The current school will retain control over the student's record in SEVIS until
the student completes the current term or reaches the release date. At the
request of the student, the DSO of the current school may cancel the transfer
request at any time prior to the release date. As of the release date specified
by the current DSO, the transfer school will be granted full access to the
student's SEVIS record and then becomes responsible for that student. The
current school conveys authority and responsibility over that student to the
transfer school, and will no longer have full SEVIS access to that student's
record. As such, a transfer request may not be cancelled by the current DSO
after the release date has been reached. After the release date, the transfer
DSO must complete the transfer of the student's record in SEVIS and may issue a
SEVIS Form I-20. The student is then required to contact the DSO at the transfer
school within 15 days of the program start date listed on the SEVIS Form I-20.
Upon notification that the student is enrolled in classes, the DSO of the
transfer school must update SEVIS to reflect the student's registration and
current address, thereby acknowledging that the student has completed the
transfer process. In the remarks section of the student's SEVIS Form I-20, the
DSO must note that the transfer has been completed, including the date, and
return the form to the student. The transfer is effected when the transfer
school notifies SEVIS that the student has enrolled in classes in accordance
with the 30 days required by Sec. 214.3(g)(3)(iii).”
If you have been admitted but your file is incomplete, we
cannot complete the transfer process. The missing items will be indicated in
your admission letter.
Thanks!
Suzi Aadland
Contact: International Student Programs
This page has been visited 1,498 times since 01/04/2002
| http://sdmines.sdsmt.edu/MaintainF-1/Transfer |
Last Modified: 01/02/2007 |
