What is a SEVIS Transfer?
A SEVIS transfer is the process of moving your SEVIS record from your current school (Northeastern) to another SEVP-certified school in the U.S. after you’ve received an offer of admission.
If you are an F-1 or J-1 student who is leaving or completing your current degree program or ending a period of approved Post-OPT/STEM OPT/AT, you may be eligible to request a SEVIS transfer. Please review eligibility requirements and the process to request a SEVIS transfer on this page.
F-1 Transfer Eligibility
- Continuously maintain your F-1 student status
- Gain admission to an SEVP-Certified Institution in the U.S.
- Request a SEVIS transfer before the conclusion of your grace period if you have already completed your academic program
- If you request a SEVIS transfer without completing a program of study at Northeastern, OGS must receive your SEVIS transfer request prior to your withdrawal from the University
- If you request a SEVIS transfer in the middle of an academic term you must maintain F-1 student status with full-time enrollment and on-ground presence until your SEVIS record has been transferred out
- Enroll in your new institution for the next available program start date or no more than 5 months after your last date of enrollment at NU/your last day of Post-OPT
Note for new students: If you are a new student in Initial SEVIS status and you wish to request a SEVIS transfer to a different SEVP-certified institution, your new program start date must be within 30-days of your arrival to the U.S.
F-1 Student Process to Request a SEVIS Transfer
Please follow these instructions to request that your SEVIS record be transferred to your new institution:
1 Submit the transfer out e-form to the Office of Global Services.
You will be required to upload your new institution’s acceptance letter with a program start date.
2 Complete Transfer-In Requirements for Your New School
Your new school will inform you of their requirements to transfer-in your SEVIS record. This may include filling out a transfer-in form and an I-20 request process.
If your new school is requesting the name and contact information of a DSO at your current school (Northeastern), you can provide them with the following information:
DSO Name: Please provide the name of the DSO listed on Page 1 of your most recently issued I-20. You can find this in the “School Attestation” section.
DSO Contact Information: [email protected], (617) 373-2310
3 Wait for your transfer out request to be processed by a DSO in OGS
J-1 Transfer Eligibility
The purpose of a J-1 transfer must be to complete the original educational objective for which you first came to the U.S. as a J-1 Exchange Visitor. If you are making a change to your field of study, you are not eligible for a J-1 transfer.
- Continuously maintain your J-1 student status
- Have an Active SEVIS record
- Gain admission to an SEVP-Certified Institution in the U.S
- Maintain the same educational objective and J-1 category at the new institution
- For example, if you are a degree-seeking student in Engineering at Northeastern, you would only be eligible to transfer to another institution to continue pursuing a degree in Engineering.
- The transfer must not extend your stay beyond the maximum program length for your J-1 category
- Non-degree student category: 2 year maximum program duration
- Degree student category: length of academic program plus any academic training
J-1 Student Process to Request a SEVIS Transfer
Submit the transfer out e-form to the Office of Global Services.
You will be required to upload your new institution’s acceptance letter with a program start date. If your new institution has a transfer-in form to be completed by Northeastern, you may upload that in the e-form.
OGS will review your request and process your SEVIS transfer if you’re eligible. You will receive an email to your Northeastern University email address confirming the transfer is complete.