Is it Possible to Change University After Scheduling a US Student Visa Appointment? | GyanDhan

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61

Hi,
No worries, we are here to help you out.
I did some research, I hope this information will help you out.

1st Case: If an F-1 student with an Active SEVIS record wants to transfer to another school
The student must maintain F-1 status at your school by pursuing a full course of study or be engaged in post-completion optional practical training (OPT) until the transfer release date.

The student must be accepted by another SEVP-certified school. The student should bring you the following information:

  • Written confirmation of the acceptance
  • Contact information for the new school’s DSO
  • The SEVIS school code for the transfer-in school to ensure transfer to the correct school

Work with the student to choose a transfer release date. Base that date on the student’s academic needs, travel and work plans, and projected program start date at the transfer-in school.

A transferring student must also contact the new DSO within 15 days of the program start date and register for classes. These students need to ensure that the DSO at the transfer-in school has all the information needed to update the SEVIS record, including any change of address. Advise the transferring student to contact the DSO at the transfer-in school. The DSO at the transfer-in school will be able to create a Form I-20 issued for the reason for the transfer. Once a transfer student registers, the student should ask for a Form I-20 that shows the status as a continuing student and that the transfer is approved.

On the transfer release date, the responsibility for the student’s SEVIS record transfers to the DSO at the transfer-in school. You can no longer have access to the record to make changes or print a new Form I-20. Your school will have a Deactivated record for the student.

This Form I-20 will have the student’s new program start date. It is important that the student get a new valid Form I-20 as quickly as possible. The Form I-20 from your school will no longer be valid.

2nd Case: If a new Initial F-1 student wants to transfer to another school
As with any Initial student, the student must report to your school by the program start date listed on the Form I-20 (in person or via e-mail, telephone and/or fax).

For any F-1 transfer, the student first must provide written verification of acceptance at another SEVP-certified school. The options depend on the program start date and when the student enters (or plans to enter) the United States.

  • If the student has received acceptance by another SEVP-certified school with a program start date fewer than 30 days before or after the student’s initial admission into the United States, you must transfer the student’s SEVIS record. Follow the directions in the next question for transferring an Initial record.
  • If the student does not have a program start date at the transfer-in school within 30 days of the initial admission into the United States, the student may do one of the following:
    • Enroll for a full course of study at the transfer-out school. Once the student’s record is Active, the student may request a transfer following the procedures above.
    • Withdraw acceptance to your school and then leave the United States and get a new Form I-20 from the DSO at the school the student wants to attend. After leaving the United States, the student must pay the I-901 SEVIS Fee for the new school. Since the student entered the United States and reported to a DSO at your school, you must make the record Active and then terminate it for authorized early withdrawal. The student must exit the United States within 15 days. Use this option only if you know the student plans to leave the United States.
  • The student may ask to have the DSO transfer the Terminated record if all three of the following conditions exist:
    • The student does not choose one of the options above
    • The student fails to enroll in classes
    • You have terminated the student’s SEVIS record for Failure to Enroll

I hope this helps you out, please reply on this trail to know more.
With Regards,
Bipasha

62

HI

Thanks for your reply,

I have already received new SEVIS from the selected university. Please note did not do the transfer of SEVIS from old university to the new university.

Planning for visa interview first week of November. Since I have already received an F1 visa how the process it will be. They will transfer the F1 visa to the new university or they will cancel the existing visa and issue a new visa.

Please Advise

Thanks a lot for your support

63

Hi,

That’s excellent news. I wish you best of luck for your new journey :innocent:

64

I have received Initial I-20 from two universities. One is good in rankings and a bit expensive (Lets Call it UNI A for example). Another is a bit cheap in cost (Call it UNIB for Example).
UNI A might have good visa acceptance rate so i am thinking to apply for visa on the basis of UNI A.
Then after the visa is approved, i will reach USA and before starting my SEMESTER 1, I want to change my studies and go to UNI B (which is cheap in cost). Is this scenario possible ??

How does it affect my F1 Visa status and I have read that it might affect my OPT period or Visa status. Please advise.

1 Like
65

Hey how did you update the sevis id on the cgi portal. What are the steps, was there any update button? Thanks in advance

66

How to update the sevis id on cgi portal ? Can you please help me with the steps . Thanks in advance

67

Hello
I had applied for a drop box visa, but the visa office has called me for an 221(g) interview.
In the meantime, I received an admission from a different university, which I want to attend. My question is if I can transfer the SEVIS fee to the new university and get a DS-160 for it considering the 221(g) situation. It would be great if I could get assistance on this issue.

1 Like
68

Hello @bipasha.goswami @krutarth_kothekar

I am done with my f1 visa with university A, but i want to transfer to University B , as i can enter usa 30 days prior start of University of A, but as per the University A i20 early date i will be able to land on 7th jan which is a saturday as the OGS will be closed . And the classes start on 9th jan in University B, will they consider my transfer request on jan 9th if i go to University B or is there any other way i can do from India? I already enrolled in both the Universities

69

Hello Krutarth

We congratulate you on your college acceptance!

However, It is perceivable, that switching from one university to another after getting your visa approved is a little dilemmatic and tricky situation.

Thus, we have researched at our end and would recommend that you must report to your target school before your college program commences according to the date listed on Form I-20. This reporting is not conditioned to be in person, It can be conducted via e-mail, telephone, or fax. As with any other F-1 transfer, the student is advised to provide written verification of his/her acceptance at another SEVP-certified school.

There exist a few methods that can be panned out as per your case profile

  • Method 1 - In case the learner has been accepted by another SEVP-certified school with the mentioned program commencement date that is within 30 days of the student’s initial admission into the United States, you must transfer the student’s SEVIS record.

  • Method 2 - In the other case, if you do not have a program starting date at the transfer-in school that is within 30 days of your admission into the United States, You may accomplish the following: either by enrolling for a full course of study at your school. Once the student’s record is active he or she may request a transfer following the procedures mentioned above in this thread, Or you can withdraw your college acceptance from your school, leave the United States, and obtain a new Form I-20 from the school they wish to attend. After exiting the U.S., it is required that the student will have to pay the SEVIS I-901 Fee. The student must exit the United States within 15 days of the grace period.

However, Do not worry! Your F1 Visa visa status and opt period will not get impacted while shifting from your targeted university in the US i.e from University A to University B which is cheaper and the acceptance rate is low once you reach the US.

Consequently to gain a detailed overview of how to change university after scheduling a visa appointment kindly go through the steps cited in the blog mentioned below;

Hope this helps you.

If you face any issues, post on this thread and we will get back to you at the earliest.

All the best!
Warm Regards
Rhythm

70

This should be done after entering US ?

71

Hi, I am also in a similar scenario
What did you do ?

72

Hello Sanjana
Thank you so much for contacting us!
We heartily congratulate you on your college acceptance!

We have researched at our end and discovered that it is possible to transfer the SEVIS fee to a new university, However, in case you have received an admission from the other university and intend to attend their admission program. Moreover, the exact process for accomplishing the process and the possibility in your specific situation should depend upon numerous factors such as the Kind of visa you applied for, The basis for the 221(g) interview, and the guidelines of the recent university including the visa office.

Please note that a 221(g) interview requires an additional administrative process or documentation from the visa office, and it doesn’t necessarily mean that your visa application has been denied. If the application is denied the visa officials will send you an email stating that they are rejecting your application under section 221g
We would strongly advise you to follow the instructions provided by the visa office and deliver any requested information or documentation regarding the same.

In case you have additional questions or concerns about your visa application please post on this thread, We will strongly recommend you to contact the visa office directly for assistance. They will be able to assist you efficiently with the most accurate and up-to-date information about your specific case profile while advising you to better understand the steps you need to initiate in order to transfer your SEVIS fee and apply for a DS-160 for the new university.
Wishing you all the very best in your future endeavors!

Warm Regards
Rhythm Tyagi

73

Hello @bipasha.goswami @Rhythm_Tyagi

I am done with my f1 visa with university A, but i want to transfer to University B , as i can enter usa 30 days prior start of University of A, but as per the University A i20 early date i will be able to land on 7th jan which is a saturday as the OGS will be closed . And the classes start on 9th jan in University B, will they consider my transfer request on jan 9th if i go to University B or is there any other way i can do from India? I already enrolled in both the Universities

1 Like
74

Hi, @shubhang_yadav

Congratulations on your college acceptance!

We understand that switching from one university to another might seem like a little quandary situation. As discussed above, it is possible to transfer from one university to another after an F1 visa is stamped in the United States. However, the process of transferring varies and depends upon your target university, and other factors.

After researching and assessing your problem statement, we have found that after receiving admission from the new university, you have to coordinate with university B to obtain a new I-20 form. Parallelly, you have to obtain the transfer release from University A. Kindly note that the fee refund from the previous university can be a hectic task.

We would highly recommend that you start the transfer process as soon as possible since it might be a long process.
In case you have additional questions or concerns about your visa application please post on this thread.

Hoping to hear from you soon.

Wishing you all the very best in your future endeavors.

Best Regards
Rhythm Tyagi

75

Hi. I really hope you see this m you’ve been helpful to many. So I’m possible going to be getting funding from another University and would need to do all you’ve said here. The only thing I want to confirm is. If you’ve paid for sevis id and done the transfer to the new University and log into the Cgi website to change ds 160 confirmation no. Does it pop up a means to also change the sevis id?

76

I see there are some.others here with same issues but Didn’t come back to say if it worked. Sevis fee paid and all. When you finally log into the website to change the ds 160 confirmation number (thats the only thing showing in your “update profile” tab) does it then follow up with a means to update the sevis id too. Thanks for replying in advance

77

Hey. Please any update on this? Were you able to change it. I’m in the same mix

78

@Monseiur_Sleec Go forward with the process. Do not make a fee payment until you get a message from authorities.

When you have paid the SEVIS fees, log in to the Student and Exchange Visitor (SEVP) I-901 SEVIS fee processing website. You can see the record of the fee paid there. There will be a transfer option where you can change your SEVIS ID to another university.

Once you get the new SEVIS number, follow the steps below:

  • Fill out the new DS - 160 form with the details of your new university.
  • Submit the form and book an appointment.
  • Take the new DS - 160 confirmation page to the scheduled appointment.

For more information, contact US visa office:

SEVP@ice.dhs.gov

fmjfee.sevis@ice.dhs.gov

79

@Monseiur_Sleec We are in touch with our expert partners to fetch you the pin-point answer. We will let you know once we get it.

Meanwhile here is some relevant information we got from SEVP Response Center. I hope it will help:

To start the process of transferring SEVIS ID, the student must bring written confirmation of acceptance to another SEVP certified school, contact information for the new school’s DSO (Designated School Official), and the SEVIS school code for the transfer-in school.

The DSO will work on and decide the transfer-in date, after which the DSO of the new school will be responsible for your SEVIS record who will issue a new Form I-20.

If you arrive in the US and want a SEVIS transfer, contact your old school’s DSO. Show proof of admission to a new university, after which you must enroll in a full-time course within 30 days.

Remember: the authority decides whether you are eligible for a fee transfer once you provide both SEVIS ID numbers.

For more, get in touch with US immigration services.
Contact details:
Email: SEVP@ice.dhs.gov
Phone: 703-603-3400
Toll-Free: 800-892-4829

80

Hello,

I am now in the process transfer my SEVIS from University A to University B since I will be finishing the degree at A and begin another one at B. However, my F1 visa has expired last year. Can I schedule an interview appointment even before I got my new I-20 from University B? I know in the transfer process my SEVIS number will not change, so I assume I can use the same number to make an appointment? Thank you for your help.

Best,
Curry