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Current Students - Maintaining Your Status
Transferring from UGA to Another School
Transferring to a new school in the U.S. requires a lot of planning in advance. A student may legally stay in the U.S. between finishing classes at one school and starting at another if the proper process is followed. A student may also finish classes at one school, travel home (during the school vacation or to take a semester off) and return to the U.S. with an I-20 or DS-2019 issued by the new school. A student who decides to travel will need an unexpired F-1 or J-1 visa and the new I-20 or DS-2019 to return to the U.S. The student is not required to obtain a new visa unless the previous visa stamp has expired. It is not required to have the new school listed on the visa if the transfer process is followed correctly.
If you are currently enrolled in classes as an F-1 or J-1 student at the University of Georgia and you wish to go to another school, you will first need to apply for and receive academic admission from the new school. After obtaining admission to the school of your choice you can request that your I-20/DS-2019 record be transferred to the new school through SEVIS at the end of the current term. Or if you are working on OPT, the date that you will cease employment. The OIE has a transfer release request form that must be submitted to the OIE with a copy of the admission letter from the school you are interested in transferring to.
The transfer process (obtaining a new I-20/DS-2019 from the new school) must be completed within 60 days of finishing classes at UGA or the last date of your OPT authorization for an F-1 student and within 30 days for a J-1 student. In addition, the student must begin classes at the new school within 5 months of the last day of attendance at the old school.
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Prospective Students