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:

3 Wait for your transfer out request to be processed by an OGS advisor

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.

Key Resources

Transfer Out Request »

The completion and submission of this form will initiate the process of transferring the student out of Northeastern to another academic institution in the U.S.