Immigration Transfer

If you are currently an F-1 or J-1 student at a school in the U.S. and will begin a program at Carnegie Mellon University, you must request that your SEVIS record be "released" to CMU so that we can issue a CMU Certificate of Eligibility. Your current I-20 or DS-2019 institutional sponsor (i.e. university or high school) will initiate the SEVIS transfer to Carnegie Mellon. The transfer SEVIS release date must be after you have completed your current academic program and/or any authorized post-completion employment and are admitted to Carnegie Mellon. Once your SEVIS record is released, any work authorization based on your previous degree program is canceled. Note: If you are currently in J-1 student status, visit our online scheduling system to schedule an appointment with an OIE advisor.

Carnegie Mellon SEVIS School Codes:

You will need to provide the appropriate Carnegie Mellon University SEVIS school codes to your current DSO/ARO in order to transfer your record to the correct CMU Campus. 

• F-1: Pittsburgh (Main) Campus: PHI214F10187000
• F-1: Silicon Valley Campus: PHI214F10187001
• F-1: MSCF New York Campus: PHI214F1087002
• J-1: P-1-00292

If you are currently an F-1 or J-1 student at a school in the U.S. and will begin a program at Carnegie Mellon University, you must request that your SEVIS Record "be released" to CMU so that we can issue you a CMU Certificate of Eligibility. Your current I-20 or DS-2019 institutional sponsor (i.e. university or high school) will initiate the SEVIS transfer to Carnegie Mellon. The transfer SEVIS release date must be after you have completed your current academic program and/or any authorized post-completion employment and are admitted to Carnegie Mellon. Once your SEVIS record is released, any work authorization based on your previous degree program is canceled.

To transfer, you must:

1. Notify your current international student advisor of your intent to transfer to CMU. Follow any transfer-out procedures required by your current school. The transfer release must be set before the end of the 60-day grace period for F-1 students. The release date should be prior to the end of the program or the end date on the DS-2019 for J-1 students.
2. In addition to requesting the transfer of your SEVIS record, transfer students need to request a new I-20/DS-2019 from Carnegie Mellon. You will need to submit the "New Student Initial Document Request" e-form in your MyOIE portal. After your request is submitted with the appropriate documents, Carnegie Mellon University will issue your new SEVIS I-20 or DS-2019 on or shortly after the SEVIS release date set by your previous school.

To complete the transfer process, students must report to OIE within 15 days of the CMU start date and check in with your immigration documents as directed in your arrival information. If you were not a full-time student at your current school or were otherwise not maintaining status, you must contact OIE to discuss the procedure for applying for reinstatement to student status. The international student advisor at your current school will be able to tell you if you were considered to be a full-time student eligible for the transfer procedure.

Your SEVIS ID number will not change; therefore, you are not required to pay the SEVIS fee again. In addition, by following the SEVIS transfer process above, you may travel using your current, unexpired F or J visa sticker if it is still valid regardless of the school's name printed on the visa sticker. You must use the new Form I-20/DS-2019 issued by CMU to re-enter the US after the SEVIS transfer date. 

If your F or J visa has expired, and you plan to depart the U.S. after completing your previous program and re-enter to attend Carnegie Mellon University, then you must apply for a new visa before you re-enter the U.S. See Apply for U.S. Visa.

If you are a student at Carnegie Mellon who will pursue a program of study at another school in the U.S., once you have been accepted by the new institution and have decided to attend that institution, you should:

1. Notify OIE of your intent to transfer by completing and submitting the CMU Transfer Out e-Form in the MyOIE Portal. When choosing your transfer release date, please keep a few important things in mind: 
   1. The transfer date must be a date in the future. We ask for 10 business days in order to transfer your record out of CMU.
   2. Your current CMU I-20 and OPT will end on the date that you choose for the transfer, so you must be prepared to stop working if you are currently on OPT. 
   3. OIE can set-up your transfer now (once you submit all your documents to OIE), but your new university cannot create your I-20 until after the release date you have given to OIE. 
   4. You can remain inside the U.S., as a valid F-1 student during the time between programs. 
   5. The transfer release must be set before the end of the 60-day grace period for F-1 students. The release date should be prior to the end of the program or the end date on the DS-2019 for J-1 students.

Follow the reporting instructions from your new school in order to complete the transfer process at the new institution.

Your SEVIS ID number will not change; therefore, you are not required to pay the SEVIS fee again. In addition, by following the SEVIS transfer process above, you may travel using your current, unexpired F or J visa sticker if it is still valid regardless of the school's name printed on the visa. You must use the new school's Form I-20/DS-2019 to reenter the US after the SEVIS transfer date.

Students who initiate the transfer out process should be very certain about the specific institution they will attend as it may be difficult, or even impossible, for OIE to make changes later.

You must report to the transfer-in school to complete the required check-in processes. Students must report as soon as possible but no later than 30 days after the program start date listed on the Form I-20 or Form DS-2019.

Students who are traveling are encouraged to discuss their plans or any questions they have with an OIE advisor.

 J-1 scholars may transfer in or out of CMU's J-1 program; however, certain restrictions apply:

• The J-1 researcher or professor must pursue the same primary purpose as they pursued at the previous institution.
• The J-1 visitor may not change categories (i.e., from "student" to "research scholar").
• Before the Form DS-2019 can be issued to the scholar, the previous program must release permission to transfer. Therefore, it benefits the scholar to communicate openly about the expected change. It is important to note that this adds extra time to the process.
• The transfer process must be completed before the previous Form DS-2019 expires.

For current procedures, contact an OIE advisor or schedule an appointment.