Please consult with a DSO at the school that currently maintains your F-1 SEVIS record to determine if you are eligible to transfer your SEVIS record to Boston University.

In order to be eligible for a SEVIS transfer, you must have maintained valid status throughout your F-1 program, you must begin your new program within 5 months from your previous program completion, and you must have an “active” F-1 SEVIS record. Students on a period of F-1 post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT) including STEM OPT, must have met all OPT reporting requirements and must not have exceeded the maximum days of unemployment allowed.

Please be aware that some students may not be eligible to transfer a SEVIS record between schools.

Regardless of whether you are eligible for a SEVIS transfer or not, your DSO must complete the SEVIS Transfer Form to notify us of your eligibility and the take appropriate action in SEVIS to transfer your record to Boston University.

You must consult your current DSO at your previous school to determine an appropriate SEVIS Transfer release date.

• If you are currently enrolled as a student, the SEVIS transfer release date should be on, or after your last day of class.
• If you have completed your program, your SEVIS transfer release date must be prior to the expiration of your grace period.
• If you are currently on OPT or STEM OPT, your SEVIS transfer release date can be during your OPT or STEM OPT but, no later than the expiration of your grace period. Keep in mind that your employment authorization will automatically end once your SEVIS record is transferred to Boston University.

In all cases, you should carefully strategize the best SEVIS record transfer date with your DSO to ensure that the record is transferred within regulatory requirements.

You can only have one active SEVIS record at a time. Therefore, Boston University cannot issue your new Form I-20 until after your SEVIS record has been released from your previous school. You should expect the new Form I-20 to be issued within 10 business days of the “SEVIS Transfer Release date” noted by your current DSO in Section 2A of the SEVIS Transfer Form, if all requested documents have been received. We will notify you when the Form I-20 has been issued.

If you transfer your F-1 SEVIS record to Boston University, your SEVIS record number will remain the same. The SEVIS number is an 11-digit number that begins with “N00”. The SEVIS number is located on the top left-hand corner of your Form I-20, and on the lower left-hand side of your F-1 visa, above the school name.

You may have a valid F-1 visa in your passport from your previous program. If that F-1 visa has not yet expired, it will remain valid for your new program at Boston University. If the F-1 visa in your passport has expired (or if you do not yet have an F-1 visa in your passport), you will need to obtain a new F-1 visa from a U.S. Embassy or Consulate in order to re-enter the U.S. in F-1 status. (Individuals traveling with Canadian passports do not need to obtain F-1 visas in their passport; however, they must travel with their valid Canadian passport and Boston University I-20.)

If your F-1 visa has expired, but you do not plan to depart the U.S., you do not need to obtain a new F-1 visa. Please understand that the F-1 visa in your passport is a travel document. Individuals who are transferring SEVIS records between universities are eligible to remain in the U.S. between programs even if their F-1 visa has expired. If your F-1 visa has expired, you will need to obtain a new F-1 visa only if you depart the U.S. and wish to re-enter in F-1 student status.

Students (including citizens of Canada), must pay a SEVIS fee once per SEVIS record number. Provided you are eligible to transfer your SEVIS record to BU, you should have already paid the SEVIS fee at the time you obtained your first FormI-20, so students transferring their SEVIS record number to Boston University should not have to pay the SEVIS fee again. To confirm that you have already paid the SEVIS fee, please visit https://fmjfee.com.

Yes. Individuals eligible to transfer their SEVIS immigration record between schools are eligible to remain in the U.S. during the SEVIS transfer process.

Yes. If you choose to depart the U.S. between programs, please be sure to check the expiration date on the F-1 visa in your passport. In order to return to the U.S. in F-1 status you will need to present at the U.S. border:

1. Your new Boston University Form I-20
2. A valid F-1 visa
3. A passport that is valid at least 6 months into the future.

Students who are not eligible to transfer their SEVIS record will be required to travel outside of the U.S. in between programs.

Any employment authorization associated with your previous school will automatically cease once your SEVIS record has been transferred to Boston University. If you are working on-campus, or if you are in a period of CPT or OPT authorized by your previous institution, it is vital to strategize your “SEVIS Transfer Release date” carefully with your DSO when completing the SEVIS Transfer Form. You and your DSO should pick a “SEVIS Transfer Release date” that will enable you to complete employment before your SEVIS record is released to Boston University to begin studies in accordance with F-1 transfer deadlines.

Students eligible to transfer their SEVIS record to Boston University may begin on-campus employment after they are academically registered for full-time coursework and they complete the SEVIS transfer process and check in with the ISSO. Students can generally complete new student check-in on a walk-in basis after they receive their new Form I-2, but reservations will be required during peak check-in times at the beginning of each new semester. Detailed information about international student check-in times and reservations will be sent to you via email as the start date of your new program approaches.

As soon as you have been hired in an on-campus position at Boston University, you must complete section 1 of the electronic Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification Form before to coming to the ISSO so that we may complete section 2 as required. You will find more information regarding this requirement and on-campus employment at the Student Employment Office.

Yes, BU will accept a transfer-out form from your previous school only if it contains all of the same information on our form and, is completed, signed and dated by a DSO. If you use an alternate form, the DSO at your previous school will find the Boston University school code on the BU SEVIS Transfer Form and should reference the name of our International Admissions Specialist if required.

Please consult with a DSO at the school that currently maintains your F-1 SEVIS record to determine if you are eligible to transfer your SEVIS record to Boston University.

Some students may not be eligible to transfer a SEVIS record between schools. If you have not maintained valid F-1 status, if you have been outside the U.S. for more than 5 months, or if the grace period on your F-1 status has expired, you will not be eligible for a SEVIS transfer.

Your DSO must complete the SEVIS Transfer Form to notify us of your eligibility and you must submit the completed form even if you are not eligible to transfer.

If you are not eligible to transfer your SEVIS record, BU may be able to create a new SEVIS record with a new SEVIS record number and issue you an “initial attendance” Form I-20. You will be required to travel to your home country, pay a new SEVIS fee and apply for a new F-1 visa to return to the U.S. in a new period of F-1 status no more than 30 days before your program begins.