Transferring Your F-1 SEVIS Record to Montclair State University

Before you transfer your SEVIS record to Montclair, you MUST be accepted to Montclair and you must apply for the Form I-20. After you have been accepted to Montclair State University, you will receive an email titled “Time to apply for your Form I-20!” The email will contain instructions on how to apply for the I-20 and will outline which documents you need to submit. You can also refer to our Applying for the Form I-20 webpage.

Please note that ALL students must apply and be approved for the I-20 in order for us to issue one, SEVIS transfer students included. We cannot issue the transfer I-20 until you submit all of the required documents.

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 end 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 end of your 60 day grace period. Keep in mind that your employment authorization will automatically end once your SEVIS record is transferred to Montclair.

Your record must be transferred to Montclair prior to the start of the semester.

Yes, when you transfer your SEVIS record, your SEVIS ID number (the number found in the top lefthand corner of your I-20) will remain the same.

Nope! 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 Montclair. 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.

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. Students 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 must pay a SEVIS fee once per SEVIS record number. You should have already paid the SEVIS fee at the time you obtained your first Form I-20 to attend the previous school, so you should not have to pay the SEVIS fee again. To confirm that you have already paid the SEVIS fee, please visit https://fmjfee.com.

Students who have transferred their SEVIS record to a new school are permitted to travel outside of the U.S. between their programs. 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 Montclair State University Form I-20
2. A valid F-1 visa
3. A passport that is valid at least 6 months into the future.

Students are also permitted to stay in the U.S. during the SEVIS transfer process if you choose to do so.

Any employment authorization associated with your previous school will automatically cease once your SEVIS record has been transferred to Montclair State University, this includes on-campus employment, CPT, OPT and STEM OPT authorizations.

You must take this into account when choosing your transfer release date. You should choose a “SEVIS Transfer Release date” that will allow you to complete employment before your SEVIS record is released to Montclair to begin studies.