Transferring Your SEVIS Record

This section deals with transferring your SEVIS record and is not to be confused with transferring your academic record. For information on transferring credits from another university to Dominican University, please consult with your admission counselor or your academic advisor.

You must be accepted at Dominican University and have on file the proper financial documents. It is very important that you follow exactly the procedures for changing schools to ensure that you remain in status while changing from one school (English Language School, university) to another. Timing is very important.

• If you have completed a program or if your OPT has ended, you must be within the 60 day grace period.
• The start date at Dominican University must be within five (5) months of your completion date or five (5) months of your “transfer out” date, whichever is earlier. Usually this means five (5) months from the completion date of your previous program. You must begin your studies at Dominican University at the next possible term. 
• You must be currently in valid F-1 status and your SEVIS record at the prior school must be “active.”

If you are eligible for a SEVIS transfer, you will receive a scanned and a mailed copy of the Transfer Verification (T/V) form. You should take/scan this document along with your acceptance letter from Dominican University to the designated school official (DSO) at your current school. That person will complete the T/V form and return it to the DSO here. The T/V form will include the date of transfer from the previous school.

Once your SEVIS record has been transferred, the DSO at Dominican University will issue you a “transfer pending” I-20. If you plan to travel outside of the U.S. during the period between schools, you must return on DU’s I-20.  Do not return on the previous school's I-20, even if appears to be valid.

It is recommended that you not depart the U.S. without the transfer I-20. However, if you do, the university will mail you the new transfer I-20; allow sufficient time to receive it, usually a few weeks before your planned re-entry.

You may also remain in the U.S. between the completion of one program and the start of the new program within the time range stated above.

For detailed information about transferring, please consult the SEVIS website.

For students transferring from Dominican University to another school, please follow the above steps in reverse. You must request that the Dominican University DSO transfer your SEVIS record to the new school by presenting a Transfer Verification form and acceptance letter and completing the Transfer Out form.