Transferring your F-1 to High Expectations.

A school-to-school F-1 transfer is technically a SEVIS transfer, not a re-issuance of your visa or a new SEVIS number. Your existing SEVIS record moves from your current school to High Expectations; you receive a new I-20 from us; the F-1 visa stamp in your passport stays valid (assuming it hasn’t expired).

Three parties are involved:

• You. Apply to High Expectations, pay the deposit, and request the transfer in writing with your current school’s DSO.
• Your current school’s DSO. Sets the SEVIS “release date” that hands your record over to us. Until that date, your current school still controls your SEVIS record.
• High Expectations’ DSO (Dylan Snyder). Picks up your record on the release date and issues a new I-20 with our school name and SEVP code.

The whole process usually takes 2–4 weeks once the deposit is paid, but the exact timing depends on how quickly your current DSO sets the release date. See the Timeline below for concrete dates.

Federal rules and our internal admissions cycle combine to define the window you have to work in.

1. Apply to High Expectations. Submit the application + the documents listed below. We review and respond, typically within 1–2 business days.
2. Receive your admission letter. This is the document your current DSO needs to verify you have a confirmed seat at the new school before they release your SEVIS record.
3. Submit a transfer-in request to your current DSO. Most schools use the form in the second section of our Transfer Student Information form. Your current DSO fills it out and confirms your F-1 status, current SEVIS ID, program end date, and proposed release date.
4. SEVIS release date is set. Your current DSO chooses this date. It should be on or shortly after your current program’s end date and before your IELP start date at HE.
5. HE issues your new I-20. Once the release date arrives and your record appears in our SEVIS portal, Dylan creates and signs a new I-20 under our school’s SEVP code. You receive it by mail or secure email.
6. Contact our DSO and register within 15 days. Within 15 days of the program start date on your new I-20, contact Dylan and register for classes. We also ask you to check in at 2 Florence Street in person, with the documents listed below.

Bring or email the following when you apply, and again when you check in at the school:

• Current I-20 — all pages from your existing school
• Passport — biographical page; valid for at least six months beyond your expected program end date
• F-1 visa stamp — the page in your passport showing the visa (not required to transfer, but you’ll need it for any future international travel)
• Most recent I-94 record — downloaded from i94.cbp.dhs.gov
• SEVIS I-901 fee receipt — your original. The fee follows your SEVIS record, so you do not pay it again for a transfer.
• Transcripts — from your current U.S. school showing the program you’re leaving
• Financial documentation — bank statement showing funds for the academic year at HE, or sponsor’s Form I-134 + their bank statement
• Tuition deposit — cash, card, or via SwipeSimple online
• Completed F-1 Transfer Student Information form — student section first, then your current DSO completes their section

[School to confirm: any HE-specific documents beyond the federal minimum.]

Most transfer problems we see at the DSO desk fall into one of these patterns:

• Missing the 15-day registration deadline. Federal rule: you must contact our DSO and register for classes within 15 days of the program start date on your new I-20. Missing it can put your SEVIS record into Terminated status as a “Transfer Student – No Show.”
• Choosing a SEVIS release date that’s too late. If the release date is after your IELP start date, we can’t issue your new I-20 in time and you may have to defer to the next session.
• Choosing a release date that’s too early. Once released, you can’t legally continue at your current school. Don’t pick a release date before your current program’s last day if you’re still completing it.
• Misjudging the SEVIS “grace period.” If you’ve completed your program, you have 60 days to start a new program, transfer your SEVIS record, or depart the U.S.; past day 60 a regular transfer is no longer possible. If you’re transferring mid-program, the grace period doesn’t apply — you just have to be maintaining status. If you’ve fallen out of status, you’ll need reinstatement, not a standard transfer.
• Working off-campus during the transfer window. F-1 students don’t become eligible for off-campus work just because they’re between schools. Unauthorized employment terminates F-1 status immediately and bars re-entry. Any work authorization — including on-campus work or CPT/OPT at your previous school — also ends on the SEVIS release date.
• Traveling internationally with a stale I-20. Your I-20 needs a DSO travel signature dated within the last 12 months for re-entry. During a transfer, that signature might be from your old school on a now-invalid I-20.
• Forgetting to report an address change. You have 10 days to report any address change to your DSO, who updates SEVIS on your behalf. Easy to overlook in a move.
• Waiting too long between programs. You must begin full-time study at High Expectations at the next available session or within five months of leaving your previous program, whichever is earlier. A longer gap means a standard transfer is no longer possible — you’d need a new initial I-20 with a new SEVIS number (and a new I-901 fee).

After the transfer completes and you start classes at High Expectations, the rules you must follow to keep F-1 status active are:

• Full-time enrollment. The IELP meets the F-1 minimum (18 hours per week of in-person instruction) across all three schedule tracks. Dropping below full-time without prior DSO approval terminates status.
• Make satisfactory academic progress. Pass each level and stay enrolled session over session. If you struggle, talk to Dylan or Lynn before withdrawing — sometimes a Reduced Course Load can be authorized for documented reasons.
• Keep your I-20 valid. Don’t let the program end date pass without either graduating, extending, or transferring out. Renewals take time; start the conversation 60 days before your current end date.
• Keep your passport valid. Always six months ahead of your I-20’s end date. Most F-1 problems at U.S. ports of entry are actually expired-passport problems.
• Report address and personal changes within 10 days. Move, change phone number, change legal name — email Dylan within 10 days. We update the SEVIS record on your behalf.
• Get an I-20 travel signature before any international trip. The signature is valid for 12 months. Ask Dylan a few weeks before you travel.
• Follow the employment rules. English language training students are not eligible for OPT or CPT and may not work off campus. Any on-campus work is limited and must be authorized by the DSO in advance.