Eligibility
- The scholar must be in the U.S. on a J-1 visa. If not, see Change of Status.
- The J scholar category must remain the same (for example, Research Scholar, Professor, or Short-term Scholar). If not, see Change of Category.
- Their J-1 activities have to be a continuation of the original purpose. In other words, they have to be continuing the work/research that they were doing at the previous institution.
- If the scholar has violated their legal status, they will not be eligible to have their visa status transferred. Instead, the University of Minnesota will issue a new DS-2019 to begin a new program (not a transfer DS-2019) that the scholar must use to a) re-enter the U.S. to regain legal status or b) apply to the Department of Homeland Security for Reinstatement of legal status.
Determining Transfer Effective Date
The University of Minnesota cannot issue the DS-2019 until the scholar's current sponsor processes an electronic “transfer out” of the person's SEVIS record. The scholar needs to discuss with their current sponsor the transfer “effective date.” That date should be the date that the UMN becomes the new sponsor.
Please note: The effective date of the transfer can not be later than the end date of the DS-2019 issued by the current sponsor.
Procedure if Current Sponsor is not UMN: The scholar meets with their current J-1 sponsor to discuss their intent to transfer to the University of Minnesota and to determine a SEVIS transfer “effective date.”
Hosting Department Responsibilities
The University of Minnesota hosting department submits an application for an initial DS-2019 to ISSS through MyISSS. In the application, the department indicates that the scholar is transferring to the UMN from another sponsor/U.S. institution and enters the contact information of the J-1 Responsible Officer at the scholar's current sponsor/institution.
ISSS receives the application, reviews it, and contacts the J-1 Responsible Officer at the scholar's current sponsor/institution requesting the release of the scholar to the UMN Twin Cities.
Scholar Responsibilities
Once the transfer becomes effective, the scholar must immediately report to our office. ISSS is required to report the scholar's participation in the University of Minnesota J program via SEVIS within 30 days of the program start date specified on their DS-2019. Due to processing time required, they must report to ISSS within 25 days of their start date.
At that time, the University of Minnesota will be able to access the scholar's SEVIS record and prepare a University of Minnesota DS-2019.
Upon arrival to the University of Minnesota campus, the scholar must report to ISSS for Check-In and bring their passport, I-94, previous DS-2019(s), UMN DS-2019, and J-2 dependent documents, if applicable.
If the scholar is planning to travel outside the U.S. before continuing their program activity at the University of Minnesota, they should use the University of Minnesota DS-2019 for re-entry. They must have a valid J-1 entry visa stamp and must be prepared to document the funding resources noted on the DS-2019. If this is the scholar's intention, they need to contact ISSS and inform a J adviser of their plans. ISSS will not be able to issue the new DS-2019 until the transfer effective date.
