A student-intern who is already in the U.S. at a different institution may transfer to UMN.
Eligibility
- The Student-Intern 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 (Student-Intern). 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 Student-Intern 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 Student-Intern 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 Student-Intern's current sponsor processes an electronic “transfer out” of the person's SEVIS record. The Student-Intern 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.
Current Sponsor (not UMN) Procedures: The Student-Intern 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 begins by submitting documents to ISSS to determine Student-Intern’s eligibility. In the Prospective Student-Intern Eligibility form, the Student-Intern indicates that they are currently in the U.S. as a J-1 Student-Intern at another Sponsor/U.S. institution and writes the contact information of the J-1 Responsible Officer at the Student-Intern’s current sponsor/institution.
ISSS receives the application, reviews it, and contacts the J-1 Responsible Officer at the Student-Intern’s current sponsor/institution requesting the release of the Student-Intern to the UMN Twin Cities.
See Inviting a J-1 Student-Intern for all required steps and application documents.
Student-Intern Responsibilities
Once the transfer becomes effective, the Student-Intern must immediately report to the ISSS office. ISSS is required to report the Student-Intern’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 Student-Intern’s SEVIS record and prepare a University of Minnesota DS-2019.
Upon arrival to the University of Minnesota campus, the Student-Intern 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 Student-Intern 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 University of Minnesota DS-2019. If this is the Student-Intern’s intention, they need to contact ISSS and inform a J advisor of his/her plans. ISSS will not be able to issue the new DS-2019 until the transfer effective date.
