Change of Status | International Center

Change of Status From F-1 or J-1 to Another Status

If you change your immigration status (e.g. from F-1 to H-1B, F-2, TN, etc.) your F-1 or J-1 status will end on the effective date of the USCIS action notice or your entry to the US in the new status.

Please notify the International Center and the Office of the Registrar when you change status.

To update your status with the International Center, email [email protected] with your UMID and a copy of your I-94 showing your new status. Your I-94 may be attached to the bottom of an I-797 Approval Notice or accessed online after entering the US in another status. If you are approved for permanent residency, please submit a copy of your green card instead of an I-94.

To update your immigration status with the Registrar's Office, submit a Personal Data Change Form along with supporting documentation. You can submit these securely through Wolverine Access. You may also submit the form and documents in person or via email to Wolverine Services.

Change of Status to F-1

An F-1 student is a nonimmigrant who is pursuing a full course of study to achieve a specific educational or professional objective at an academic institution in the US. Once the educational objectives have been achieved, the F-1 student is expected to return to his or her residence abroad.

A student acquires F-1 status using Form I-20, issued by the U.S. school which the student is attending/planning to attend. Status is acquired in one of two ways: 1) by entering the United States with the I-20 and an F-1 visa obtained at a U.S. consulate abroad (Canadian citizens are exempt from the visa requirement); or 2) by applying to USCIS for change of nonimmigrant status (if the student is already in the United States and cannot travel). Please note that if you choose the latter form of acquiring F-1 status, you will not receive an F-1 travel visa, only F-1 status. This means that if you later travel outside the U.S. while in F-1 status, you will have to apply for F-1 visa at a U.S. consulate in order to be able to return to the U.S.

A person of any non-immigrant status except C, D, K, or M (and in some cases J), and except those who entered the United States under the terms of the Visa Waiver Program, can apply for a change to F-1 status if he/she has maintained lawful non-immigrant status up to the time of application. Those with J status who are subject to 212(e) two-year home country physical requirement may not change status in the U.S. unless a waiver has been granted. Non-immigrants in A, G, or NATO status must first complete Form I-566, and have it properly endorsed by the foreign mission to the U.S. and the Department of State.

Obtaining Form I-20: If you are a newly admitted student, your U-M admissions team will contact you directly to initiate I-20 processing. If you are a continuing or returning student, please use our web form to submit an I-20 Request for Continuing/Returning Students.

Documentation Needed to Apply for Change of Status to F-1

G-1145, E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance (paper filing only)
A cover letter (one page) requesting the change of status from your current status to F-1. This letter should include a brief explanation as why you wish to change to F-1 status. You should also provide a checklist of the documentation you are including in your application.
USCIS Form I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status, including application fee.
Evidence of financial support (i.e., bank statement, assistantship letter, etc.). If you have been offered an assistantship from the department and therefore will need to start your on-campus job under F-1 employment authorization, you may want to request USCIS to expedite your change of status application. There is no guarantee that your application will be expedited, but there is no harm in asking. Please note that after your change of status to F-1 is approved, the earliest date you may start working on campus is 30 days before the first day of classes of your first term as F-1 student.
Copy of the admission letter from the University.
Copy of your entire F-1 I-20 (sign in “Student Attestation” section on page 1 of the form before making a copy). Do NOT send your original I-20. USCIS does not require the original and will not return it.
Copy of the receipt indicating payment of the SEVIS fee. Please note that the SEVIS fee is separate from the application fee; both fees must be paid if you are applying for the change of status within the U.S.
Copies of all of the immigration documents (e.g. DS-2019, F-2 I-20, I-797, paper or print-out of electronic Form I-94, valid passport, visa stamp, EAD card, etc.) showing that you are currently in lawful non-immigrant status.
Copy of the waiver of the 212(e) Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement (if you were previously in J status and subject to the requirement), if applicable.

We recommend that you make a copy of this application for your own record.

Filing Options for Change of Status to F-1 Application

It may take USCIS several months to adjudicate an I-539 request, and therefore you should use a return address that will be valid for many months. We recommend you avoid trying to change your I-539 mailing address once your application has been filed with USCIS unless there is truly no other option.

Therefore, if you know that you will be moving soon, we recommend using a friend or relative’s address in the U.S. If you select this strategy, make sure to include the name of your friend or relative on the line of the I-539 form that says “In care of.” Be sure to verify that their name is on their mailbox.

USCIS allows for online or paper-filing of Form I-539 to change status to F-1. If you will not have any dependents concurrently filing a change of status to F-2 with you, we strongly recommend the online filing option since there are many benefits to online filing including:

Immediate filing of I-539 application with USCIS and issuance of I-539 receipt notice;
Direct access to USCIS notices including, but not limited to receipt notice, requests for evidence, approval notice, etc.
Ability to communicate with USCIS through a secure inbox
Option to provide additional unsolicited evidence/updates to your application if necessary
Minimizes risk of rejection of the application by vetting common reasons for rejection such as a missing applicant’s signature or improper fee payment
Ability to pay application fee through your bank account (ACH), debit, or credit card.

For paper-filed applications, the address that you use on your I-539 will dictate to which USCIS Service Center you should mail your application. Please refer to the 'Nonimmigrants and Their Dependents' section of Filing Addresses for Form I-539 on the USCIS website to locate the appropriate mailing address. If you are filing the change of status application under premium processing, Form I-907, please refer to the appropriate filing location on the USCIS website.

Please note that the U.S. Postal Service is the only service that delivers to a P.O. Box address. We recommend that you use a trackable mailing method so that you have delivery confirmation of your application. If you send your application with a method that requires a signature upon delivery, use the express mail and courier deliveries address (e.g., UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc).

If your change of status is pending with USCIS and you later decide to leave the U.S., your change of status is considered to have been abandoned.

Important Things to Remember

If you are currently in F-2 status:

Source: 8 CFR (Code of Federal Register) § 214.2(f)(15)(ii)

Individuals in F-2 status are eligible for part time study. Refer to F-2 Dependents for details. However, once your change of status to F-1 is approved, you are required to be enrolled full time. If your change of status has not been approved by the deadline for adding/dropping classes, your I-20 start date will be deferred until the start of the next semester and you must stay enrolled part time until the end of the current semester in order to maintain your F-2 status.

If you are currently in B1/B2 status:

Source: 8 CFR § 214.2(b)(7) and §248.1(c)

Individuals in B1/B2 status are prohibited from “enrolling in a course of study” until after USCIS approves their change of status application.

If you are currently in any other status (e.g., H, J, L, E, etc.):

If your current status allows full-time studies in the U.S., you may start classes before your change of status application is approved. However, you are not allowed employment under F-1 status until after your application is approved. For example, if you have an assistantship, you won’t be able to start it until after you receive your F-1 status.

Traveling and Reentering the U.S.

The alternative method of changing to F-1 status is through travel and re-entry, which may be preferred over the in-country change of status in certain situations. In this case, you would depart the U.S. and then apply for an F-1 visa at a U.S. embassy or consulate abroad, preferably the local consulate in your home country. If the F-1 visa application is approved and the F-1 visa is issued, then you can re-enter the U.S. using your F-1 I-20 form and F-1 visa. At the Port of Entry, your electronic I-94 will be updated to show your status as F-1 and the Admit Until Date as D/S, which confirms F-1 status.

Please note that Canadian citizens are exempt from the requirement of a having an F-1 visa to re-enter the U.S. in F-1 status. But travel and re-entry are still required for Canadian citizens to obtain F-1 status.

For further information about travel and re-entry and/or visa applications, refer to the U.S. Department of State web site and Travel Outside the U.S. and Reentry.

If you would like to discuss the risks and benefits of your strategy for change of status, or have questions about your options, please call the U-M International Center to schedule an appointment with an advisor.

Change of Status to J-1

Persons in the U.S. in certain immigration categories may wish to or need to change status to J-1 in order to begin an educational or exchange program at the University of Michigan.

Individuals holding nonimmigrant status C, D, K, WB or WT are not eligible to change to any other status within the U.S., including J-1. In addition, individuals currently in J status (including J-2) who are subject to the Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement INA 212(e) may not change status in the U.S. unless a waiver has been granted.

In any application for change of status, you will need to explain why you did not originally enter the U.S. in the status now being requested. A change of circumstances or intention should be documented or explained to make the application acceptable. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office may deny a request by an F-1 student to change to J-1 status if the USCIS officer believes that the reason for the change is primarily to enable the dependents to apply for permission to accept employment.

Documentation Needed to Apply for Change of Status to J-1

G-1145, E-Notification of Application/Petition Acceptance (paper filing only)
A cover letter requesting the change of status and explaining your circumstances.
Copy of Form DS-2019 from U-M (sign the form before making a copy). Do NOT send your original DS-2019. USCIS does not require the original and will not return it.
Receipt indicating payment of the SEVIS fee.
Evidence of financial support (i.e., copy of bank statement, assistantship, offer letter, etc.). If you are applying to become a J-1 student and you have been offered an assistantship from a department, you may request that USCIS expedite your change of status application and include a copy of the assistantship offer letter. There is no guarantee that your application will be expedited.
USCIS Form I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status including application fee.
Copies of all of your immigration documents (e.g. DS-2019, I-20, I-797, paper or print-out of electronic Form I-94, valid passport, visa stamp, if applicable).
Copy of the waiver (if you were subject to the Two-Year Foreign Residency Requirement while in J status), if applicable.

Filing Options for Change of Status to J-1 Application

The USCIS allows for online or paper-filing of Form I-539 to change status to J-1. If you will not have a family member concurrently filing a change of status to J-2 with you, we strongly recommend the online filing option since there are many benefits to online filing including:

Immediate filing of I-539 application with USCIS and issuance of I-539 receipt notice;
Direct access to USCIS notices including, but not limited to receipt notice, requests for evidence, approval notice, etc.
Ability to communicate with USCIS through a secure inbox
Option to provide additional unsolicited evidence/updates to your application if necessary
Minimizes risk of rejection of the application by vetting common reasons for rejection such as applicant’s signature and proper fee payment
Ability to pay application fee through your bank account (ACH), debit, or credit card.

If you are unable to file your application online or will have a family member concurrently filing a change of status to J-2 with you, please follow the instructions below for paper-filing. DO NOT FILE BOTH the online and paper-filing options.

If your change of status is pending with USCIS and you later decide to leave the U.S., your change of status is considered to have been abandoned.

Important Information about Changing to J-1 Status

Your current status must be valid until at least 30 days prior to the program start date of the DS-2019, so there cannot be a gap of more than 30 days between the Form I-94 expiration or the end of grace period and the program start date of the DS-2019.
If you are currently in B1/B2 status and you wish to become a J-1 student, you are prohibited from enrolling in a course of study unless you apply for and USCIS approves your change of status application. If you are currently in F-2 status and you wish to become a J-1 student, refer to the information in the Study section of F-2 Dependents.
The alternative method to become a J-1 is through traveling and re-entering the U.S. in your new visa status. In this case, you must apply for a J-1 visa at a U.S. consulate abroad. Applying at the local consulate in your home country is recommended. A J-1 can enter the U.S. no earlier than 30 days before the DS-2019 program start date. Depending on your situation, you may prefer to leave the U.S. to obtain a visa instead of submitting a Form I-539 Application to Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status request.

Related Resources

U.S. Department of State
U-M International Center travel advisory
Call the U-M International Center to schedule an appointment with an advisor