Transfer-Out Procedure

Instructions for Transferring from Florida Institute of Technology to another University as an F-1 or J-1 student:

Students who would like to transfer to another university should scan the following items to isss@fit.edu:

• Copy of acceptance letter from your new university
• Florida Institute of Technology’s Transfer-Out Form
• Florida Institute of Technology’s Change in Registration Status Form *  
• Transfer-In Form from your new university (only if required by your new school) **
• If you are on STEM Extension OPT, you will also need to submit the Final Evaluation (bottom section of page 5 of Form I-983)

*NOTE: If you will be graduating at the end of the current semester, or have already graduated and are on OPT and wish to transfer, you will not be required to process the Change in Registration Status Form.

**NOTE: not all schools require a Transfer-In Form; be sure to ask your new school if they do or not. Some schools will also require a Transfer-In Form to be submitted to them before an acceptance letter will be issued.

The ISSS Office will discuss with you the date on which you want your SEVIS immigration record to be transferred/released to the new school. Once the transfer/release date is reached, FIT will no longer have access to your SEVIS record; this means that if you decide not to transfer, you must notify the ISSS Office before the transfer/release date.

PROCESSING TIME:  The ISSS Office has a 3-5 business day window for processing all documentation/requests.

SPONSORED STUDENTS: students sponsored by their government/country must be sure to inform their sponsor of their transfer. Some sponsors do not allow a sponsored student to transfer without prior permission from the sponsor directly.  However, immigration regulations state “Failure of the DSO to follow the transfer procedures in SEVIS after the student has complied with his or her responsibilities could lead to withdrawal of a school's approval to enroll F-1 students.”

J-1 Students: please keep in mind that a transfer is possible if the purpose of the transfer is to complete the objective for which you were admitted to FIT and that you remain in the same participant category. The transfer date must be a date agreed upon by the student, the new university, and FIT to ensure a smooth transfer.

Upon the transfer of your SEVIS record,  a HOLD will be placed on your student record.  This means that  (1) you will need to contact the ISSS Office before you will be allowed to take coursework at Florida Tech in the future; (2) Florida Tech will no longer have access to your SEVIS record; (3) if you were granted work authorization under your Florida Tech immigration record, that authorization is no longer valid; and (4) after your SEVIS record has been transferred to the new school, you will need to contact your new school to have the new I-20/DS-2019 issued to you.