Early completion

If you finish your exchange program early, your department should log in to ISSS Link to report your early completion date before you actually complete your program. You'll have a 30-day grace period to depart the US.

Early withdrawal

If you withdraw from your exchange program early without completing it, your department should log in to ISSS Link to report your withdrawal date before you actually withdraw. Plan your withdrawal carefully, if possible, because you won't get the standard 30-day grace period to depart the US. You will have to leave the US right away.

Transferring to another institution

To continue your J-1 program objective at another institution, you should:

1. Get an official invitation letter to participate in the other institution's exchange visitor program.
2. Fill out the J-1 Scholar Transfer Out Request Form (PDF) and email it to isss@emory.edu.

An ISSS advisor will review your request to make sure the transfer supports your original exchange visitor program objective and to certify that you have maintained your J-1 status. Once the transfer is approved, ISSS will work with your new institution to set your official transfer-out date in SEVIS.

Termination

If ISSS has to terminate your program for any of these reasons, you will have to leave the US right away:

1. Failure to maintain health insurance

2. Unauthorized employment

3. Failure to pursue your exchange program activities

4. Conviction of a crime

5. Disciplinary action

6. Violating exchange visitor program regulations

7. Violating university rules and policies

If your employment with Emory will end before the end date on their I-797, ISSS must notify USCIS and the Department of Labor.  Therefore it is important that you discuss your early departure with your department so that they can submit the "H-1B/E-3 Early Termination or Resignation" e-form via ISSS Link to notify your ISSS Advisor.

You can also notify your ISSS Advisor immediately so that you may receive advice on what is required of you to maintain legal H-1B status.  After completing the "H-1B/E-3 Early Termination or Resignation" e-form, your department will receive an email with the necessary instructions depending on the reason for ending employment early.

H-1B or E-3 scholars do not receive an automatic a grace period at the end of their authorized stay, so it is advisable that you leave the US right away unless you have already secured employment elsewhere and the new employer has already filed its H-1B/E-3 petition to sponsor you for employment, or have filed a petition to change status inside the US to another status prior to the end date of their employment.

If you're leaving Emory before the original end date on your I-797, your department should fill out the early termination notification form (PDF) before you leave.

Your O-1 employment authorization isn't portable, meaning that if you are changing employers within the US, you have to get new O-1 authorization with your new employer.

As an O-1 scholar, you don't get a grace period at the end of your authorized stay, so you will need to leave the US right away.