F-1 Students: After you have formally accepted an offer of admission (through paying a deposit or other formal means) and the university information system (OPUS) has been updated to indicate your intent to enroll, you will receive an email with instructions on how to log in to ISSS Link, Emory’s international student and scholar web-based portal, and submit the New Student I-20 Request e-form. For more information, visit our I-20/DS-2019 FAQ page.

J-1 Exchange Students: If you will be a J-1 exchange student at Emory, your Emory exchange program administrator will initiate the student DS-2019 request process for you. Once initiated, you will receive an email containing a link to an online form for you to complete. After you submit your portion of the request, ISSS will create the DS-2019. Contact your Emory exchange program administrator if you have any questions about beginning the DS-2019 process.

J-1 Degree-Seeking Students (including Fulbright transfers): Your academic department administrator will initiate the student DS-2019 request process for you. Once initiated, you will receive an email containing a link to an online form for you to complete.  After you submit your portion of the request, ISSS will create the DS-2019. Please contact your ISSS advisor for guidance regarding the appropriate person in your academic department to initiate this request on your behalf.

Transferring to Emory  

If you are currently attending another US institution in F-1 or J-1 status, your current institution will need to transfer your SEVIS immigration record to Emory after determining whether you are eligible for a SEVIS transfer. 

Procedure

1. Contact your international student advisor at your current institution to discuss transferring to Emory and to determine an appropriate “SEVIS release date” (the date your SEVIS record will be transferred to Emory). 
2. Complete Emory’s I-20 or DS-2019 Request
   

   If you are an F-1 Student, complete the “New Student I-20 Request” e-form in ISSS Link. The information in this e-form will be used to arrange the transfer of your SEVIS record to Emory and to create a transfer-pending I-20. 

   If you are a J-1 Student, your Emory academic program will initiate the J-1 Student DS-2019 Request. You will receive an email containing a link to a form for you to complete your portion of the request process. The information in this e-form will be used to create the Emory DS-2019. 

3. After your SEVIS record is released to Emory, Emory will issue your transfer-pending Form I-20 or updated DS-2019. This is the document you should present when traveling abroad. Do not enter the US using an I-20 or DS-2019 from your previous institution.  
   

Graduating F-1s 

If you are graduating from your previous institution and beginning a new program at Emory or finishing a period of post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT), you need to have your SEVIS record transferred to Emory within 60 days of completing your current program or OPT. This 60-day period is your grace period. 

Graduating J-1s 

If you are graduating from another institution in J-1 status, you need to have your SEVIS record transferred to Emory before your DS-2019 form expires or your program completion date, whichever is earlier. 

Transferring while on or finishing OPT or STEM OPT 

You can request that your current international student advisor initiates the transfer of your SEVIS record to Emory while working on post-completion OPT or STEM OPT, or within the 60-day grace period after your post-completion OPT or STEM OPT end date.  

However, please keep in mind, once your SEVIS release date has passed, your OPT authorization will automatically end, even if the end date on your EAD card is in the future.  It is important that you confirm your last day of employment before deciding your SEVIS release date. If you are unsure about timing, please contact your current institution's international student advisor for assistance. 

If you want to transfer to Emory in the middle of a program at another institution, please first contact your ISSS Advisor at Emory for discussion to avoid immigration difficulties. 

If you are already in the US in an immigration status other than F-1 or J-1 and want to change your immigration status to F-1 or J-1, you can either: 

• Travel outside the US and re-enter the US using a new visa and Emory I-20. 

• File a government application from within the US to change status if eligible. This process usually takes longer.  

For more information about changing your status, please visit our Changing Your Status page.

Your ISSS advisor is available to help you each step of the way as well!

• For initial I-20 questions, contact newfjstudent@emory.edu. For other immigration questions, contact your ISSS advisor.
• Check out our I-20/DS-2019 FAQ page.