M-1 students who study in the United States must attend a Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP)-certified school. M-1 students have the option to transfer to another SEVP‑certified school; however, there are specific rules for this transfer process that M-1 students must follow. These rules include that:

• M-1 students may only transfer within the first six months of their arrival into the United States.
• M-1 students must apply for a transfer by filing a Form I-539, “Application To Extend/Change Nonimmigrant Status,” with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). For more information about this process, please visit the USCIS’ page for the Form I-539.
• M-1 students must work with their designated school official (DSO), who will need to transfer their student’ records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) to the new SEVP-certified school.
• M-1 students cannot change the educational objective that they were initially admitted into the United States to complete or study.
• M-1 students may begin their course of study at the transfer-in school while their transfer application is pending.

Remember, if an M-1 student wishes to transfer to another SEVP-certified school and is eligible to do so, they must work with their DSO to complete the process. DSOs may not refuse to transfer an eligible M-1 student’s SEVIS record to another SEVP-certified program.

If you have questions about M-1 student transfers, refer to the Study in the States Transferring page and contact SEVP by sending an email to sevp@ice.dhs.gov.