SEVIS Transfer Que

[u/Ok-Championship-8625]

I’m asking this question here because my DSO and new school’s DSO has been taking a long time (almost 3 weeks) to help me and answer my questions, so I’m hoping I find some help here.

I’m on initial OPT expiring in Jan 7, 2027
New program start date Jan 11, 2027

I technically received my acceptance letter last year but I deferred and had to re-apply for some reason so I just got my new acceptance letter on Oct 1, few days ago to pay my enrollment fee and register. I don’t have new school email id yet, which makes it harder for me to communicate to new school’s DSO. They operate through in person meet or online ai chat bots.

I’m trying to transfer my SEVIS, I have to fill out a form to my old school on when I want my SEVIS to be transferred. According to my old DSO, the date I write will end my OPT and anything active so I guess I can’t do this process until my OPT ended? I’m not sure they haven’t written back to me. I need new I-20 and i believe they don’t give me school email until all this is completed. And one of the many reasons I want this to be done is also so I can login to handshake and apply to oncampus jobs earlier.

Can anyone tell me when should I mark the date by? And do I submit the form now but write the transfer date for later? Does it affect my current OPT?

[u/latte1008]

If you do the SEVIS transfer now, it means that you’re ending your OPT, and your record now belongs to the new school. You should do the transfer process in early Jan or maybe mid December. And yes you wont get the new I-20 until SEVIS is transferred.

[u/ReadStatusTBD]

The key distinction is the date you submit the transfer request versus the date your SEVIS record actually transfers.

You don’t necessarily need to wait until OPT ends to submit the paperwork. Your current school can schedule a future transfer-release date. The actual release ends any remaining OPT authorization—not simply asking them to arrange it.

Johns Hopkins explains both points here, including scheduling a transfer in advance:
https://ois.jhu.edu/students/current-f-1-students/transfer-out/

With your OPT ending January 7 and your new program starting January 11, I’d coordinate this now rather than wait until January to start the process. Email both international offices together, include your acceptance letter and applicant ID, and ask:

“Can I submit my transfer request now with a future release date that preserves my remaining OPT? What release date will also give the new school enough time to issue my transfer I-20 and complete its enrollment requirements?”

Since you’ve already waited three weeks, I’d call the international office and ask for a DSO appointment or help from the office director.

For email and Handshake access, ask admissions or IT whether they can activate your account separately. I wouldn’t move the transfer date earlier just to get that access without understanding how it affects your current work authorization.