Change of Nonimmigrant Status
A person's nonimmigrant status must match the purpose of his/her stay in the U.S. A change of status may be necessary when the objectives of the visit have changed. For example, a person may come to the U.S. on an F-2 visa as a dependent of an F-1 student visa holder and then later decide to change to an F-1 student visa so they can study full-time and be eligible for practical training opportunities. Another example is a visitor who comes to the U.S. on a B visitor visa who then decides to study and change to F student visa status.
Changing nonimmigrant status can be a complex process therefore planning is extremely important. The timing must be done with care to avoid falling out of status during the transition but also in some cases, the new status must be approved by USCIS before the noniimigant can begin the duties/activities of the new status. Before you undertake a change of status, it is critical that you speak with an adviser in the Office of International Affairs at UC Merced about as early as possible in the process.
In general, there are two ways to change nonimmigrant status:
- Travel outside the U.S. and re-enter in the new status, or
- Remain in the U.S. and request a change of status by filing an I-539 application with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)
Travel to a U.S. Consulate outside of the U.S. (recommended)
Changing nonimmigrant status via travel requires taking your form I-20 or DS-2019 and supporting documents to a U.S. consulate outside the U.S. to obtain the new visa stamp, so the length of time is dependent on how long the visa process will take. This can take one week or several months depending on administrative processing.
Change Status Within the U.S. By Filing an I-539 Application with USCIS
USCIS processing time for a change of status from within the U.S. can vary. In recent experience, the process can take approximately 6 months or sometimes longer. Biometrics scheduling will take 17 days on average (assuming no re-scheduling of biometrics is requested). Processing times are subject to change and not guaranteed. Check USCIS Processing Times (link is external) for the Service Center at which you submit your I-539 (link is external) request.
NOTE: This process does NOT provide you a new visa stamp. Your I-797 approval notice and new I-94 at the bottom of this notice is used in place of a visa stamp until you leave the U.S. and apply for the new visa. The next time you travel outside the U.S. you will need to visit a U.S. consulate or embassy to apply for a new visa that reflects your changed status.
While the application is processing, the change of status petitioner may not leave the U.S. or the application will be considered abandoned.
The change of status petitioner must also maintain their current U.S. immigration status while the change of status application is pending to ensure not to accrue any unlawful presence.
