Do I have to renew my F1 visa when I go to grad school?

Student Lounge International Students
1

The title says it.

2

It depends. Many students in your position can maintain their F-1 status with a simple SEVIS transfer, without the need to apply for a new F-1 visa. (There would be a mismatch between your actual enrollment and whatever university is named on the visa sticker in your passport, but that’s okay.) You would need to apply for a new visa if any of the following is true:

  • The gap between your undergraduate program end date and your graduate program start date is greater than 5 months.
  • You want to leave the US and re-enter after the expiration date of the F-1 visa sticker in your passport. (You can legally stay in the US after the expiration date on the visa sticker as long as your SEVIS record is active, but you would need an updated sticker to re-enter the country.)
  • The graduate institution opens a new SEVIS record for you (vs receiving a transfer of your undergraduate SEVIS record).
  • You lose your F-1 status for any reason whatsoever.
3

So, let’s say I finished my undergraduate on 2019 spring, and start my graduate study on 2019 fall. Assuming my SEVIS is just transferred so that I dont have to re-apply for F1 visa, do I have to be doing anything during the summer?