Arriving at ASU

Change of status

F-1/J-1 students

Change My Nonimmigrant Status

If you are seeking to change the purpose of your visit while in the United States, you (or in some cases your future institution or employer) must file a request with USCIS on the appropriate form before your authorized stay expires. We recommend that you apply as soon as you determine that you need to change to a different nonimmigrant category.

For more information, please visit USCIS’s Change My Nonimmigrant Status website.

Change to F-1 status

An F-1 student is a nonimmigrant who is pursuing a full course of study to achieve a specific educational or professional objective at an academic institution in the US. Once the educational objectives have been achieved, the F-1 student is expected to return to his or her residence abroad.

Change of Status through USCIS

  • If you choose to apply for your change of status through USCIS (refer to the detailed steps below), you may not depart the U.S. while your Change of Status application is pending as it is considered abandonment of the application and will result in USCIS denying your application.
  • Until you can submit to the ASU ISSC the formal evidence of USCIS’s approval of your F-1 status, you will not be eligible for any employment under the F-1 status.
  • The change of status application through USCIS can take anywhere from 6-12 months. Please see USCIS processing times for more information.
    • • Due to this long processing time, you may consider the travel and re-entry option (refer to the detailed steps below)
    • • You may have to defer to the following academic term if your change of status application has not been processed by the original program start date listed on the I-20 (this also requires a deferral of your I-20).
  • If you are interested in Premium Processing for your application, please visit the USCIS Premium Processing webpage for details.
  • Please keep in mind that the Change of status process through USCIS does not give you a visa. If you plan to travel after approval, you would need to apply for the visa before traveling back to the U.S.