Change of Status for International Students
Are you in the USA on a non-immigrant visa and want to apply to USCIS to change your status and obtain an F-1 student visa?
Are you in the USA on a non-immigrant visa and want to apply to USCIS to change your status and obtain an F-1 student visa?
You may apply for admission to MassBay for semesters beginning in September or January. We recommend that you complete your MassBay application six months in advance of the semester in which you intend to enroll. After you have received your letter of acceptance to MassBay, you will apply to the United States Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS). to change your visa status to F1.
Change of Status (COS) applications typically take several months to process and may or may not be approved. Please see below, Change of Status Application to the United States Citizenship & Immigration Services, for full details and instructions.
Letter of financial support from your sponsor(s).
The person, company, or agency on the bank statement must declare financial support for your studies at Massachusetts Bay Community College.
After you mail your Change of Status (COS) application:
If you currently have a J1 visa, you may legally register for classes while your COS application is pending. However, if your COS application is denied during the academic semester, you will have to leave the country immediately and you will not be eligible for a refund of any payments made to MassBay. We recommend that you do not register for classes until your F1 status is approved.
Please be aware that if you apply for a Change of Status that is ultimately denied, your “unlawful presence” in the United States will begin when your current visa expires, not from the date of denial. This could affect your ability to return to the United States in the future.
Note: This procedure only changes your status within the United States. If you travel outside of the U.S. after your change of status has been approved, you will then need to apply for an F-1 visa stamp in your passport by scheduling an appointment at the U.S. Consulate or Embassy.