Completing Form I-539: Changing from F-1 to J-1 Status

Read this document carefully. All the questions we are able to answer are addressed here.  

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) Form I-539 is used by some nonimmigrants who seek a change in status or an extension of their stay in the same status. These guidelines are specifically intended to assist affiliates of Stanford University in F-1 status seeking a change to J-1. These guidelines are not legal advice.

●   These guidelines are not relevant to tourists or those in other classifications who are requesting an extension or change of status, or F-1 students seeking reinstatement.

●   The form is not used by H-1 employees to extend or change status; these actions are requested on the form completed by Stanford as part of the H-1 process.

●   Only one applicant will complete the I-539; dependents such as the primary applicant’s children must complete, sign and file form I-539A along with primary form I-539.

●   Note that any assistance provided to the applicant must be noted: if translation help is provided, the “interpreter section” in Part 7 must be completed. If someone else prepares the form for the applicant, this information must be noted in Part 8.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services routinely updates forms, including the I-539. Be sure to use the current version. CIS will reject an application filed on an obsolete version of the form. You can locate the current version of the form at the USCIS I-539 page. Be sure to use the official CIS website to access this form and information, and not a private page. For the paper form, go to the bottom of the page under “Form Details” and click the down arrow on the menu item “Forms and Document Downloads.”

The following information serves as guidance to complete form I-539, but in no way is intended to serve as legal advice. If you feel the guidance does not agree for some reason with CIS instructions, the CIS instructions should be followed.

Applicants will submit this form directly to US Citizenship and Immigration Services with the DS-2019 provided by Stanford. See “Where to File” on the CIS I-539 page linked above.

Part 1

1.a. Family Name: enter your family or last name as it appears on the supporting documentation (passport)

1.b. Given Name: enter your given or first name as it appears on the supporting documentation (passport)

1.c. If you do not have a middle name, you may want to leave this field blank. (If you enter “none,” “not applicable” or “N/A,” this information may appear on Notices of Action generated by Citizenship and Immigration.)

2. Alien Registration Number: Most nonimmigrants do not have an alien registration number, which is mostly confined to use by  those have filed for permanent residency. If for some reason you have an A number and know it, include it here.

3. USCIS Online Account Number: If you have a USCIS Online Account Number, enter it here. If you have a USCIS Online Account Number, you should consider filing your forms electronically, if you are eligible to do so.  You can check your eligibility to form I-539 online by visiting the CIS Eligibility webpage. Please note that you can only file form I-539 online if you are applying only for yourself, without co-applicants (without form I-539A).  Please check the above website just prior to filing to understand if rules/terms have changed.

Mailing Address Section

4.a. In Care of Name: People living at someone else’s residence temporarily can identify the owner of the address in this section. Note that mail from government agencies such as CIS is NOT FORWARDED by the US Postal Service, and finding correspondence from such agencies that has been returned by the Postal Service can be very difficult. It’s strongly recommended that you use an address where you can expect to receive mail within the projected processing time.

4.b. The house number and street name go here.

4.c. If the residence is an apartment, or it can be designated by a Suite or Floor number, put that information here.

4.d. The official name of the town in which the street is located goes here.

4.e. The state can be found in a pull-down menu here. California is “CA." 

4.f. The zip code goes here. If you are unsure, the USPS ZIP Code Lookup link can help you identify the zip code for your address.

Physical Address Section

This section is intended for an address where you physically reside in the United States. If you live at the same address that you receive mail at, items numbered 5.a to 5.e. are completed with the same details as in Items 4. There is no indication that this section should be left blank if it is the same as the Mailing Address information, so while it may be redundant, you should complete this section even under those circumstances. If your mailing and physical addresses are different, the information should be entered in the relevant sections.

Other Information About You

6. Country of Birth: Enter the country in which you were born by the name for which it is currently known.

7. Country of Citizenship or Nationality: Enter only one country to correspond to the passport ID information you are providing on the form. 

8. Date of Birth: Be careful to use the US format (mm/dd/yyyy) for this date information.

9. US Social Security Number: If you have one, enter it here.

10. Date of Last Arrival in the US: Be careful to use the US format (mm/dd/yyyy) for this date information. If you are unsure, you can obtain your most recent I-94 from on the CPB website by clicking on “Already Visiting & Need Proof of Visitor Status?” The I-94 record will have your date of last arrival on it.

11. I-94 Arrival-Departure Number: If you have not already printed your I-94, get it here https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home by clicking on “Already Visiting & Need Proof of Visitor Status?” This document also has the date of last arrival information for item 10.

Note: items 12 - 16 refer to your immigration status information valid at the time of last entry. A section farther down will ask for current information. 

12. Passport Number: Enter the passport number of the passport you used to enter the U.S. most recently. If you have renewed your passport since your last entry, there will be an entry farther down in the form to record that information.

13. Travel Document Number: if you don’t have a passport but have been issued a Travel Document, put the number here.

14.a. Country of Passport: List the country that issued the passport or travel document.

14.b. Expiration Date: Find the expiration date of the passport or document and put it here.

15.a. Current Nonimmigrant Status: Write the status you currently hold, which should be F-1.

15.b. Expiration Date: This field takes a date, which is not applicable to F-1 students. Enter N/A here and check the next box.

16. D/S Box: As an F-1 student, you were admitted for “duration of status,” or D/S. Check the box to show you were granted D/S.

Part 2: Application Type

1. Reinstatement: Not applicable to these guidelines. If you are a student needing reinstatement, please consult the student advisor from your sponsoring university.

2. Extension: You are seeking a change of immigration status. Although you also want to extend your stay in the US when changing status, box 2 “an extension of stay in my current status” is NOT the correct box to check.

3.a. Change of Status: Mark this box to indicate that you want to change from F-1 to J-1 status.

3.b. New status effective date: Use the program start date on your DS 2019.

3.c. Change requested: Enter the new visa status you are requesting, which is J-1. 

4. Only applicant: Mark this box if there are no other dependents seeking the change of status.

5.a. Mark this box if you have other family members seeking a change of status to J-2.

5.b. Total: Put the total number, including yourself, seeking a change of status.

Part 3: Processing Information

1. Requested date to which status is extended. Use the program end date on your DS 2019. Your approval will show D/S, because the J program, like the F program, is for duration of status.

2.a. Application based on an extension or change already granted? You will answer “no” to this question.

2.b. Leave blank.

3.a Indicate “No.”

3.b.  Mark “N/A”

4.  Mark “N/A”

5. Mark “N/A” 

Part 4: Additional Information

CIS acknowledges that passports can expire and will be extended or replaced. This Part is intended to collect information about a new passport; if you don’t have a new passport from the time since you last entered the US, enter N/A in fields 1.a., 1.b., and 1.c.   

If you have obtained a new passport since you last entered the U.S., enter the new passport information in fields 1.a., 1.b., and 1.c. This should be different than the passport information you entered on pages 1 and 2.

2. Physical Address Abroad: Items 2.a to 2.f are for your address information back home. You must provide an overseas address; it can be that of parents, friends, etc. The fields are structured to accommodate US-type addresses; if your address abroad can fit in that format, go ahead and add it here. Addresses in some countries do not fit well in this type of format, so a suggestion is as follows: in item 2.a, write “See Part 8.” Go to Part 8 (should start on Page 7) and use one of the sections for “Additional Information.” Indicate that you are supplying additional information for Page 2 Part 4 Item 2 in the boxes provided, and add your overseas address information on the lines below. This field is “free-form” and not constrained by US address conventions. Be sure to include your Name information in the items on Page 7 numbered 1.a. to 1.c.

3. Immigrant Visa: This question refers to you or dependents listed in accompanying forms I-539A.  It specifically asks whether you have an active application for an immigrant visa pending with a US consulate overseas. You will know if that is the case.

4. Immigrant Petition: This question is intended to capture information about whether you’ve been named by a sponsor of some kind on an immigrant petition. This would include family-based or self-sponsored petitions, employer or self-sponsored petitions, those that have been filed and decided, or those that are pending. This question also refers to dependents listed in accompanying forms I-539A.

5. I-485 Adjustment Application: The adjustment application is filed with CIS when an immigrant petition of some kind has been approved that allows you to apply for adjustment of status, and you have followed up on that by filing the actual application for the green card. You will know if that is the case. This question also refers to dependents listed in accompanying forms I-539A. 

Answer the questions in items 6 to 11 for you and dependents listed in accompanying forms I-539A. If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, you must provide an explanation in Part 8.

12. Violations of the status you now hold: One violation would be working without authorization, which includes any violations of your OPT or STEM authorizations. If you are aware of such violations, you should speak with an immigration attorney before filing this form. You will want to document your OPT and STEM authorizations by including copies of your I-20s, applications, and EAD cards.

13. Removal proceedings: You are pretty sure to know if you are currently in removal proceedings.

14: Employment: Indicate “yes” for any employment associated with your F-1 program. Describe it in Part 8. 

15: Exchange Visitor history: If you were ever in J-1 or J-2 status, mark yes, and go to Part 8 (located on Page 7) and, referencing Page 3 Part 4 Item 15, give the dates you were in that status. Note: You cannot change status in the US if you are subject to section 212(e) “Two-Year Residence Requirement”.

Part 5: Applicant’s Statement, Contact Information, Declaration, Certification and Signature

As the person seeking the change of status or extension of stay, you are the Applicant. See the Applicant’s Statement Section, and answer the questions. Don't forget to sign and date the form.

Note payment information in the CIS instructions; checks must meet CIS requirements; see https://www.uscis.gov/fees. Make the check payable to US Department of Homeland Security  The filing fees change occasionally, so be sure to check the current fees before submitting the application. If you submit the wrong fee, the application will be rejected.

Review the CIS instructions for the documents required to be included. Stanford is not responsible for a failure to include necessary documents and will not verify that all documents are properly present. 

If you are including a dependent in this application, include all required accompanying documentation (e.g., marriage or birth certificate (depending on relationship),passport ID, I-94, I-20, visa, copy of EAD if applicable, etc.),