To begin with, I am admitted to a PhD program, which typically lasts for 5 years, but only receive visa sponsorship for the duraiton of two years. My DS-2019 will expire on 8/2013, by which I'm just finishing the second year of study. That means my immigration document needs an extension to continue the study.

In the mean time, the current college is unable to provide financial aid for the next years. I attempted to apply to another college and got admitted with funding support. The current college can allow students to leave on absence for up to one year. If I obtain approval for that absence, that will technically make me a student at two institutions simultaneously. I will only receive funding from the new college, if that matters.

My question is: Is it legal to maintain dual-institution status like this in my case? I actually bring this question to my visa sponsor, a US governmental organization that offered me a fellowship and thus put me on J visa. They say it is not doable from both immigration policies and their perspectives. I do some search and find that attending more than one college seems legal for US students, but there is little information to tell for international students.

Maybe a related issue is about the visa. How about me finishing the visa agreement with the current sponsor? I can return to my home country to apply for a new visa, which is a F I think, based on the offer and funding of the new college. But then I'm not sure whether it is legally possible to have the dual-institution status. There are some academic reasons that I'd want to keep that status.