• Passwords
• User Manuals
• SEVIS Batch Processing
• SEVIS Technical Notices & Updates

Note: The SEVIS Enhancements page provides quick access to information about changed functionality and resources in upcoming or past releases.

• SEVIS Reporting Requirements for Academic Institutions at the Start of Each Term or Session
• Voluntary Withdrawals: If your school would like to have its SEVIS certification voluntarily withdrawn, you must submit a letter on the school’s letterhead signed by the school President or Owner and Principal Designated School Official (PDSO) to sevp@ice.dhs.gov. If you have any nonimmigrant students attending your school they must first transfer or depart the United States before your Voluntary Withdrawal letter is processed.
• Transfers for F-1 Students

How to File an Appeal: Information on Filing an Appeal or Motion to Reopen/Reconsider on a Notice of Denial, Automatic Withdrawal or Withdrawal

Guidance

Guidance is the Student and Exchange Visitor Program’s (SEVP) interpretation of federal laws and regulations that guide SEVP adjudicators in their decision-making. Guidance is not the same as governing regulations. Governing regulations are developed and instituted by each cabinet-level agency in the Federal Government.

SEVP has issued policy guidance on the following issues:

Note: If you have any SEVP policy questions that are not related to guidance documents, please contact the SEVP Response Center at (703) 603-3400 or SEVP@ice.dhs.gov.

Last updated 11/01/2021

Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

• USCIS Forms and Fees — Copies of forms and instructions to use when filing with USCIS for a benefit. This includes links to electronic filing.
• USCIS — General information on U.S. immigration policies.

Department of State

• Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs — Information on exchange visitors (J visa holders) and exchange visitor sponsors.
• Catalog of State Designated Exchange Visitor Program Sponsors
• Obtain a Student Visa
• EducationUSA — Assists nonimmigrant students with finding, applying, and preparing for study at an accredited U.S. college or university.
• Legal Requirements for Foreign Students in Public K-12 Schools — Department of State web page summarizing the legal requirements for foreign students wishing to study in United States public schools at the K thru 12 grade levels.

Social Security

Social Security Administration (SSA) — Information on how and when you can obtain a Social Security Number.

Federal Income Tax Information

Tax Information for Foreign Students and Scholars — Foreigners temporarily present in the United States as students, scholars, teachers, researchers, exchange visitors, and cultural exchange visitors are subject to special rules with respect to the taxation of their income. This web page contains extensive information on the rules and requirements for those individuals.

Department of Education

Postsecondary Educational Institutions and Programs Accredited by Accrediting Agencies and State Approval Agencies Recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education — The database lists approximately 6,900 postsecondary educational institutions and programs, each of which is accredited by an accrediting agency or state approval agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a "reliable authority as to the quality of postsecondary education" within the meaning of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). The database does not include a number of postsecondary educational institutions and programs that elect not to seek accreditation but nevertheless may provide a quality postsecondary education. The U.S. Department of Education recommends that the database be used as one source of qualitative information and that additional sources of qualitative information be consulted.

Immigration Laws and Regulations

• Federal Register Home Page — Published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Federal Register is the official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents.
• Electronic Version of 8 CFR 214 — Links to all CFR(8 CFR 214 is the section of the immigration regulations dealing with nonimmigrant status.)

The DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List¹ enumerates the fields of study that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) designates as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) for purposes of the 24-month STEM optional practical training (OPT) extension described at 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(C).²

• Current STEM list
• Archived 2023 STEM list
• Archived 2022 STEM list
• Archived 2020 STEM list
• Archived 2016 STEM list

What is a CIP code? Developed by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) is a numerical taxonomy used to categorize and report on fields of study offered by educational institutions. CIP codes have a range of specificity in classifying fields of study, with designations from two digits to six digits. A two-digit code encompasses everything within that field of study, while four-digit and six-digit codes break down the field into more specific subcategories. DHS uses CIP codes to identify the STEM degrees that are eligible for the 24-month STEM OPT extension.

Who may nominate a CIP code? Interested parties, including members of the public, may nominate a CIP code for inclusion on or removal from the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List.

How may a nomination be submitted? Nominations may be submitted by email to the SEVP Response Center at SEVP@ice.dhs.gov, with the subject line “Attention: STEM CIP Code Nomination.” Nominations should include the following information:

• Title and six-digit code of the CIP code being nominated.
• The name, email address and telephone number of the nominator; if submitted on behalf of an educational institution or other institutional entity, please indicate the appropriate contact person at the institution.
• If nominating a CIP code for inclusion, a description of how the field of study under this CIP code engages students in research, innovation or development of new technologies using engineering, mathematics, computer science or natural sciences (including physical, biological and agricultural sciences).
• If nominating a CIP code for removal, a description of how the field of study under this CIP code does not engage students in research, innovation or development of new technologies using engineering, mathematics, computer science or natural sciences (including physical, biological and agricultural sciences).

The annual deadline for nominations is August 1. SEVP will review all nominations submitted by August 1 and publish any changes in a future update to the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List. The program will announce any changes to the list via a Federal Register Notice and through its communication channels, including Broadcast Messages, Study in the States blog posts and social media. Nominations submitted after August 1 will be assessed during the next review cycle.

How does DHS assess nominations? Nominations to add or remove degrees from the STEM Designated Degree Program List are assessed consistent with the authorizing regulation at 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(c)(2). SEVP evaluates submissions to assess whether the degree is generally considered to be a STEM degree by recognized authorities, including input from educational institutions, governmental entities and non-governmental entities. SEVP also reviews the NCES definition of the CIP code and any supporting material submitted by the nominator such as the required curriculum for the degree and the extent to which it is comprised of core STEM disciplines as well as student involvement in research, innovation and development of new technologies using engineering, mathematics, computer science or natural sciences (including physical, biological and agricultural sciences). The degree requirements and curriculum may be assessed across academic institutions to ensure that the core aspects of the degree are sufficiently consistent among educational institutions.

A proposed addition does not have to have all supporting elements to be added to the STEM list. DHS assesses the totality of a submission and may approve a proposed CIP code if it presents sufficient evidence and reasoning to establish that the regulatory definition of a STEM field encompasses the degree under consideration.

CIP Eligibility. Under 8 CFR 214.2(f)(10)(ii)(C)(2), a STEM field of study is a field of study “included in the Department of Education’s Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) taxonomy within the 2-digit series containing engineering, biological sciences, mathematics, and physical sciences, or a related field. In general, related fields will include fields involving research, innovation, or development of new technologies using engineering, mathematics, computer science, or natural sciences (including physical, biological, and agricultural sciences).”

• Accordingly, DHS designates all CIP codes in the following four series to be STEM:
  • Engineering (14)
  • Biological and Biomedical Sciences (26)
  • Mathematics and Statistics (27)
  • Physical Sciences (40)

All CIP codes in these four series automatically qualify for the 24-month STEM OPT extension. If a CIP code is from one of these four series, it does not need to be nominated as it is already approved.

• DHS has designated select qualifying degrees from the following CIP code series at the six-digit level as related fields because these specific fields of study were deemed to sufficiently engage students in the core STEM disciplines. However, CIP code nominations are not restricted to these fields:
  • Agricultural/Animal/Plant/Veterinary Science and Related Fields (01)
  • Natural Resources and Conservation (03)
  • Architecture and Related Services (04)
  • Communication, Journalism and Related Programs (09)
  • Communications Technologies/Technicians and Support Services (10)
  • Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services (11)
  • Education (13)
  • Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians (15)
  • Military Science, Leadership and Operational Art (28)
  • Military Technologies and Applied Sciences (29)
  • Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies (30)
  • Science Technologies/Technicians (41)
  • Psychology (42)
  • Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting and Related Protective Services (43)
  • Social Sciences (45)
  • Transportation and Materials Moving (49)
  • Health Professions and Related Programs (51)
  • Business, Management, Marketing and Related Support Services (52)

1. For information on the current STEM CIP codes approved by DHS, see “Eligible CIP Codes for the STEM OPT Extension” on the Study in the States website. | return to text

2. Most recently updated in a DHS rule, “Improving and Expanding Training Opportunities for F-1 Nonimmigrant Students With STEM Degrees and Cap-Gap Relief for All Eligible F-1 Students”. | return to text

The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) ended its COVID-19 guidance on May 11, 2023, consistent with the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency on May 11, 2023. As a result, all related statements, guidance and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) previously released by SEVP also terminated on May 11, 2023. Download this PDF to read answers to FAQs about COVID-19.

Archived Guidance:

• Broadcast Message: COVID-19 and F and M Nonimmigrants (Jan. 2020)
• Broadcast Message: COVID-19 and Potential Procedural Adaptations for F and M Nonimmigrant Students (Mar. 2020)
• COVID-19: Scenarios for SEVP-certified Schools for Emergency Procedures (Mar. 2020)
• Optional COVID-19 School Reporting Template that schools can use to report temporary procedural adaptations (Mar. 2021)
• Broadcast Message: Follow-up: ICE continues March guidance for fall school term (Jul. 2020)
• Broadcast Message: New Process: Reporting School Procedural Adaptations to SEVP (Aug. 2020)
• Broadcast Message: ICE Continues March 2020 Guidance to 2021-2022 Academic Year (Apr. 2021)
• Broadcast Message: ICE Continues March 2020 Guidance for the 2022-23 Academic Year (Apr. 2022)
• Broadcast Message: ICE Clarifies Continuation of March 2020 Guidance for the 2022-23 Academic Year (May 2022)
• Frequently Asked Questions for SEVP Stakeholders about COVID-19

If the information on the Form I-17 does not accurately reflect your school and its current operations, you may submit non-substantial updates to the Form I-17 as part of the school’s petition for recertification. Schools must submit all the applicable evidence for these updates along with the signed Form I-17 and proof of payment of the recertification fee . Upload all documentation for recertification via SEVIS.

Please note that substantial updates, such as a change of ownership, a change of location or the addition of a location require filing a Form I-17 update. Petition update adjudications have no effect on the institution’s certification expiration date.

If your school is not accredited by a U.S. Department of Education (ED)-recognized accrediting agency or an SEVP-identified accrediting agency, additional evidence must be submitted based on your school type. Refer to the Evidence Guidelines (PDF) for details regarding the definitions of Evidence in Lieu of Accreditation. Upload this evidence together with the signed Form I-17.

If your school is making edits to the recertification petition, you must also submit the evidence required for the adjudication of those fields with your recertification filing. The evidence a school needs to provide to SEVP depends what is being updated, and whether the school is accredited or not. If a school fails to upload evidence at the same time it submits for recertification, SEVP will reject the recertification submission. Refer to the Evidence Checklists for Accredited and Non-accredited Schools in the Petition Updates section to determine what evidence is needed. Upload this evidence together with the signed Form I-17.

Print a copy of the Form I-17 from SEVIS and sign the petition, including any continuation pages. Obtain signatures from the president, owner, or head of school and all designated school officials listed on the Form I-17.

If the information on the Form I-17 accurately reflects your school and its current operations, and no updates are needed, then no additional evidence needs to be submitted along with the signed Form I-17 and proof of payment of the recertification fee. Upload all documentation for recertification via SEVIS.

There is a $1,250 fee for SEVP-certified schools submitting a petition for recertification. All payments must be paid via pay.gov. All recertification submissions should include the payment tracking ID from pay.gov.

You must submit for recertification via SEVIS by clicking on the link to Apply for Recertification. Only the PDSO at the main instructional site can file for recertification. The PDSO must submit for recertification via SEVIS and upload all evidence in SEVIS.

Per 8 CFR §214.3 (h)(2)(ii), SEVP will serve a Notice of Intent to Withdraw to the school 30 days prior to a school's certification expiration date. SEVP will no longer accept a petition for recertification from the school and will immediately withdraw the school's certification if the school does not petition for recertification, abandons its petition or does not submit a complete recertification filing by the certification expiration date, in accordance with the automatic withdrawal criteria in 8 CFR 214.4(a)(3). The school must comply with 8 CFR 214.4(i) upon withdrawal.

If your school has been notified for recertification or has filed for recertification and wants to voluntarily withdraw certification, please submit a letter on the school’s letterhead signed by the president, owner, or head of school and primary designated school official. Submit this request to recert.SEVIS@ice.dhs.gov.

For further information, please review the recertification website at https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/schools/submit/getting-started-with-sevp-recertification.

For questions regarding petition updates and recertification, please contact the SEVIS Response Center Monday-Friday at SEVP@ice.dhs.gov or at 703-603-3400.

In order to update the information on the Form I-17, the primary designated school official (PDSO) must log into the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), make the appropriate edits and click Submit.

The PDSO may choose the right side navigation box to go to the Submit page at any time. They may also Save Draft by using the button on the bottom of each screen. However, if they use the Cancel button, all changes will be wiped and their draft will be erased. “Draft status” means that the institution can see the updates made, but the update has not been submitted to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) for review.

School officials also must upload the evidence required for adjudication at the same time they submit their updates in SEVIS. The evidence a school needs to provide to SEVP depends on what section(s) is being updated, and whether or not the school is accredited. If a school fails to upload evidence at the same time it submits the update in SEVIS, SEVP will cancel the request and ask that the school resubmit the request with the required evidence.

SEVP may ask your school to provide additional evidence for adjudication through a Request for Evidence (RFE) notice that will be sent via a SEVIS-generated email. A specific due date will be included in all RFEs. Institutions should note this date and ensure all evidence is emailed by the date on which it is due.

Notification of adjudication will also be sent via a SEVIS-generated email. Therefore, designated school official (DSO) email addresses in SEVIS must be current in order to receive proper notifications and requests for evidence.

Please Note:

• Processing times for updates vary depending on the type of submitted update.
• Upload all supporting documents via SEVIS at the time the school submits its petition update. For more information about the required evidence a school needs to submit with an update, see the appropriate evidence tabs below (i.e., accredited school or program of study filing evidence or non-accredited school or program of study filing evidence).
• For PDSO or DSO updates to unlocked petitions, please upload supporting evidence to SEVIS with the update. 
• For PDSO or DSO updates to locked petitions, please submit supporting evidence to FormI17SupportingEvidence@ice.dhs.gov.
• If the petition is locked due to pending updates, and a material change occurs, the school should report the changes by email to sevp@ice.dhs.gov.
• If the institution believes that there is an error in the submission, the institution has the option of canceling the pending update and resubmitting. If the institution would like to cancel a pending update, please email sevp@ice.dhs.gov. Upon receipt, the Updates Team will review the request.
• Upon completion of the cancellation request, the institution will receive an automated email from SEVIS, after which time the institution will be able to make any needed updates to the Form I-17 without prejudice.

If there are questions regarding login or use of SEVIS, please contact the SEVP Response Center at 703-603-3400.

Site Visit Fee

• There is a $655 site visit fee when an SEVP-certified school submits a true change to the main location, approved physical locations, or adds a new additional location to its Form I-17, “Petition for Approval of School for Attendance by Nonimmigrant Student.” Once the Student and Exchange Visitor Program receives proof of payment, the school will be contacted to schedule a site visit at the new location.

Change of Ownership Fee

• There is a $3,000 fee for changes to the ownership of an SEVP-certified school. For more information on a what constitutes a change of ownership (control) refer to the SEVP Policy Guidance S4.3: Change of Ownership guidance document.

Required fee payments are paid through www.pay.gov. For detailed instructions on how to pay these fees, please see the “Physical Location of the School” and “Private School Owner” sections in the documents found under the appropriate evidence tabs below (i.e., Accredited school/Physical Location of the School evidence or Non-Accredited School/Physical Location of the School evidence).

The documents below outline the required evidence needed to file your edits to the Form I-17, “Petition for Approval of School for Attendance by Nonimmigrant Student,” section being updated by an accredited school. The documents divide the evidence by the page number of the Form I-17 on which the updated section can be found. For example, edits made to any sections beginning with a one (1) are found on page one (1) of the Form I-17 in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). Edits made to any section beginning with a two (2) are found on page two (2) of the Form I-17 in SEVIS, and so forth. Please identify each section your school is updating and provide the evidence listed to support it. For a detailed explanation of the evidence requirements refer to the Evidence Guidelines (PDF).

• Accredited Schools Evidence Checklist for Form I-17 Section 1 Edits (PDF)
• Accredited Schools Evidence Checklist for Form I-17 Section 2 Edits (PDF)
• Accredited Schools Evidence Checklist for Form I-17 Section 3 Edits (PDF)
• Accredited Schools Evidence Checklist for Form I-17 Sections 5 and 6 Edits (PDF)
• Programs of Study – Flight School Worksheet (PDF)

Note: The evidence listed is not all inclusive and additional evidence may be required upon review of a school’s Form I-17 petition update.

The documents below outline the required evidence needed to file your edits to the Form I-17, “Petition for Approval of School for Attendance by Nonimmigrant Student,” section being updated by a non-accredited school. The documents divide the evidence by the page number of the Form I-17 on which the updated section can be found. For example, edits made to any sections beginning with a one (1) are found on page one (1) of the Form I-17 in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). Edits made to any section beginning with a two (2) are found on page two (2) of the Form I-17 in SEVIS, and so forth. Please identify each section your school is updating and provide the evidence listed to support it. For a detailed explanation of the evidence requirements refer to the Evidence Guidelines (PDF).

• Non Accredited Schools Evidence Checklist for Form I-17 Section 1 Edits (PDF)
• Non Accredited Schools Evidence Checklist for Form I-17 Section 2 Edits (PDF)
• Non Accredited Schools Evidence Checklist for Form I-17 Section 3 Edits (PDF)
• Non Accredited Schools Evidence Checklist for Form I-17 Sections 5 and 6 Edits (PDF)

Note: The evidence listed is not all inclusive and additional evidence may be required upon review of a school’s Form I- 17 petition update.

The Student and Exchange Visitor (SEVP) process for submitting new primary designated school officials (PDSOs) and designated school officials (DSOs) and changing PDSO or DSO information requires a complete submission. This includes submitting the PDSO or DSO update request and supporting evidence all at once.

If documentation is missing at the time of submission, the PDSO or DSO submission will be considered incomplete and may be subject to cancellation. For more information about this process, including required evidence your school must submit, please refer to SEVP Fact Sheet: Designated School Official Submissions.

To make PDSO or DSO updates to your school’s locked Form I-17, a school must submit the update requests, as detailed in the SEVP Fact Sheet: Designated School Official Submissions, to SEVP by sending an email to FormI17SupportingEvidence@ice.dhs.gov.

If your school would like to have its Student and Exchange Visitor Program certification voluntarily withdrawn, you must submit a letter on the school’s letterhead signed by the school’s president or owner and principal designated school official. The request must be emailed to sevp@ice.dhs.gov.