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{{Short description|Program to manage foreign students and exchange visitors in the United States}}
The '''Student and Exchange Visitor Program''' ('''SEVP''') is a program within [[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement]], which is under the [[U.S. Department of Homeland Security]], to manage foreign students and exchange visitors in the United States through the '''Student and Exchange Visitor Information System''' ('''SEVIS''').<ref name=official>{{cite web|url = https://www.ice.gov/sevis|title = Student and Exchange Visitor Program|accessdate = January 29, 2017|publisher = [[U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement]]}}</ref> The SEVP encompasses the [[F visa|F status]] (for foreign students in the United States in academic programs and their dependents), [[J-1 visa|J status]] (for exchange visitors in the United States and their dependents), and [[M-1 visa|M status]] (for foreign students in the United States in vocational programs and their dependents). The exchange visitor part of the program (J visa) is managed by the [[U.S. Department of State]], although the SEVIS system is maintained by ICE.<ref name=official/>▼
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
▲The '''Student and Exchange Visitor Program''' ('''SEVP''') is a program within
== Jargon ==
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| Visa status for border commuter || [[F visa|F-3]] || M-3 || --
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| Designation of principal person at school or institution responsible for coordinating the program<ref name=sevis-glossary>{{cite web|url = https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/EDU0212.pdf|title = A Glossary of SEVIS-Related Terminology|
|-
| Designation of other people at school or institution responsible for coordinating the program<ref name=sevis-glossary/> || Designated School Official (DSO) || DSO || Alternate Responsible Official (ARO)
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== History ==
=== Pre-origins: CIPRIS ===
In the [[1993 World Trade Center bombing]], a [[truck bomb]] was detonated below the North Tower of the [[World Trade Center (1973–2001)|World Trade Center]] in [[New York City]]. In the aftermath of this incident, the student visa came under increased scrutiny when it was discovered that [[Eyad Ismoil]], one of the terrorists involved was in the United States on an expired student visa.<ref name="cis1">{{cite news | last = Suhler | first = Jayne Noble | author2 = Timms, Ed | title = Security worries putting spotlight on student visas | url = http://www.cis.org/articles/Katz/katz1999.html | work = [[The Dallas Morning News]] | date = September 20, 1998 | access-date = 2007-05-21 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070512122504/http://www.cis.org/articles/Katz/katz1999.html | archive-date = May 12, 2007
A memorandum from the [[U.S. Department of Justice]]'s Office of Investigative Agency Policies to the Deputy Attorney General dated September 24, 1994, mentioned the need to subject foreign students to thorough and continuing scrutiny before and during their stay in the United States. On April 17, 1995, the Deputy Attorney General asked the Immigration and Naturalization Service(INS) Commissioner to address this issue. This led to
In June 1997, the INS launched a pilot program for a centralized electronic reporting system for institutions, called the Coordinated Interagency Partnership Regulating International Students (CIPRIS). The CIPRIS pilot officially ended in October 1999, as the INS felt it had gathered enough data from the prototype to start working on the nationwide system.<ref name=ins-fsp-report/> The INS began working on a new system that would be called the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) with the associated information system called the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Service (SEVIS). During the rollout, CIPRIS and SEVIS met with considerable opposition from the [[NAFSA: Association of International Educators|Association of International Educators]] and the [[American Council on Education]]. However, they claimed that the opposition was not against the programs in principle but due to the concern that a botched rollout by the INS could result in many students suffering.<ref name=shareok/><ref name=ins-fsp-report/>
=== Launch after the September 11 attacks ===
In the aftermath of the [[September 11 attacks]] (September 11, 2001) and the [[Patriot Act]] passed in response (October 26, 2001), there was further increase in scrutiny of student visas, increasing the momentum in favor of the adoption of SEVIS. This was partly because
Below is a timeline of the key events in the two years after the attacks describing the key steps in the evolution of SEVIS:<ref name=shareok/>
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| October 26, 2001 || Final legislation || [[Patriot Act]]; mandates implementation of Section 641 of the IIRIRA
|-
| May 16, 2002 || Proposed rule || Retention and reporting requirements for F, J, and M nonimmigrants; Student and Exchange Visitor Information System<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2003/07/09/fr16may02.pdf|title = Retention and Reporting of Information
|-
| July 1, 2002 || Interim final rule || Allowing eligible schools to apply for preliminary enrollment in SEVIS<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2003/07/09/fr01july02.pdf|title = Allowing
|-
| September 11, 2002 || Implementation deadline || The Interim Student and Exchange Authentication System (ISEAS), an interim program by the [[U.S. Department of State]], comes into force. This is a temporary system put in place until SEVIS goes live.<ref name=sevis-glossary/>
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| September 25, 2002 || Interim final rule || Requiring certification of all service-approved schools for SEVIS enrollment<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2002/11/06/fr25sep02.pdf|title = Requiring Certification of all Service Approved Schools for Enrollment in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS)|date = September 25, 2002|
|-
| December 11, 2002 || Interim final rule || Retention and reporting of information for F, J, and M nonimmigrants; SEVIS<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/eoir/legacy/2003/01/10/fr11dec02.pdf|title = Retention
|-
| January 31, 2003 || Implementation deadline || Mandatory SEVIS use begins
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=== History of release versions ===
SEVIS has undergone six major releases since its launch. The release is numbered using a major release version number followed by a dot and a minor release version number. Below is a partial list of release dates:<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.nafsa.org/Professional_Resources/Browse_by_Interest/International_Students_and_Scholars/SEVIS_Releases/|title = SEVIS Releases|date = October 26, 2015|publisher = [[NAFSA: Association of International Educators]]|
{| class="wikitable" border="1"
! Version !! Release date !! Notes
|-
| 5.10 || August 8, 2008 || New reprint reason, OPT can be added within 60 days of program end, two new country codes, updates to how change of status to H-1B works<ref>{{cite web|url =
|-
| 6.0 || February 20, 2009 || [[Curricular Practical Training|CPT]] and [[Optional Practical Training|OPT]] functionality, cap-gap support, student intern category for J status<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.nafsa.org/Resource_Library_Assets/Regulatory_Information/SEVIS_Release_6_0_System_Changes/|title = SEVIS Release 6.0 System Changes|date = February 19, 2009|
|-
| 6.1 || November 6, 2009 || Session timeouts after 20 minutes, checking for inactive emails (75 days or more) for designated school officials and responsible officers<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.nafsa.org/Resource_Library_Assets/Regulatory_Information/SEVIS_Release_6_1_Anticipated_System_Changes/|title = SEVIS Release 6.1 Anticipated System Changes|date = September 30, 2009|
|-
| 6.2 || February 27, 2010 ||
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During the first half of 2012, changes that affect all colleges, universities, and other educational institutions that provide English language training ("ESL") programs began. These changes stem from the Accreditation of English Language Training Act ("Accreditation Act"), which became effective in June 2011. Pursuant to the Accreditation Act, ESL programs that enroll foreign nonimmigrant students must obtain accreditation from a regional or national accreditation agency recognized by the [[United States Department of Education]]. The Accreditation Act applies to two types of ESL programs: Stand-Alone ESL Schools whose officials have indicated on the school's Form I-17 the intention to offer only ESL programs of study; and Combined Schools whose officials have indicated on the school's Form I-17 that the school offers an ESL program of study, as well as other programs of study. A Combined School may either contract out the ESL program of study or wholly own and operate the ESL program of study under the institution's governance.<ref>{{cite web |title=SEVP Implementation of the Accreditation Act|url=http://www.natlawreview.com/article/sevp-implementation-accreditation-act|publisher=[[Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo]], P.C.|work=The National Law Review|date=2012-07-03|
=== Mandatory reporting requirements ===
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* Authorization for off-campus employment
In addition, they must report
=== COVID-19 pandemic change===
Amid the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], the SEVP program allowed international students to take more online coursework in the spring and summer semesters of 2020 to accommodate the various state-mandated school closures and stay-at-home orders without penalizing the students. On July 6, 2020, ICE issued a regulation that stated that for any current international visitor under SEVP to remain in the country come the fall 2020 semesters, they must return to taking most of their coursework in person, limiting any online coursework to a maximum of one class or three credit hours online, or be enrolled in a hybrid system but still required to take some physical classes. Students failing to meet these would be face "immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings", and students who had indicated they would be taking only online classes would be denied visas.<ref name="verge 20200706">{{cite web | url = https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/6/21315168/ice-immigration-international-students-universities-deportation | title = ICE says international students must take in-person classes to remain in the US | first = Monica | last = Chin | date = July 6, 2020 |
The new change was criticized by students, schools, and states alike, as with the pandemic worsening in most of the United States at the time, many schools did not have plans to commit to opening to physical classes in the fall semester, leaving these international students at risk of deportation.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/06/politics/international-college-students-ice-online-learning/index.html | title = International students may need to leave US if their universities transition to online-only learning | first1 = Priscilla | last1 = Alvarez |first2= Catherine E. | last2= Shoichet | date = July 6, 2020 |
=== 2025 revocation of Harvard's SEVP===
{{Further|Education policy of the second Donald Trump administration}}
In 2025, the Department of Homeland Security under the Trump administration announced the "revocation" of [[Harvard University]]'s SEVP certification, banning the university from enrolling international students and forcing existing foreign students to transfer to other institutions.<ref>{{cite news |title=Trump administration ends Harvard's ability to enrol international students |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c05768jmm11o |access-date=23 May 2025 |work=www.bbc.com |date=22 May 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Schmidt |first1=Michael S. |last2=Bender |first2=Michael C. |title=Trump Administration Says It Is Halting Harvard’s Ability to Enroll International Students |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/us/politics/trump-harvard-international-students.html |access-date=23 May 2025 |work=The New York Times |date=22 May 2025}}</ref> Harvard sued the Trump administration within 24 hours.<ref>{{cite news |title=Harvard sues Trump administration for blocking foreign student enrolment |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cje7ledqvyqo |access-date=23 May 2025 |work=www.bbc.com |date=23 May 2025}}</ref>
== Fee ==
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|}
The SEVIS fee must be paid after receiving the initial document (I-20 or DS-2019) and is a prerequisite for obtaining the F, J, or M visa,<ref>{{cite web|url = https://internationalaffairs.uchicago.edu/page/students/admitted|title = Admitted Students|publisher = [[University of Chicago]]|
The fee needs to be paid only for the principal (the F-1, J-1, or M-1). Dependents (F-2, J-2, and M-2) do not need to pay the fee. Also, the fee needs to be paid only once per initial SEVIS record, and in particular, does not need to be paid again if applying for a new visa on the same status.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://internationalaffairs.uchicago.edu/fmjfee|title = SEVIS Fee|publisher = [[University of Chicago]] Office of International Affairs|
=== Fee for schools seeking SEVP certification ===
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