Principal designated school officials (PDSO) must present all evidence to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) when submitting an update to add additional designated school officials (DSOs) to the Form I-17, “Petition for Approval of School for Attendance by Nonimmigrant Student.”

SEVP recently amended regulations that limited the number of DSOs and now offers schools greater flexibility to hire an appropriate number of DSOs as based on the school’s specific needs.  

If a PDSO does not submit a complete DSO package at the time of the petition update, SEVP may deny the petition. Remember, SEVP handles all DSO submission requests using the same adjudication process, regardless of whether the individual you wish to add has a pre-existing Student and Exchange Visitor Information System login.

Some SEVP-certified institutions may experience long processing times for updates made to Forms I-17, and SEVP advises school officials to make updates as soon as the changes occur. Waiting to update a Form I-17 could have adverse effects during a school’s recertification.

Have a specific question about updating your school’s Form I-17? Contact the SEVP Response Center by emailing sevp@ice.dhs.gov to get your school-specific questions answered.