Form I-17 Petition Update - Contact Information

Last updated: August 25, 2023

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Overview
Process

Regulations require Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP)-certified institutions report any material changes to the Form I-17, “Petition for Approval of School for Attendance by Nonimmigrant Student.” SEVP requires all certified institutions to keep all Form I-17 sections up to date to ensure the Form I-17 reflects the institution’s current operating status.

Principal designated school officials (PDSOs) must update their institution’s Form I-17 when information on the petition changes or does not reflect the institution’s current operating status. Such changes require reporting within 21 days of the change. This includes changes to information on the Form I-17’s Page 1: Contact Information.

SEVP recommends that designated school officials (DSOs) review the institution’s Form I-17 on a regular basis to ensure it reflects the school’s most up-to-date information.

8 CFR 214.3(g)

ICE.gov, Student and Exchange Visitor Program’s Schools and Programs page, under Petition Updates section

For more information about other petition updates, see the following articles:

Required fields are marked by a red asterisk.
Adjudicated fields are marked by an hourglass.
Once a PDSO attests to and submits a Form I-17 update that includes a change to an adjudicated field, the Form I-17 is locked for any further updates until the update is adjudicated by SEVP’s School Certification Unit (SCU).
When a PDSO attests to and submits changes to only unadjudicated fields, the changes are accepted immediately, and the Form I-17 remains unlocked for future edits.

To update your school’s contact information on the Form I-17:

1. Go to the Listing of Schools page.

2. Click the school's drop-down list and select the school to edit. The selected school name displays as a hyperlink below the drop-down menu.

3. Click the hyperlinked school name. The School Information page opens with the name of the school displayed at the top.

View of the Update School Information link

4. Click Update School Information (Form I-17) in the Actions section. The Edit School Information (Form I-17): Contact Information page opens.

5. The school’s current contact information pre-populates the fields. Update the school’s contact information, as necessary:

1.1 Approval for Attendance of Students Under* – Select the classification(s) for the Programs of Study in which you are petitioning to enroll nonimmigrant students:

Section 101(a)(15)(f) of the Act (academic and language students).
Section 101(a)(15)(m) of the Act (vocational students).

1.2 Name of School or School System – Enter the full legal name of one of the following:

Name of the School if the school is either:
- An individual school.
- Part of a larger school system but will manage its own F and/or M program.
Name of the School System, if the F or M program for multiple schools will be centrally managed:
- Public high school (9-12) system should enter the name of the school district.
- Diocese kindergarten–12 schools should enter the name of the diocese in this field.
- Public university system where the F and/or M program is centrally managed.

Ensure the name of your school is consistent with the name listed on the school’s state licensing and/or accreditation information. If your school has a “doing business as” (DBA) name, please include it in this field, preceded by “DBA.” For example, ABC Corp DBA 123 Academy.

Entries for the Name of School System may be the name of an individual school; however, school systems have the option of applying for certification as a whole. “School System” describes a system comprised of public high schools (grades 9-12) or private schools, including dioceses, (grades kindergarten-12).

1.3 Name of Main Campus** – Enter the full name of your main instructional site:

For most schools, the name of the main institutional site [campus] is the location of the principal administration offices. Often, the answers for Name of School System and Name of Main Campus are the same.

Officials of school systems should supply the name of the location, such as “District Office.”

1.4 Mailing Address of the School – Enter the mailing address of your main instructional site. This address may include a Post Office (PO) Box number:

After a user enters an address in the Mailing Address field, SEVIS checks if the address is valid. If the address is valid, the address is added to the form. If the address is invalid, SEVIS may suggest an address.

For further information on SEVIS addresses, see SEVIS Help Hub article SEVIS Addresses User Guide.

1.5 Telephone Number – Enter the school’s main telephone number:

1.6 Fax Number – Enter or update the school’s main fax number:

1.7 Physical Location of the School (No P.O. Boxes)* – Enter the physical address of your school if it is different from the mailing address.

Click the checkbox if the physical address is the same as the mailing address.
This field cannot include a P.O. Box.
For an individual school, enter the physical address for the main instructional site.
For a school system, enter the physical location of the main administrative offices:
- For a public school system (grades 9-12), enter the address of the district office.
- For a private kindergarten-12 system with record keeping centralized at a main office or school, enter the address of the main office or school.

After a user enters an address in the Physical Address field, SEVIS will check if the address is valid. If the address is valid, the address is added to the petition. If the address is invalid, SEVIS may suggest an alternate address.

For further information on SEVIS addresses, see Study in the States SEVIS Help Hub’s SEVIS Addresses User Guide.

1.8 School Type* – Click the radio button that best describes your school:

School type refers to the general nature of school ownership:
- Private, for profit – Your school is privately owned and operated for profit.
- Private, non-profit – Your school is privately owned and is classified as a non-profit organization.
- Public – Your school is not privately owned.

If your school is privately owned, SEVIS displays two additional fields to collect information about the owner.

Publicly owned schools will not see these additional fields.

1.9 Private School Owner* – Enter the name of the owner of the school:
- If an individual owns the school, enter the name of the person who owns the school.
- Private, non-profit schools – List the name of the non-profit and the controlling structure that oversees the operations and decisions of the school, for example, SEVP Non-Profit – Member Board.
- Private, for profit schools – Enter the corporation's name and the governing body, for example, SEVP School for Advanced SEVIS Study – Board of Directors.

Do not enter the individual names of members of a governing board.

1.10 Owner’s Address* – Enter the address of the school owner.

After a user enters an address in the Owner’s Address field, SEVIS will check if the address is valid. If the address is valid, the address is added to the petition. If the address is invalid, SEVIS may suggest an alternate address.

For further information on SEVIS addresses, see SEVIS Help Hub article SEVIS Addresses User Guide.

6. Function buttons at the bottom of the page include:

Save Draft – Saves all changes made to the Form I-17 in draft without submitting changes.
Print Draft – Prints a new Form I-17 without submitting changes.

Next – Forwards the user to Page 2: Programs of Study without submitting changes.

Cancel – Cancels all changes made to the Form I-17 without saving changes. restores previous saved values, and returns user to School Information page..

7. Click Submit in the top, left corner of the page to open the submission page, Edit School Information (Form I-17). See the Form I-17 Petition Update - Submit article in SEVIS Help Hub for instructions on completing the submission process.

SEVIS Help Hub