In August 2012, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that they were no longer stamping the Form I-20 “Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status” for F and M students arriving at a U.S. port of entry. While a stamp of the Form I-20 is not necessarily an indicator of lawful presence in the country, students may have experienced issues applying for certain benefits. During this transition, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) allowed students to make an appointment online at InfoPass  to bring their form to get stamped in a local USCIS office.

USCIS will only continue to stamp forms until November 21, 2012. Students should not experience any issues when applying for benefits like a driver’s license or social security number. If you do have a problem, speak with your designated school official (DSO). If you have questions that your DSO cannot answer, contact the Student and Exchange Visitor Program Response Center at 703-603-3400 or sevp@ice.dhs.gov.  If the issue is related to getting a driver’s license or there are questions about that process, e-mail dmvssa.sevp@ice.dhs.gov.