As a designated school official (DSO), your duties begin before students even arrive on campus. Since your F an M students are accepting admittance to your school any day now, you need to be prepared to help them maintain their status when they study.

Once the students are accepted to your school, make sure to:

• Receive their proof of financial ability to show that your students can pay for tuition and living expenses. There are not specific requirements for acceptable proof, but examples include bank statements, a letter from a sponsor, or a scholarship letter.
• Issue each accepted student a Form I-20, “Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status,” so they can pay their I-901 Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) fee and make a visa appointment with the Department of State.
• Register each student in SEVIS when they report to you in the United States and manually activate their record within 30 days of their program start date.
  • Cancel the student’s record within 30 days of the program start date if SEVIS does not show the student’s arrival in the United States.
  • Terminate the student’s SEVIS record as “no show” if SEVIS shows the student arrived in the United States but does not report to school within 30 days.
  • Failure to register each student will cause the student’s records to terminate automatically in SEVIS after 60 days for “failure to enroll.”
• Give students your emergency contact information so they can contact you while traveling or during emergencies.
• Advise your students on the steps they must take to maintain their nonimmigrant status, like attending and passing classes, and only engaging in employment that is authorized.

Also keep in mind that you need to keep up with your SEVIS reporting responsibilities to maintain your school’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification.  F or M students can only attend an SEVP-certified school to maintain their nonimmigrant status.