As an F or M student, you must regularly report any changes to your designated school official (DSO) to ensure that your information is correct in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). Federal regulations require that you report a change of address to a DSO to maintain your student status.

One important piece of information that must be kept up to date in SEVIS is your address. If you move to a new residence and your address changes, you must report this to your DSO within 10 days of the change. You may communicate this revision to your DSO in person, by phone or via email. Once you do, your DSO will input the new information in your SEVIS record.

Remember, if your physical address and mailing address in the United States are different, your DSO must have both. The Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) will use the mailing address on file in SEVIS to contact you via U.S. postal service for official government business. This may include:

• Notifying you if your school closes or loses its SEVP certification and giving you instructions on what to do if this occurs.
• Notifying you if you are at risk of termination due to non-payment of the I-901 SEVIS Fee on your current SEVIS record or noncompliance with the Form I-515A, “Notice to Student or Exchange Visitor.”

SEVP will never call you on the phone for any of these notifications. Since SEVP will only communicate these important notices via U.S. postal service or email, it is imperative that your address and all other contact information be correct in SEVIS.

Remember, if SEVP tries to contact you while your address is not correct in SEVIS, you will be unable to receive the message and to respond in a timely matter. This could put your SEVIS record at risk for termination.

If you have a question about a notice you received from SEVP, speak with your DSO. Your DSO can answer any questions you may have regarding your information in SEVIS and can help you maintain your status while you study in the United States. You can also contact the SEVP Response Center with your case-specific questions.