As a designated school official (DSO), you must accurately maintain and update student records in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) and comply with Student and Exchange Visitor Program reporting requirements.

The information in SEVIS helps other agencies within the federal government collaborate to strengthen national security and more easily confirm the nonimmigrant status of F and M students and their dependents.

For example, the U.S. Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS) Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program uses the F and M student information that DSOs input into SEVIS to verify if a student applying for a benefit is eligible to receive it. For more information about how DSO reporting requirements impact SAVE, download and refer to the USCIS fact sheet about the program.

It is important to remember that SAVE does not administer benefits directly but rather helps the administering agency determine if a student or dependent is eligible to receive a certain benefit.

Do you want to learn more about the SAVE program? Read the Study in the States guest blog posts from USCIS explaining what the program is and how it helps save students time. Please share this information with your students on social media using the hashtag #StudyintheStates.