After March 8, 2018, all evidence for the following actions must be submitted directly into the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) via the upload evidence functionality:

• Correction requests.
• Initial Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) certification.
• SEVP recertification.
• Form I-17, “Petition for Approval of School for Attendance by Nonimmigrant Student,” updates.

Currently, school officials submit evidence for these actions via email. However, on Jan. 8, SEVP will enable the SEVIS upload functionality and allow stakeholders 60 days to transition to the new upload process. If a school official fails to upload the necessary evidence via SEVIS after March 8, SEVP will cancel the request. Stakeholders can find more information about this process change in the ICE.gov “What’s New” section, SEVIS Upload Evidence Webinar and on the Study in the States blog.

Once the functionality is live, school officials will find step-by-step instructions for uploading evidence for the Form I-17 and correction requests on the SEVIS Help Hub.

As a reminder, current procedures remain in place for schools with canceled requests:

• If SEVP cancels a school’s initial certification request, the school may refile, and any fees paid can be applied to the new submission.
• If SEVP cancels a school’s Form I-17 update, the school can file a resubmission of the update with the evidence uploaded.
• If SEVP cancels a school’s recertification request, the school can refile the request. However, if a school’s recertification request is canceled and the school does not refile properly before its certification expiration date, the school will face Automatic Withdrawal.

SEVP will continue to communicate to stakeholders about the details of the new upload evidence process via Study in the States and recommends school officials follow Study in the States on social media for regular updates.