If you are an F-1 international student on post-completion optional practical training (OPT) or an M-1 international student participating in practical training, you will receive an invitation to create an account in the new SEVP Portal, launching March 23.

It is important that you remember to confirm your email address with your designated school official (DSO) because if you are eligible to use the portal, you will receive the SEVP Portal account creation link to that email address.

Once you receive the link to create your SEVP Portal account, you will be required to create a password. As a U.S. government system, the SEVP Portal must conform to the federal government’s security procedures.

Passwords are case sensitive. Additionally, you must change your password every 90 days, and you may not use your previous eight passwords.

When you create your password, it must contain:

• At least 12 characters.
• At least one alphabetic character.
• At least one numeric character.
• At least one of the following special characters: [` ~ !@#$%^&*()-_+=,.;?:’/{}<>|].

Your password must not contain your SEVIS ID number.

For more tips and instructions on creating your portal account and choosing a password, watch the SEVP Portal: Create Portal Account Video or visit the Make and Maintain User Password page in the SEVP Portal Help section on Study in the States.