A designated school official (DSO) must defer a student’s program start date in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) if U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has not approved the student’s change of status by the program start date.

In the event that a student’s change of status case is still pending when the program start date is reached, do not create a new SEVIS record for the student. Instead, defer the student’s program start date to the following academic term, until the change of status is approved. All program and session dates entered in SEVIS must correspond to your school’s academic calendar.

Students with a pending change of status application may still be able to enroll in classes at your school, usually on a part-time basis. See Nonimmigrants: Who Can Study? chart for specific information. However, do not register a student in SEVIS until the student’s change of status is approved.

Creating a new SEVIS record rather than deferring the program start date when a change of status is pending will also require the student and/or the DSO to take further action to ensure the I-901 fee payment is tied to a correct SEVIS record.

For further instruction, refer to Managing Initial Program and Session Dates page in the SEVIS Help Hub.