Welcome to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) Spotlight, a quarterly newsletter for the academic community that includes important program news, seasonal reminders, and updates relevant to the international student life cycle. As of July 2020, SEVP Spotlight consists of an update from the SEVP director.

DIRECTOR'S CORNER

Read End-of-Year Reminders from SEVP

2024 has been a busy and exciting year at the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). December is a great time to reflect on the accomplishments of the past 12 months for the international student community and share valuable resources developed by SEVP and our partners.

With both the holiday season and end-of-semester exams coming up, it can be a busy time of year; I want to share a few things to keep in mind as we head into 2025:

1. Please remember that students should be registered in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) at the start of a new school session no later than 30 days after the session start date.
2. The SEVIS annual principal designated school official (PDSO)/designated school official (DSO) verification period is now open! Please remember to complete your annual verification before the deadline of March 2, 2025. This process ensures all school officials who have access to SEVIS are still employed by their institutions and are active in SEVIS. Failure to verify by March 2, 2025, will result in all unverified DSOs losing access to SEVIS on March 3, 2025.
3. You can continue to stay up to date on the latest news from SEVP on the Study in the States website and updates impacting the international student community on SEVP’s X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and LinkedIn pages.

I also wanted to share resources from our government partners. To mark International Education Week, the Institute of International Education just published its latest Open Doors Report, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. The report covers international student trends during the 2023-2024 academic year. This year marks a record high in international student enrollment, with over 1.1 million students and exchange visitors from around the world, with students from India and China making up 54 percent of the total.

Finally, I want to thank you all for your hard work over the year. I very much appreciate all your dedication and diligence. Wishing each of you a happy, healthy holiday season and new year.

Respectfully,

Jim Hicks