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Getting Started with SEVP Certification

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) delegated the school certification process to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and ICE assigned this responsibility to its Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP).

SEVP certification allows institutions to issue Forms I-20, "Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status," to prospective international students after admitting them for a program of study. Prospective international students then use the Form I-20 to apply for a visa to enter the United States.

SEVP certification also authorizes the institution to enroll these international students after they enter the United States on an F or M student visa. Schools may petition to enroll:

  • Only F students (i.e., academic students).
  • Only M students (i.e., vocational students).
  • Both F and M students, if the school has both academic and vocational courses of study. 

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