To study in the United States, an international student must:

• Apply to an SEVP-certified school in the United States.
• Be accepted by that school.
• Be issued a Certificate of Eligibility (COE), also known as a Form I-20.
• Obtain F-1 or M-1 status by using the COE to pay the I-901 SEVIS Fee and obtain legal status in the United States as a student. 

Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Students

Designated school officials (DSO) issue the COE directly to the student who uses it either to enter the United States or to apply for a change of his or her nonimmigrant status. PDSOs and DSOs are responsible for creating and updating F-1 and M-1 student records in SEVIS. The first step is to create and issue a Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Students (Form I-20), in accordance with the regulations located at 8 CFR 214.3(k), 8 CFR 214.2(f)(7)(ii), and 8 CFR 214. Once the Form I-20 is issued, the student may use the document to obtain F-1 or M-1 nonimmigrant status.

F-1 or M-1 Student Entry Overview

Students outside the United States must follow the basic process below to obtain F-1 or M-1 status at the U.S. port of entry (POE):

F-1 or M-1 Student Change of Status Application Overview

Students inside the United States must either leave the U.S. and re-enter following the process above or follow the basic process below to change their status legally to F-1 or M-1:

Applicable Regulations and Policies

DSOs must comply with all regulations and policies that govern the admission of international students, the issuance of COEs, and the applicable reporting requirements.

DSOs enter information on four pages in SEVIS to create a student record and issue a Form I‑20:

• Class of Admission and Personal Information
• Contact and Program Information
• Dependents
• Financial Information

To begin creating the Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Students (Form I-20):

1. Select the appropriate campus from the Listing of Schools page.

2. Click New Student. The first page of the Create Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Students (Form I-20), Class of Admission and Personal Information opens.

Class of Admission and Personal Information Page

The Class of Admission and Personal Information page has three sections:

• Class of Admission
• Name
• Demographics

Class of Admission

Complete the fields in the Class of Admission section:

• Class of Admission*
  • Select either F-1 for academic students or M-1 for vocational students.
  • Dependent spouses and children of F-1 and M-1 students are F-2 and M-2 dependents respectively, and are added to a student’s record later in the Form I-20 creation process.
  • This is a required field.

Note: This field is restricted to the classes of admission for which your school is certified to issue forms.

• Issue Reason* 
  • Select either Initial Attendance or Initial Attendance – Change of Status Requested, as the reason for issuing the Form I-20 to the student:
    • Initial Attendance: Select this reason for any F/M student who plans to enter the United States to begin study at your school, if he/she:

−    Is NOT transferring a SEVIS record to your school from another U.S. school.
−    Is NOT applying for a change of status in the United States.
These students generally reside overseas and use the Form I-20 for visa issuance and initial entry though a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) port of entry.
Note: If the Initial Attendance option is selected, SEVIS will look for interface data from the Department of State (visa information).

• Initial Attendance – Change of Status Requested: Select this reason if the student is currently in the United States and needs to change nonimmigrant status to F or M student to study at your school. 

The student must file an Application to Change Nonimmigrant Status (Form I-539) with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). 
Note: If the Initial Attendance – Change of Status Requested option is selected, SEVIS will look for interface data from USCIS (benefit application information).

• This is a required field.

Name

Complete the fields in the Name section:

• Surname/Primary Name*
  • Enter the surname or primary name of the student. If the student has only one name, enter it in this field.
  • This field has an 80-character limit.
  • This is a required field.
  • DSOs must use the SEVIS Names Standards when creating records in SEVIS.

• Given Name
  • Enter the given name of the student. If desired, include middle name of the student with the given name.
  • This field has an 80-character limit.
• Suffix – If applicable, select a title from the drop-down list, such as Junior, which may display at the end of a person’s name.
• Passport Name
  • Enter the passport name of the student, as written in the Machine-readable Zone (MRZ). 
  • This field has a 39-character limit.
• Preferred Name – Enter the preferred name of the student, in accordance with SEVIS Name Standards

Demographics

Complete the fields in the Demographics section:

• Birth Date*
  • Enter the student’s date of birth in MM/DD/YYYY format.
  • This is a required field.

Note: When entering the Birth Date, SEVIS shows the age of the student, as entered.

• Country of Birth*
  • Select the name of the student’s country of birth from the drop-down list.
  • This is a required field.

Note: For Country of Birth/Citizenship, searching by any word in country names field will filter the list.
Note: For Country of Birth, selecting the United States or any of its territories requires clicking a radio button indicating the nonimmigrant is not a U.S. citizen or national.

Note: A Validation error occurs if the Is a United States citizen or national radio button is selected. The error states that this person is not eligible for F or M status. The DSO must correct the country of birth or delete the draft.

• Country of Citizenship*
  • Select the name of the student’s country of citizenship from the drop-down list.
  • This is a required field.
• City of Birth*
  • Enter the full name of the city where the student was born.
  • This is a required field.
• Gender*
  • Select the student’s gender: Female, Male, or Other.
  • This is a required field.
• Review the information on Page 1 and click Next. The second page of the Create Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Students (Form I-20), Contact and Program Information opens.

Contact and Program Information Page

There are four sections on the Contact and Program Information page:

• Contact
• Telephone
• Program
• English Proficiency

Contact

Complete the fields in the Contact section:

• Foreign Address*
  • Enter the student’s foreign address. All nonimmigrant students must have a foreign address, even if they are currently in the United States.
  • Address and Country are required fields.
• U.S. Physical Address
  • Click Add Address to enter a U.S. address for the student, if they have one. 
• U.S. addresses are subject to validation. 
• U.S. Physical Address is required at the time of registration. It is not required when creating a record.
  • If the student is a commuter student whose Country of Citizenship is Mexico or Canada, click the Border Commuter checkbox. The U.S. address is not required for these students.

• U.S. Mailing Address
  • Click Add Mailing Address.
    • Enter a mailing address for the student, if they have one.
    • U.S. addresses are subject to validation.
• If the U.S. Mailing Address is the same as the U.S. Physical Address, click the Same as Physical Address checkbox to use the U.S. Physical Address.

Email Address – Enter a valid email address for the student.

Telephone

Complete one of the three fields in the Telephone section:

Note: DSOs are required to provide information in only one of these fields:

• Student does not have a telephone number – Click checkbox, if the student has told you they do not have a telephone number.
• Foreign Telephone – Enter the country code and the phone number, if the student uses an international telephone number.
• U.S. Telephone – Enter the area code and the phone number, if the student uses a U.S. telephone number.

Note: Telephone is not required for F-1 students in K-12 or M-1 Students under the age of 14.

Program

Complete the fields in the Program section:

• Program Start Date*
  • Enter the date on which the student will begin his/her program. 
  • This may be the date of any required orientations or other activities before the start of classes. 
  • This is a required field.

Note: Schools can choose to enter the Program Start Date and the Initial Session Start Date as the same date. If the dates differ, the Program Start Date cannot be more than 30 days before the Initial Session Start Date.

• Program End Date*
  • Enter the expected date of completion of the academic or vocational program. 
  • Do not consider grace periods or any future employment authorizations. 
  • This is a required field.
• Initial Session Start Date*
  • Enter the date that the student will begin classes. 
  • This date cannot be more than 30 days from the Program Start Date.
  • This is a required field.

Note: Registration deadlines and alerts are tied to this date.

• Education Level*
  • Select the level of education pursued by the student from the drop-down list. The options include:
  • Primary: Primary indicates the student is in grades K-8 at a private school, or its equivalent.
  • Note: If you select Primary, SEVIS will enter a code for “Primary School” (90.0101) into the Major Code 1 field automatically. This cannot be edited. 

• Secondary: Secondary indicates a student is in grades 9-12 at a private or public school, or their equivalent.

Note: If you select Secondary, there are ten acceptable CIP codes. 

• Click Select under the Major Code 1 field to display the acceptable CIP codes.
• Select the CIP code number link for the desired code. Secondary: Secondary indicates a student is in grades 9-12 at a private or public school, or their equivalent.

• Associate’s

• Bachelor’s

• Master’s

• Doctorate

• Language Training

  • Note: If you select Language Training, SEVIS will allow one of two Major Code 1 field CIP code choices: 

    • CIP Code 16.1701: English as a Second Language 

    • CIP Code 32.0109: Second Language Learning

• Other

Note: If you select Other, an If Other, enter here field appears. You must describe the education level here. This is a required field.

• Level of education must be selected before entering the Major codes. 
• This is a required field. 

• Major Code 1*
  • Enter the CIP code of the student’s primary major, or use the search tool by clicking Select. The Acceptable CIP Codes window opens. 

• Search for the CIP code by either:

  • Entering search terms to find the appropriate CIP code, for example, Communications, Business, Engineering, etc.

  • Searching for a program family by code number followed by a period, for example, “14.” for the Engineering programs.

• After selecting a code, SEVIS will enter the CIP code in the Major Code 1 field.

• This is a required field.

Note: You must select an Education Level before you can enter the Major code.

• Major Code 2*

Note: Some students have a secondary major, usually in a related field. Use this field for the secondary major CIP code. 

• Enter the CIP code of the student’s secondary major, or use the search tool by clicking Select. The Acceptable CIP Codes window opens. 

• Search for the CIP code by either:

  • Entering search terms to find the appropriate CIP code, for example, Communications, Business, Engineering, etc.

  • Searching for a program family by code number followed by a period, for example, “14.” for the Engineering programs.

• After selecting a code, SEVIS will enter the CIP code in the Major Code 2 field.

• If there is no second major, click the No Major 2 checkbox.

• This is a required field.

• Minor Code*

Note: This field is used to select the CIP code for the student’s minor field of study. 

• Enter the CIP code of the student’s minor, or use the search tool by clicking Select. The Acceptable CIP Codes window opens. 

• Search for the CIP code by either:

  • Entering search terms to find the appropriate CIP code, for example, Communications, Business, Engineering, etc.

  • Searching for a program family by code number followed by a period, for example, “14.” for the Engineering programs.

• After selecting a code, SEVIS will enter the CIP code in the Minor Code field.

• If there is no minor, click the No Minor checkbox.

• This is a required field.

English Proficiency

1. In the English Proficiency section, answer the question “Is English proficiency required by the school?” Click either the Yes or No radio button:

• Yes: Requires a further Yes or No confirmation that the student has the required English skills. 

• Search for the CIP code by either:

  • Entering search terms to find the appropriate CIP code, for example, Communications, Business, Engineering, etc.

  • Searching for a program family by code number followed by a period, for example, “14.” for the Engineering programs.

• After selecting a code, SEVIS will enter the CIP code in the Minor Code field.

• If there is no minor, click the No Minor checkbox.

• This is a required field.

English Proficiency

1. In the English Proficiency section, answer the question “Is English proficiency required by the school?” Click either the Yes or No radio button:

• Yes: Requires a further Yes or No confirmation that the student has the required English skills. 

No: Requires an explanation on why the school does not require the student to be proficient in English.

2. Click Next. The third page of the Create Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Students (Form I-20), Dependents opens. 

Dependents Page

If the F-1 or M-1 student is bringing a spouse or any dependents to the United States under F-2 or M-2 status, PDSOs and DSOs must issue a Form I-20 for the dependents as well. On this page, officials can add dependents to the primary student’s record. When dependents are added, SEVIS will generate Forms I-20 for the student and their dependents.

To add a dependent on the Add Dependent page, or go to the next COE page:

• If the prospective F-1 or M-1 student has dependents travelling with him/her to the United States, click Add Dependent. The Add Dependent page opens. 

The Add Dependent page has two sections:

• Add Dependent
  • Demographics
• If the prospective F-1 or M-1 student does not have any dependents travelling with him/her to the United States, click Next. The Financial Information page opens.

Add Dependent

Complete the fields in the Add Dependent for [student’s name] section:

• Relationship* 
  • Click the appropriate radio button for either Child or Spouse to specify the dependent’s relationship to the primary F-1 or M-1 student.
  • This is a required field.

Note: You may add only one spouse. Dependent children must be under 21 years of age.

• Surname/Primary Name* 
  • Enter the Surname/Primary Name of the F-2 or M-2 dependent, in accordance with SEVIS Name Standards. 
  • This is a required field.

• Given Name – Enter the given name of the F-2 or M-2 dependent. If desired, include middle name of the dependent with the given name.
• Suffix – If applicable, select a title from the drop-down list, such as Junior, which may display at the end of a person’s name.
• Passport Name – Enter the passport name of the F-2 or M-2 dependent, as written in the Machine-readable Zone (MRZ).
• Preferred Name – Enter the preferred name of the F-2 or M-2 dependent, in accordance with SEVIS Name Standards.
• Email Address – Enter an email address where the dependent can be reached. 

Contact

Complete the fields in the Contact section:

• Email Address – Enter an email address where the dependent can be reached.

• U.S. Physical Address
  • Click Add Address to enter a U.S. address for the dependent, if they have one.
  • U.S. addresses are subject to validation.
• U.S. Mailing Address
  • Click Add Mailing Address to enter a mailing address for the dependent, if they have one.
  • U.S. addresses are subject to validation.
  • If the U.S. Mailing Address is the same as the U.S. Physical Address, click the Same as Physical Address checkbox to use the U.S. Physical Address.

Demographics

Complete the fields in the Demographics section:

• Birth Date* 
  • Enter the dependent’s Birth Date. 
  • For verification purposes, SEVIS will display the age of the dependent, as entered. 
  • If Child is selected as the relationship, the dependent must be under 21 years old. 
  • This is a required field.
• Country of Birth*
  • Use the drop-down list to select the dependent’s Country of Birth. 
  • Selecting the United States, or any of its territories, will require confirmation that the dependent is not a U.S. Citizen.
  • This is a required field. 
• Country of Citizenship*
  • Select the dependent’s Country of Citizenship from the drop-down list.
  • This is a required field.
• City of Birth*
  • Enter the full namw of the city where the dependent was born. 
  • This is a required field. 
• Gender*
  • Select the dependent's gender: Female, Male, or Other.
  • This is a required field. 
• Click Add Dependent to add the F-2 to the primary record and return to the Dependents page. A confirmation message opens.

• Other Dependent actions:
  • Click Add Dependent to add another dependent.
  • Click Update to edit the dependent.
  • Click Delete to remove the dependent.
• Click Next. The fourth and final page of the Create Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Students (Form I-20), Financial Information opens

Financial Information Page

Prospective F-1 or M-1 students must provide proof that they have the financial resources to live and study in the United States. On the Financial Information page, enter information about the student’s expenses and funding for an academic year or the length of the program, whichever is shorter.

There are four sections on the Financial Information page:

• Financial
• Expenses
• Funding
• Remarks about the Student

Financial

Enter the number of months (up to 12 months) for the estimated costs and funding in the Financial section.

• Use the drop-down list in the Estimated costs and funding for*__ months field to select the number of months for estimating expenses and sources of funding. 
• Estimates should be for the length of the program or for an academic year.
• This is a required field.

Expenses

Complete the fields in the Expenses section:

• Tuition and Fees
  • Enter the amount for the student’s tuition and fees. 
  • This is a required field.
• Living Expenses
  • Enter the amount for the student’s living expenses. 
  • This is a required field.
• Expenses for Dependents
  • Enter the amount of expenses for any dependents. 
  • The number of dependents currently associated with the student displays by the field name. 
  • This is a required field.
• Other Costs – Enter any other costs for the months of estimated expenses.
• Specify Other Costs – Enter the reason for any other costs.
• Total Expenses – SEVIS calculates the costs and displays the total expenses at the bottom of the Expenses section.

Funding

Complete the fields in the Funding section:

• Student’s Personal Funds* 
  • Enter the amount of the student’s personal funds.
  • This is a required field.
• Funds from this School – Enter the amount of any funding offered by your school.
• School Fund Type – Enter the type of school fund offered by your school, for example, an academic scholarship.
• Funds from Other Sources – Enter the amount of any funding from any other sources. 
• Other Source Type – Enter the type of funding from any other sources, for example, a private grant.
• On-Campus Employment – Enter the amount of the student’s on-campus employment.
• Total Funding – SEVIS calculates and displays the student’s total funds at the bottom of the Funding section.

Note: The student’s total funds must meet or exceed the expenses, before the DSO may issue the student’s Initial Certificate of Eligibility (Form I-20).

Remarks about the Student

Enter any comments about the student in the Remarks about the Student field:

• These remarks will print on the Certificate of Eligibility (Form I-20). 
• This field has a 1000-character limit.

To save a draft copy of the Certificate of Eligibility (Form I-20), click Save Draft I-20 at the bottom of the page. 

To print a draft copy of the Certificate of Eligibility (Form I-20), click Print Draft I-20 at the bottom of the page.

Note: The Print Draft I-20 button is available at the bottom of each of the four COE pages, Class of Admission and Personal Information, Contact and Program Information, Dependents, and Financial Information.

To issue and print the Initial Certificate of Eligibility (Form I-20):

1. Click Submit I-20 at the bottom of the Financial Information page to submit the student’s initial Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Students (Form I-20). The Submission page opens.

  2. Click Print I-20 to print the initial Certificate of Eligibility (Form I-20) for the F-1 or M-1 student and his/her dependents. 
Note: Other buttons available at the bottom of the Submission page:

• Click Review Student Information to go to the Student Information page to review the student’s newly entered information. 
• Click Create New Student to create another student record and issue another initial Certificate of Eligibility (Form I-20). 

You must act on all SEVIS records in Initial status no later than 30 days after their Program Start Date. See the Manage Program Dates, Registration and Course Load section of the SEVIS Help Hub for more information.

See the SEVIS Help Icons on the SEVIS Help Hub for a quick-reference of the icons used in this user guide.