SEVIS Release 6.23 Planning Guide
This planning guide is intended to help SEVIS users prepare for SEVIS Release 6.23.
Scheduled release date: December 6, 2015
Functionality in the Release
Functionality | Affects F/M SEVIS | Affects J SEVIS | Affects Batch |
---|---|---|---|
Redesigned log in page | Yes | Yes | No |
OPT Authorization | Yes | No | Yes |
Add, Edit Delete OPT Employer | Yes | No | Yes |
Improved Employment Information Page | Yes | No | No |
F/M Student Telephone | Yes | No | Yes |
F/M Student Email | Yes | No | Yes |
Improved Event History | Yes | Yes | No |
Changed look of Student Information block on SEVIS pages | Yes | No | No |
Annual Verification of School/Sponsor Officials | Yes | Yes | No |
Update Shorten Program for Exchange Visitors | No | Yes | Yes |
Bar code no longer prints on Form DS-2019 | No | Yes | No |
Form I-20 Changes | Yes | No | No |
Government User Profile | No | No | Yes |
Release Resources
- Demonstration: Add, Edit, Cancel OPT Authorization
- Demonstration: Add, Edit, or Delete OPT Employer
- Demonstration: Understanding the Employment Information Page
- Fact Sheet: Changes to Form I-20 (Resource outdated)
- User Guide: View Employment Information (Resource outdated)
- Job Aid: F/M Student Telephone and Email Address (Resource outdated)
- User Guide: Student Event History (Resource outdated)
- User Guide: F-1 Optional Practical Training (Resource outdated)
- User Guide: F-1 Add, Edit, Delete OPT Employer (Resource outdated)
- User Guide: M-1 Practical Training (Resource outdated)
- View Employment Information (Resource outdated)
Note: These links have been disabled. You can find the most recent versions of these articles in the F/M Student Employment and System Data Entry Standards pages on the Help Hub.
- User Guide: Government User Profile
- Webinar Recording: October 2, 2015 OPT Webinar (Resource outdated)
- FAQ October 2, 2015 OPT Webinar (Resource outdated)
- Webinar Recording: November 6, 2015 SEVIS 6.23 Pre-Release Webinar (Resource outdated)
Note: These links have been disabled. You can visit the SEVIS Webinar page for all release webinars.
System Unavailability
Outage Begins | Outage Scheduled to End |
---|---|
12:00 AM ET Sunday December 6, 2015 | 8:00 AM ET Monday December 7, 2015 |
Currently, SEVP expects the outage to last roughly 32 hours.
Batch Users
Schools and sponsors that use third-party software to push data to SEVIS must plan their batch uploads carefully.
Critical Date/Time | What happens |
---|---|
12:00 AM ET December 6, 2015 to 8:00 AM ET Monday December 7, 2015 | SEVIS is unavailable for batch uploads. |
No warnings issued at this time
Systems Affected by SEVIS Outages
SEVP hopes to minimize the effect of the outage by deploying the release over a weekend. However, SEVIS data is used by many systems all over the world. The following processes and systems are affected when SEVIS is not available:
System | During the Outage |
---|---|
I-901 (SEVIS) Fee | I-901 system cannot process payments. Students and Exchange visitors must either pay ahead of time or wait until SEVIS is online again. |
Social Security Numbers (SSN) | Social Security cannot confirm F, M, or J status for anyone. Those needing an SSN should either apply before the outage or wait until SEVIS is online again. |
SAVE | SAVE agents cannot verify the F, M, or J status for anyone. Verification requests should either be submitted before the outage or after SEVIS is online again. |
E-Verify | SAVE agents cannot confirm the status of anyone in F, M, or J status. Employers should verify those employees before the outage or wait until SEVIS is online again. |
Visa Applications | Consular officers at U.S. embassies and consulates can view SEVIS data in their own system. It might not be up-to-date. Some visa applications may be delayed until the data feed from SEVIS is restored. |
Ports of Entry | Customs and Border Protection officers can verify admissibility using stale data. Anyone seeking F, M, or J status may be sent to secondary inspection for processing. Officers in secondary inspection cannot access SEVIS to verify F, J, or M nonimmigrants’ SEVIS status. |
State Departments of Motor Vehicles | DMV agents cannot verify the F, M, or J status of applicants for driver’s licenses or state IDs. Nonimmigrants needing a state driver’s licenses/ID card should either apply before the outage or wait until SEVIS is online again. |