Designated school officials (DSOs) are responsible for ensuring that information on their institution’s Form I-17, Petition for Approval of School for Attendance by Nonimmigrant Students, is up-to-date. When information on the petition does not reflect the current operating status, the principal designated school official (PDSO) at the main location must file a petition update.

Resources

School officials must be familiar with the federal regulations and policies that govern schools that sponsor international students for F-1 or M-1 status. These regulations detail the school’s:

• Responsibilities for managing their programs.
• Legal reporting requirements.

The following resources provide useful information in updating the school’s Form I-17:

Form I-17 Fields

DSOs must keep all information on the Form I-17 current. The chart below lists the fields that do and do not require SEVP adjudication.

Note: While SEVP does not adjudicate all fields, schools are still required to keep the non-adjudicated fields on the Form I-17 up-to-date.

Important Points

Important points to remember when updating the Form I-17 petition:

• PDSOs are required to submit an update to the school’s approved Form I-17 when the school’s certification information changes. PDSOs must update the Form I-17 within 21 days of the change, as required by 8 CFR 214.3 (g) and (h).
• Form I-17 update processing times vary depending on the type of update submitted. SEVP operates on a 12-month basis. Thus, PDSOs should plan Form I-17 updates accordingly, as they may receive a request for evidence (RFE) during the summer months.

• It is important to ensure that email addresses for the school officials are accurate in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) and that emails from SEVIS/SEVP are not sent to spam folders.
• School officials must submit the evidence required for filing at the same time they submit their updates in SEVIS. If a school fails to submit evidence at the same time it submits the update in SEVIS, SEVP may cancel the request and ask the school to resubmit the request with the required evidence. Schools must upload evidence in SEVIS.

• SEVP recommends that schools familiarize themselves with the evidentiary requirements before logging in to SEVIS to submit petition updates.

• Unless specifically requested by SEVP, submit updates and supporting documentation electronically through SEVIS. Submission of Forms I-17 or supporting documentation by other than specified electronic means causes a delay in adjudication and complicates recordkeeping.
• Petition updates will not affect a school’s Recertification/Certification Expiration Date (CED). Schools that have received the 180-day Recertification Notice, while the Form I-17 update is pending, should file for recertification as soon as they receive a decision for the petition update. Schools without pending updates must apply for recertification by their CED or risk withdrawal. If a school submits the recertification petition before the pending update is processed, SEVP will cancel the pending update automatically.

• If your institution’s petition is locked for a pending Form I-17 update and you have additional changes, email sevp@ice.dhs.gov.

• If your institution’s petition is locked for recertification and you have additional changes, email sevp@ice.dhs.gov.

• To cancel a pending Form I-17 update once the Form I-17 is locked, the PDSO must email school certification at sevp@ice.dhs.gov.

To start the Form I-17 update process, navigate to your School Information page.

1. Click Update School Information (Form I-17). The Update School Information (Form I-17), Contact Information page opens.

At the left of the page, there is a navigation pane with the following links:

• Return to School Information
• Page 1: Contact Information
• Page 2: Programs of Study
• Page 3: Accreditations and Recognitions
• Page 4: School Calendar, Costs, and Demographics
• Page 5: Campuses and instructional Sites
• Page 6: School Officials
• Submit

3. Go to the Form I-17 page that you want to edit, by clicking the appropriate page link.

4. Make all the desired changes.

5.  Click Submit from the left navigation pane. The Submit page opens.

6. Click View Edits to open a review page that displays the changes you made to the Form I-17. Click Close when finished viewing.

7. After reviewing your changes, the PDSO must submit the Form I-17 update by:

• Clicking the attestation checkbox.
• Signing the petition update by entering their SEVIS password.
• Clicking Submit.

Note: DSOs may update the information on the petition, and save changes as a draft, however, only the PDSO at the main location can submit the petition update in SEVIS.

8. After the PDSO submits the update, the petition is locked, and users at your institution will not be able to edit it.

9.  School officials must upload the evidence required for adjudication at the same time they submit their updates in SEVIS. After clicking submit, the Upload Evidence page opens.

1. SEVP adjudicators review updates in the order in which SEVP receives them.

2. The evidence a school needs to provide to SEVP depends on accreditation status and the type of programs offered by the school. If a school fails to submit evidence at the same time it submits the update in SEVIS, SEVP may cancel the request and ask that the school resubmit the request with the required evidence.

3. SEVP may ask your school to provide additional evidence for adjudication through an RFE. A specific due date is included in all RFEs. School officials should note this date to ensure all evidence is provided by the due date. SEVP may deny any petition updates for institutions who fail to provide supporting documentation in a timely manner. Failure to provide evidence that establishes the school still operates under the required regulatory bona fides may result in a withdrawal of the school’s certification.

4. SEVP uses SEVIS for all communications, such as, sending RFEs, notices, or adjudication decisions to the school; therefore, all email addresses in SEVIS must be current.

The following edits will incur a fee that must be paid via pay.gov:

• There is a $655 site visit fee for a true change in main location and the addition of each new location.
• There is a $3,000 fee for a change in ownership (control) of the school

You must upload proof of payment, pay.gov Tracking ID, at the time you submit your update petition.