Form I-17 Petition Update - Overview

Last updated: February 26, 2024

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Overview
General Update Process
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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:

Regulations:

Title 8 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 214.3 – Petitions for approval of schools
Title 8 CFR 214.2(f)
Title 8 CFR 214.2(m)
18 U.S. Code (USC) 1001 – False Statements
18 USC 1621 – Perjury
ICE.gov, Student and Exchange Visitor Program’s Schools and Programs page, under Petition Updates section

Find evidence guidelines and checlists listed below for petition updates or at www.ice.gov/sevis/schools under the Certification section:

Evidence Guidelines
Petition Updates
- Accredited Schools/Programs of Study
- Non-Accredited Schools/Programs of Study

Important Points

Once a PDSO attests to and submits a Form I-17 update that includes a change to an adjudicated field (marked by an hourglass), the Form I-17 will be locked for any further updates until the update is adjudicated by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program’s (SEVP) School Certification Unit (SCU).
When a PDSO attests to and submits changes to only unadjudicated fields, the changes will be accepted immediately, and the Form I-17 will remain unlocked for future updates.

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).
DSOs may update the information on the petition and save changes as a draft. However, only a PDSO (at any of the campuses) can attest to and submit the petition update in SEVIS.
While SEVP does not adjudicate all fields, schools are still required to keep the nonadjudicated fields on the Form I-17 up-to-date.
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. You can find evidence guidelines and checklists for petition updates listed in the above Resources section.
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 the School Certification Unit at sevp@ice.dhs.gov.

Form I-17 Fields

DSOs must keep all information on the Form I-17 current. The table below lists all the fields on the Form I-17, which are and are not required, and which do not require SEVP adjudication.

On the SEVIS page:

Required fields are marked by a red asterisk. *
Adjudicated fields are marked by an hourglass.

Field	Field Name	Required/ Not Required	Adjudicated/ Not Adjudicated
1.1	Approval for Attendance of Students Under	Required	Adjudicated
1.2	Name of School or School System	Required	Adjudicated
1.3	Name of Main Campus	Required	Adjudicated
1.4	Mailing Address of the School	Required	Not Adjudicated
1.5	Telephone Number	Not Required	Not Adjudicated
1.6	Fax Number	Not Required	Not Adjudicated
1.7	Physical Location of the School	Required	Adjudicated
1.8	School Type Note: If Private is selected, Fields 1.9 and 1.10 display.	Required	Adjudicated
1.9	Private School Owner Note: Private must be selected in Field 1.8 for this field to display.	Required	Adjudicated
1.10	Owner’s Address Note: Private must be selected in Field 1.8 for this field to display.	Required	Not Adjudicated
2.1	This School Is Engaged In	Required	Adjudicated
2.2	Areas of Study	Required	Adjudicated
2.3	List the Degrees Available from This School	Required	Adjudicated
2.4	Courses of Study and Time Necessary to Complete Each	Required	Adjudicated
3.1	Date School Was Established	Required	Not Adjudicated
3.2	Department of Education Recognized Accrediting Agencies (Department of Education Recognized Accrediting Agencies modal)	Required	Adjudicated
	Agency	Not Required	Not Adjudicated
	Effective Date	Required	Not Adjudicated
	Expiration Date	Required	Not Adjudicated
3.3	SEVP Identified Accrediting Agencies (SEVP Identified Accrediting Agencies modal)	Required	Adjudicated
	Agency	Not Required	Not Adjudicated
	Effective Date	Required	Not Adjudicated
	Expiration Date	Required	Not Adjudicated
3.4	State Recognitions (State Recognitions modal)	Required	Adjudicated
	State Recognition	Not Required	Not Adjudicated
	Effective Date	Required	Not Adjudicated
	Expiration Date	Required	Not Adjudicated
3.5	Optional Comments	Not Required	Not Adjudicated
3.6	FAA Certification	Required	Adjudicated
4.1	This School's Sessions Are Based On	Required	Not Adjudicated
4.2	Date Registration Begins for EACH Session During a Calendar Year	Required	Not Adjudicated
4.3	Sessions Are Held [Day/Night]	Required	Not Adjudicated
4.4	Average Annual Number of Classes	Required	Not Adjudicated
4.5	Average Annual Number of Students	Required	Not Adjudicated
4.6	Average Annual Number of Teachers or Instructors	Required	Not Adjudicated
4.7	Average Annual Number of Non-Teaching Employees	Required	Not Adjudicated
4.8	Approximate Annual Cost of Room, Board, Tuition, etc., per student	Required	Not Adjudicated
4.9	Requirements for Admission	Required	Not Adjudicated
5.1	Manage Campuses (Add/Update Campus modal)	Required	Adjudicated
5.2	Add Campus (Add/Update Campus modal)	Not Required	Adjudicated
5.3	Campus Name	Required	Adjudicated
5.4	Mailing Address	Required	Not Adjudicated
5.5	Physical Address	Required	Adjudicated
5.6	Telephone Number	Not Required	Not Adjudicated
5.7	Fax Number	Not Required	Not Adjudicated
6.1	Current School Officials By Campus [table]	Required	Adjudicated
	Delete Official (Delete Official modal)	Not Required	Not Adjudicated
	Roles (Update Roles modal)	Not Required	Not Adjudicated
	Official’s Name link (Edit School Information (Form I-17): Update Official page)
	Last Name	Required	Adjudicated
	First Name	Required	Adjudicated
	Middle Name	Not Required	Adjudicated
	Suffix	Not Required	Not Adjudicated
	The official is: United States Citizen; Legal Permanent Resident	Required	Not Adjudicated
	Note: If Legal Permanent Resident is selected, A-Number field displays.	Required	Not Adjudicated
	Title	Required	Not Adjudicated
	Address	Required	Not Adjudicated
	Email Address	Required	Not Adjudicated
	Telephone Number	Required	Not Adjudicated
6.2	Add School Officials	Not Required	Adjudicated
	Edit School Information (Form-17) Add Official page
	Last Name	Required	Not Adjudicated
	First Name	Required	Not Adjudicated
	Middle Name	Not Required	Not Adjudicated
	Suffix	Not Required	Not Adjudicated
	The official is: United States Citizen; Legal Permanent Resident	Required	Not Adjudicated
	Note: If Legal Permanent Resident is selected, A-Number field displays.	Required	Not Adjudicated
	Title	Required	Not Adjudicated
	Address	Required	Not Adjudicated
	Email Address	Required	Not Adjudicated
	Telephone Number	Required	Not Adjudicated
	Add Official to [which] Campus(es)	Required	Not Adjudicated
	Add an Existing Official [SEVIS User Name]	Not Required	Not Adjudicated
	Assign Role (Add Existing Official modal)	Required	Not Adjudicated

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

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

Edit School Information (Form I-17) Page

2. 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. Click the Form I-17 page link that you want to edit.

4. Make all the desired changes.

5. Click Submit from the left navigation pane. The Edit School Information (Form I-17) 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 submits the Form I-17 update by:

Clicking the PDSO Attestation checkbox.
Signing the petition update by entering your SEVIS password.
Clicking Continue.

Are you ready to submit your petition? Follow the steps below to complete the submission process

8. After the PDSO submits the update:

If any one of the updates is in an adjudicated field, the petition is locked, and users at your institution will not be able to edit it.
If none of the updates required adjudication, the updates are immediately accepted, you receive a Submit Successful message, and the Form I-17 remains open for later updates.

If you must make a change to your petition while your Form I-17 is locked for a pending recertification, email SEVP.
For PDSO or DSO changes, email FormI17SupportingEvidence@ice.dhs.gov. Attach all required evidence to your email.
For other Form I-17 Update requests, email sevp@ice.dhs.gov. Attach all required evidence to your email.

Refer to Study in the States for more information about the kind of information to include in the email. Once SEVP receives the request, a federal adjudicator will help incorporate any necessary changes to the Form I-17.

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

Upload Evidence - You can now upload evidence to support your petition.

For more information about specific petition updates, see the SEVIS Help Hub for the following articles:

Follow instructions to upload evidence.
Click Submit Petition. A successful submission message displays, and after clicking OK, the School Information page opens with an Application Pending alert.

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

For details on fee amounts and how to pay the fee, refer to the Form I-17 – Pay Fees article.
These fee amounts were published in the Federal Register on May 23, 2019, pursuant to 84 FR 23930.

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

SEVIS Help Hub