Principal designated school officials (PDSOs) are required to submit an update to the school’s approved Form I-17 when information about the programs of study offered to nonimmigrant students changes. PDSOs must update the Form I-17 within 21 days of the change.

The Programs of Study page collects information about the programs of study your school offers international students. You should not include any programs of study you will not offer to nonimmigrant students.

The Programs of Study page collects information on:

• Types of education the school offers
• Areas of study
• Degrees available
• Time needed to complete the programs of study

Resources

The following resources provide useful information in updating programs of study: 

Resources on ICE.gov:

Regulations:

General Process

To update the programs of study:

1. Go the School Information page.

2. Click Update School Information (Form I-17) in the left, navigation pane. The Update School Information (Form I-17) page opens for updating at Section 1: Contact Information.

3. Click Page 2: Programs of Study. The Update School Information (Form I-17) page opens for updating at Section 2: Programs of Study.

4. Update the programs of study, as necessary, specific to the school types described below:

• Kindergarten through Grade 12 Schools (K-12)
• Post-Secondary F and M Schools

5. Use the function buttons at the bottom of the page to:

• Save Draft: Saves changes made to the Form I-17 in draft without submitting changes.
• Print Draft: Prints a draft Form I-17 without submitting changes.
• Previous: Returns the user to Page 1: School Contact without submitting changes.
• Next: Forwards the user to Page 3: Accreditations and Recognitions without submitting changes.
• Cancel: Cancels all changes made to the Form I-17 without saving the entered changes and restores the previous, saved values. After confirming the delete action, SEVIS returns to the School Contact page.

6. Click Submit in the left, navigation pane to open the submission page, Edit School Information (Form I 17). See the Form I-17 Petition Update – Submit article in SEVIS Help Hub for instructions on completing the submission process.

This School is Engaged In [Type of Education Offered]

1. Click the checkbox for all types of education your school offers to nonimmigrant students:

• Private Elementary School – Select this option if your school is a private:
  • Kindergarten and/or
  • Elementary school

• Private Middle School
• Private High School (Grades 9-12)
• Public High School (Grades 9-12) – Select this option if your school:
  • Is a public high school
  • Seeks certification for grades 9-12
  • Will only admit international students for one year
  • Will collect the full, unsubsidized per capita cost for providing education at the school

• Other – Select this option if your school:
  • Is a private elementary school. In the text box, enter “Private Elementary School” and indicate the grade levels for internationals students, for example, Private Elementary school: grades 4-7.
  • Is a private middle school. In the text box, enter “Private Middle School” and indicate the grade levels for internationals students, for example, Private Middle school: grades 6-8.
  • Is a private high school that will not enroll international students in all four grades. In the text box, enter “Private High School” and indicate the grade levels for internationals students, for example, Private High school: grades 9-10.
  • Is a public high school that will limit international student enrollment to specific grade(s). In the text box, enter “Public High School” and indicate the grade levels for international students, for example, Public High School grade 11.

2. Based on the types of education checked, various statements display. Select one of the radio buttons in the statement(s):

• If you select any of the K-12 options, SEVIS displays the following statement:

Note: You must select one of the radio buttons in the statement. You cannot leave the page without completing this section.

• If you select Public High School, SEVIS displays the following statement:

Note: You must select one of the radio buttons in the statement. You cannot leave the page without completing this section.

Areas of Study

Click the checkbox for all areas of study your school will offer to nonimmigrant students. Your choices should relate to the type of educational programs your school offers, as listed in Field 2.1 above:

• Liberal Arts
• Fine Arts
• English Language Training

Note: This applies to any school planning to issue Forms I-20 for English training programs, including ESL programs or pathway programs.

• Religious
• Professional Studies
• Vocational or Technical Training
• Flight Training
• Science
• Education
• Business
• Engineering
• Other – If you select this option, enter the name of the area(s) of study into the text box, for example, elementary and secondary education

List Degrees Available from the School

SEVP must approve the degrees on a school’s Form I-17 before the school can issue Forms I-20 to students for their programs of study.

3. Select all diplomas, degrees, and certificates your school will offer nonimmigrant students.

• SEVIS gives you a list of available diplomas, degrees, and certificates from which to choose.

• You can change the list of degrees displayed on the screens by:
  • Changing the number of degrees displayed on the page
  • Searching for specific degrees or levels
  • Sorting by any of the column headings

4.  Click the degree you want to add to your petition:

• SEVIS will highlight the line of any degree selected.
• If you leave the page, SEVIS will save your selections. Upon your return to the page, SEVIS displays any selected degrees at the top of the list.
• To de-select a degree that you had already elected, click on that degree. SEVIS will remove the highlight.

5. Select each degree available to nonimmigrant students.

Courses of Study and the Time Necessary to Complete Each

1.  By education level, enter in this required field the time in weeks/months/years and total credits/clock hours needed to complete each program of study at your school.

• Private K-12 Schools: List the grade levels for which the school is petitioning to enroll nonimmigrant students, to include the time necessary to complete each grade level in years.
• Public High Schools: List the grade levels for which the school is petitioning to enroll nonimmigrant students, to include, the time necessary to complete each grade level in years.

2. Click one of the following:

• Save Draft: Saves the changes made to the Form I-17.
• Print Draft: Prints a draft of the Form I-17.
• Previous: Saves changes and takes you to the School Contact page.
• Next: Saves changes and takes you to the Accreditations and Recognitions page.
• Cancel: Deletes the petition update and returns you to the School Contact page. You will be asked to confirm the action before SEVIS deletes your data.

This School Is engaged In [Type of Education Offered]

1. Click the checkboxes for all types of education your school offers to nonimmigrant students.

• Vocational or Technical Education (M-1) – Select this option if your school:

  • Is a community college, junior college, or other school that provides technical or vocational training.

  • Offers airplane maintenance training, simulator training, and/or related operations that do not involve flight training. These programs must hold Part 142, Part 165, 147, etc. certifications from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

• Flight Training – Select this option if your school engages in flight training that requires Part 141 certification from the FAA.

• English Language Training – Select this option only if your school:
  • Is a standalone English language-training program for which you issue degrees or certificates.
  • Is accredited by a U.S. Department of Education recognized accrediting agency.

• Higher Education – Select this option if your school:

  • Is a community college, junior college, college, or university that issues one or more of the following degrees:

    • Associate
    • Bachelor’s
    • Master’s
    • Doctorate
    • Professional degrees

• Is a community or junior college that provides vocational or technical training and awards recognized associate degrees.

• Is engaged in aviation-related higher education.

• Other: If your school offers a specific program of study to nonimmigrant students, where the courses are split between two or more schools as part of a concurrent enrollment agreement, enter the SEVP-certified school names and school codes here.

Based on the types of education checked, various statements display. Select one of the radio buttons in the statement(s):

• If you select Vocational or Technical Education (M-1), SEVIS displays the following statement:

Note: You must select one of the radio buttons in the statement. You cannot leave the page without completing this section.

• If you select Flight Training, SEVIS displays the following statement:

Note: You must select one of the radio buttons in the statement. You cannot leave the page without completing this section.

• If you select Higher Education, SEVIS displays the following statement:

Note: You must select one of the radio buttons in the statement. You cannot leave the page without completing this section.

Concurrent Enrollment Agreements

Formal concurrent enrollment agreements should include all programs of study where coursework is split between two or more SEVP-certified schools.

If your school offers a specific program of study where the courses are split between two or more SEVP-certified schools as part of a signed agreement, and you are enrolling nonimmigrants in the program of study, you must record this on the Form I-17:

• Field 2.1: Select Other.
• Field 2.1 text box: List all SEVP-certified schools’ names with which you have a signed agreement and their school codes. This field allows 200 characters.
• Submit evidence of the concurrent enrollment agreements between the two or more institutions.

Note: If the student’s program of study requires coursework at a non-degree granting school, then update Form I-17, “Field 2.4: Courses of study and time necessary to complete each.” Follow the instructions in that section.

Areas of Study

Click the checkbox for all areas of study your school will offer to nonimmigrant students. Your choices should relate to the type of educational programs your school offers, as listed in Field 2.1 above:

• Liberal Arts
• Fine Arts
• English Language Training

Note: This applies to any school planning to issue forms I-20 for English training programs including ESL programs or pathway programs.

• Religious
• Professional Studies
• Vocational or Technical Training
• Flight Training
• Science
• Education
• Business
• Engineering
• Other – If you select this option, enter the name of the area(s) of study into the text box, for example, elementary and secondary education

List Degrees Available from the School

SEVP must approve the degrees on a school's Form I-17 before the school can issue Forms I-20 to students for their programs of study. 

1. Select all diplomas, degrees, and certificates your school will offer nonimmigrant students. 

• SEVIS gives you a list of available diplomas, degrees, and certificates from which to choose. 

• You can change the list of degrees displayed on the screens by:

  • Changing the number of degrees displayed on the page

  • Searching for specific degrees or levels

  • Sorting by any of the column headings

2. Click the degree you want to add to your petition:

• SEVIS will highlight the line of any degree selected.
• If you leave the page, SEVIS will save your selections. Upon your return to the page, SEVIS displays any selected degrees at the top of the list.
• To de-select a degree that you had already elected, click on that degree. SEVIS will remove the highlight.

3. Select each degree available to nonimmigrant students.

Courses of Study and Time Necessary to Complete Each

1. By degree name, enter in this required field the time in weeks/months/years and total credits/clock hours needed to complete each program of study at your school. You must list and do this for every degree program you have chosen for Section 2.3 of the Form I 17:

• Non-degree related programs or English Language training programs: List the program names for which the school is petitioning to enroll nonimmigrant students, to include:
  • Clock hours per week or credit hours per term of instruction.
  • Total clock/credit hours needed to complete the program.
  • Time necessary to complete the program in weeks, months, or years.
• Flight Training: List the courses of study/rating for which the school is petitioning to enroll nonimmigrant students.
  • Total clock hours needed to complete the program.
  • Time necessary to complete the program in weeks, months, or years.

• Higher Education: List the degree names selected in Section 2.3 of the Form I-17 to include:
  • Total number of programs under that degree type.
  • Total credit/clock hours needed to complete the degree.
  • Time necessary to complete the program in weeks, months, or years.

2.    If you selected “Other” program of study on Section 2.3, use this section to specify the following information for each program:

• Degree Name.
• Name of program of study.
• Time needed to complete (in years/months/weeks).
• Total credit hours or clock hours to complete the program.

3.  Click one of the following:

• Save Draft: Saves the changes made to the Form I-17.
• Print Draft: Prints a draft of the Form I-17.
• Previous: Saves changes and takes you to the School Contact page.
• Next: Saves changes and takes you to the Accreditations and Recognitions page.
• Cancel: Deletes the petition update and returns you to the School Contact page. You will be asked to confirm the action before SEVIS deletes your data.

SEVP processes the petition updates in the order received.

Request for Evidence

If SEVP needs additional information, you may receive a request for evidence (RFE). You may be asked to provide additional information or to edit the Form I-17 petition during the adjudication process. RFEs will describe what you need to do.

Decision

SEVP will email the decision to all school officials at the school.

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