Personal Information

Last updated: February 3, 2023

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Overview
Update Student’s Personal and Contact Information
Update Information and Print Form I-20

An F-1/M-1 student’s personal, demographic, and contact information, as seen on the Student Information page, can be edited on the Update Personal Information page. The student’s personal information is available for editing by the designated school official (DSO), when the student is in an Initial or Active status. DSOs are required to update this information in SEVIS within 21 days of the change.

8 CFR 214.3(g)(2).

SEVIS will not allow DSOs to submit an update to personal information if the record lacks:

Telephone information
Email address

This is true even if the record is in Initial status.

The fields on the Update Personal Information page are pre-populated by SEVIS, if the information was provided on the original Form I-20. These fields can be edited by typing in the field or selecting from a drop-down list. When completed, click the Update Information button at the bottom of the page.
To update a student’s personal and contact information:

Go to the Student Information page.

2. Click the Edit button to the right of the Personal / Contact section header. The Update Personal Information page opens.

The Update Personal Information page has four sections to update:

Name
Demographics
Contact
Telephone

3. Complete the Update Personal Information page. The following tables provide a brief description for each section and field on this page.

Name

Complete the fields in the Name section, as necessary:

Field	Description/Explanation
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. Note: See the SEVIS Help Hub Name Standards article for detailed name standards information.
Given Name	Enter the given name of the student. The student’s middle name can be included in the Given Name field. 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) of the passport. This field has a 39-character limit. Note: The Passport Name is optional, but highly recommended.
Preferred Name	Enter the preferred name used by the student, if different from the fields above. This field has a 180-character limit.

See the Name Standards article on the Study in the States’ SEVIS Help Hub.

Demographics

Complete the fields in the Demographics section:

Field	Description/Explanation
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. If the United States or any of its territories is selected in the Country of Birth field, a list of options displays that requires the DSO to indicate if the nonimmigrant is or is not a U.S. citizen or national. Click the required radio button to indicate if the nonimmigrant: At the time of birth, the nonimmigrant was the child of a foreign diplomat serving in the United States. An expatriate who formally revoked United States citizenship. Is a United States citizen or national. Note: A Validation Error occurs if the Is a United States citizen or national radio button is selected and the Update Information button is selected. The error states that this person is not eligible for F or M status. If the change to the student’s country of birth reflects the fact that this person is in fact a U.S. Citizen, then this person’s record should be terminated for Other reasons. The comment should state the person is a U.S. Citizen, not a nonimmigrant. Check the student’s documents carefully before making this change. Note: Entering the first few letters of a country’s name in the Country of Birth field will filter the list during a search.
Country of Citizenship*	Select the name of the student’s country of citizenship from the drop-down list. This is a required field. Note: Entering the first few letters of a country’s name in the Country of Citizenship field will filter the list during a search.
City of Birth	Enter the full name of the city where the dependent was born.
Gender*	Select the student’s gender: Female, Male or Other. This is a required field.

Contact

Complete the fields in the Contact section:

Field	Description/Explanation
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 for the Foreign Address. City and Province/Territory Postal Code are not required.
U.S. Address	Click Edit Address to update the U.S. address, if necessary. U.S addresses are subject to validation. Enter a properly formatted U.S. address for the student. Note: For detailed information, see the SEVIS Help Hub topic on SEVIS Address Standards. If the student is a commuter student whose country of citizenship is Mexico or Canada, click the Border Commuter checkbox. Note: The U.S. address is not required for these students. However, if the student has a U.S. address, it should be entered.
U.S. Mailing Address	If the U.S. Mailing Address is the same as the U.S. Physical Address, click Same as Physical Address checkbox to use the U.S. Physical Address. Click either Add Mailing Address to add a U.S. Mailing Address or Edit Mailing Address to edit the mailing address, if necessary. Enter a properly formatted U.S. mailing address for the student. Note: For detailed information, see the SEVIS Help Hub topic on SEVIS Address Standards.
Email Address*	Enter a properly formatted electronic mail (email) address for the student. Note: For detailed email address information, see the SEVIS Help Hub topic SEVIS Email Standards. Completion of this field is required when updating student information or for continuing registration. Note: DSOs do not need to report email address information for F-1 students who are in K-12 schools or for M-1s who are younger than 14 years of age.

For SEVIS address standards information, see the SEVIS Help Hub topic SEVIS Address Standards.
For email address information, see the SEVIS Help Hub topic SEVIS Email Standards.

Telephone

Complete the fields in the Telephone section:

Field	Description/Explanation
Telephone*	When entering student telephone information, DSOs must select at least one of the following options: Student does not have a telephone checkbox. Foreign Telephone number. U.S. Telephone number. Completion of this field is required when updating student information or for continuing registration. Note: DSOs do not need to report student telephone information for F-1 students who are in K-12 schools or for M-1s who are younger than 14 years of age.
Remarks about the Student	Enter any applicable remarks regarding the student. This field has a 1,000-character limit with a Characters Remaining counter. Remarks typed in any Remarks field throughout the electronic Certificate of Eligibility (COE) (Form I-20) will append to any existing remarks and will print in the Remarks field of the printed COE (Form I-20).

Field

Description/Explanation

Telephone*

When entering student telephone information, DSOs must select at least one of the following options:
- Student does not have a telephone checkbox.
- Foreign Telephone number.
- U.S. Telephone number.
Completion of this field is required when updating student information or for continuing registration.

Note: DSOs do not need to report student telephone information for F-1 students who are in K-12 schools or for M-1s who are younger than 14 years of age.

Remarks about the Student

Enter any applicable remarks regarding the student.
This field has a 1,000-character limit with a Characters Remaining counter.
Remarks typed in any Remarks field throughout the electronic Certificate of Eligibility (COE) (Form I-20) will append to any existing remarks and will print in the Remarks field of the printed COE (Form I-20).

When all necessary information is updated in the Update Personal Information page, click one of the following buttons:

Update Information: Updates the student’s personal and contact information. A message displays indicating that the update was successful.

Click Return to View Record to view the student’s SEVIS record.
Click Print I-20 to print an updated copy of the COE (Form I-20). Give the printed copy to the student for his/her records.

Students are expected to keep all Forms I-20 issued during their academic career.
When information on the Form I-20 changes, it is best to give a new copy to the student.
Find information on allowable electronic signatures and Form I-20 transmission in SEVP's policy guidance Use of Electronic Signatures and Transmission for the Form I-20.

Cancel return to the Student Information page without making any changes.
Print Draft I-20: Prints a draft copy of the COE (Form I-20). Printing a draft enables the DSO to review a paper copy of all the data saved thus far.

SEVIS Help Hub