Listed below are some of the features that help students navigate the SEVP Portal. For screenshots of these features and more detailed information about how to use them, please download and refer to the SEVP Portal User Guide and the SEVP Portal Videos.

Login and Attestation

To enter the SEVP Portal after creating their account, students must enter their email address and password on the login screen. Once successfully submitted, the system will send users to the Attestation page. Students must click “Continue” on the Attestation page to access the SEVP Portal.

On the Attestation page, students must agree that they will not provide false, fictitious or fraudulent information in the SEVP Portal. Clicking “Continue” signifies that the student agrees to the terms and conditions outlined on the page.

Expand/Collapse Sections

The portal has several sections that you can expand to view information or collapse to hide it. These sections are faintly shaded and feature a plus (+) sign and/or a minus (-) sign. The plus sign will expand the section. The minus sign will collapse it.

If there is no data in the section, no text will display. If there is data, text will appear in the box so students know what information is available.

View History

Students can use the SEVP Portal to view a history of changes that have happened in their portal record. To view the history, click “View History” in the top navigation bar open the page.

Click the plus (+) sign to the right of the event to expand its information. The event will indicate which field(s) changed and the old and new values for the field(s).

Action Buttons

The colors of the action buttons in the portal tell the user whether they can take that action. If an action is available for a user to take, the button will appear bright blue with white text. If an action is unavailable for a user to take, the button will appear grey with black text.

If an action is unavailable for a user, that usually means not all the proper information is captured. Once a student enters all required data in the proper format, the portal will change the color of the action button to allow the student to take the action.

Error and Success Messages

The portal uses different messages and visual aids to help users enter data correctly. If a user tries to submit data incorrectly or tries to submit incomplete information, the portal displays light pink error messages at the top of the page. Likewise, if a user submits data correctly, the portal displays light green success messages at the top of the screen to reflect successful submissions.

Dates have their own specific error messaging. The portal displays a red bar on the left margin and outlines date fields in red while a user types in the date. A red bar around a date field indicates the data is not yet complete. Once the date is entered, the portal will outline each date field in green to show successful entry of the dates. To reduce errors, each part of a date is entered into a separate field.

Address Validation

The portal will validate the physical and mailing addresses users enter, meaning it will check to see if the address given is a valid one. If the system does not recognize an address, the user will get an error message at the top of the page only, telling them that changes failed to save.

In some cases, the portal recognizes the address, but has a slightly different one in its own records. In these instances, the user will get an error message at the top of the page and some suggestions for how to fix the error.

Idle Time

After 20 minutes of inactivity, the portal will ask users to confirm that they want to remain logged into the system. Users must click OK to remain logged in. If too much time has passed and a user does not respond to the prompt, the system will log the user out.

Locked Accounts

The SEVP Portal will lock a users’ account if the user does not log in to the portal for 90 days or after three failed attempts to log in to the system. The portal will display an error message which counts down the number of times a student can attempt to log in.

Log Out

To log out of the portal, click the log out link in the upper right hand corner of the header.

Getting Help

If portal users need help with their accounts, please call the SEVP Response Center at 703-603-4300 and refer to the SEVP Portal User Guide.