INS Releases on SEVIS
Preliminary Enrollment
Cite as "Posted on AILA InfoNet at Doc. No. 02071742
(July 17, 2002) ."
INS announced the start of INS approved schools' preliminary enrollment period, using the
Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), to accept foreign students.
The preliminary enrollment period will remain open until at least 8/16/02.
Click on the links below to view the INS News Release, and Fact Sheet that
describes the preliminary enrollment process step-by-step.
INS News Release - INS Begins SEVIS Preliminary Enrollment
INS Fact Sheet - Preliminary Enrollment in the Student and Exchange
Visitor Information System
INS News Release - INS Begins SEVIS Preliminary
Enrollment
First Steps in Enhancing Monitoring of Foreign Students
July 2, 2002
WASHINGTON, DC – The Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS) announced the successful start on July 1, 2002, of a preliminary enrollment
period to enable INS approved schools to begin using the Student and Exchange Visitor
Information System (SEVIS) to accept foreign students.
SEVIS is an Internet-based computer system that will enable
schools and program sponsors to transmit electronic information and event notifications to
INS and the Department of State throughout a foreign student’s or exchange visitor’s
stay in the United States.
The preliminary enrollment period is limited to
postsecondary, language, and vocational schools accredited by an accrediting agency
recognized by the United States Department of Education; public high schools with
certification from the appropriate public official that the school meets the requirements
of the state or local public educational system; and private elementary and private
secondary schools that are accredited by an organization holding membership in the Council
for American Private Education (CAPE) or the American Association of Christian Schools
(AACS). In addition, all schools must have been approved by INS to accept academic (F
visa) and vocational (M visa) foreign students for the past three years.
There is no fee for preliminary enrollment. The preliminary
enrollment period will remain open until at least August 16, 2002. At that time, INS plans
to issue a new interim rule governing the certification process for all schools seeking to
participate in SEVIS. Upon issuance of the new interim rule, all schools will pay a
standard certification fee. The rule will further provide that every two years there will
be an on-site review of each school that desires to accept or continue to accept foreign
students.
“The beginning of this enrollment period brings us one
step closer to implementing SEVIS,” said INS Commissioner James Ziglar. “SEVIS
promises to revolutionize the way information about foreign students is shared between
schools and INS.”
– INS –
INS Fact Sheet - Preliminary Enrollment in the
Student and Exchange Visitor Information System
July 2, 2002
On July 1, 2002, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) published an interim
rule in the Federal Register to implement the first phase of the certification process for
access to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).
Understanding the Challenge:
INS Seeks to Improve its System for Determining Whether a
School Should Continue to be Approved to Accept Foreign Students and Exchange Visitors
- Tracking Students. The Department of Justice and INS are
required to track the nearly one million nonimmigrant foreign students and exchange
visitors during their stay in the United States.
- Certifying Schools. While INS has an existing process for
certifying and decertifying schools, INS will dedicate more resources to determine whether
a school has continued to meet applicable eligibility requirements after initial
certification. As indicated in INS’ proposed rule, beginning January 30, 2003, SEVIS
will become mandatory for all schools wishing to enroll foreign students under sections
101(a)(15)(F) and (M) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. In accordance with section
502 of the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-173)
INS will review all currently approved schools by May 14, 2004. To accomplish this review
and allow schools to enroll in SEVIS, INS will implement a two-tier process by which
schools may obtain access to SEVIS. The first tier is a preliminary enrollment period for
certain schools that meet the criteria established in the July 1, 2002 interim rule. The
second tier is a full certification review for schools either that were ineligible for
preliminary enrollment or that did not apply during the preliminary enrollment period. INS
will conduct an on-site visit of all schools not eligible for preliminary enrollment
before such schools are permitted access to SEVIS. Schools that preliminarily enroll will
be granted immediate access to SEVIS, though INS will conduct an on-site review of those
schools as part of a subsequent full certification review.
Implementing a Solution:
This Interim Rule Allows INS to Preliminarily Enroll
Certain Schools in SEVIS. A School Must Meet Strict Standards in Order to be Eligible for
Preliminary Enrollment. A School Will be Granted Access to SEVIS Only After INS Conducts a
Review to Establish the Bona Fides of the School.
- On May 16, 2002, INS published a proposed rule in the
Federal Register to implement the new SEVIS requirements and to establish a process for
the electronic reporting of information concerning enrollment of foreign students. That
proposed rule indicated that SEVIS would begin operation on July 1, 2002, and proposed a
mandatory compliance date of January 30, 2003.
- On or after January 30, 2003, all schools must utilize SEVIS
in order to issue a Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student (Form I-20).
- Consistent with its statutory authority to regulate foreign
students under the Immigration and Nationality Act, INS will conduct a review of all
Service-approved schools as a prerequisite for enrollment in SEVIS. A school will be
granted access to SEVIS only after INS conducts a review to establish the bona fides of
the school. Because of the short time between now and January 30, 2003, INS is
establishing a preliminary enrollment period for certain schools that can provide proof
that they are bona fide institutions. On July 1, 2002, INS published a rule in the Federal
Register to begin the preliminary enrollment process (See 67 FR 44344).
- This preliminary enrollment period will be limited to the
following schools: private elementary and private secondary schools that are accredited by
an organization holding membership in the Council for American Private Education (CAPE) or
the American Association of Christian Schools (AACS); postsecondary, language, and
vocational schools that are accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the United
States Department of Education; and public high schools with certification from the
appropriate public official that the school meets the state or local public educational
system's requirements. In addition, the school must have been approved, during each of the
last three years, by INS to enroll academic (F visa) or vocational (M visa) nonimmigrant
students.
- This preliminary enrollment period will be open until at
least August 16, 2002, at which time INS plans to issue an interim rule governing the
certification process for all schools seeking to participate in SEVIS. As soon as that
certification rule is published, this preliminary enrollment period will close, and all
schools will be required to comply with the new enrollment procedures.
- There is no fee for preliminary enrollment, though any
school that applies after the close of the preliminary enrollment period must pay the
certification fee that will be set in the upcoming certification rule. This fee will be
the same for all schools.
- Preliminary enrollment will not be available to flight
schools, even if they have been accredited by an agency recognized by the Department of
Education and have been participating as a Service-approved school for the past three
years. Schools that do not meet the criteria for preliminary enrollment will not be
eligible to apply for access to SEVIS until they apply for certification under the
upcoming certification rule and undergo full-scale review by INS.
Preliminary Enrollment Process:
- Eligible schools must access the SEVIS Internet site at www.ins.usdoj.gov/sevis.
- Once at the SEVIS site, the school will be prompted
electronically to submit certain identifying information.
- After submitting the requested identifying information each
school will receive a temporary user ID and password via e-mail.
- With the user ID and password, the school can re-access the
SEVIS website where it will complete and electronically submit a Petition for Approval of
School for Attendance by Nonimmigrant Student (Form I-17).
- INS will review the Form I-17 and preliminarily enroll the
school if it meets eligibility criteria.
- Schools that are preliminarily enrolled will be given a
permanent user ID and password.
- Schools that are denied preliminary enrollment will be
required to enroll pursuant to the upcoming certification rule.
- Schools that are eligible for preliminary enrollment but
fail to enroll prior to the close of the preliminary enrollment period also will be
required to enroll pursuant to the upcoming certification rule. At the discretion of INS,
however, such INS-approved schools may be permitted to utilize SEVIS until such time that
INS can schedule the required on-site visit.
- All schools enrolled in SEVIS during the preliminary
enrollment period must apply for re-certification prior to May 14, 2004. The
recertification process includes an on-site visit.
- All schools qualified for preliminary enrollment, which
failed to enroll preliminarily but who INS permitted to utilize SEVIS prior to on-site
review, will be required to have an on-site visit prior to May 14, 2004.
– INS – |
