Student and Exchange Visitor Program

In the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, a truck bomb was detonated below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. In the aftermath of this incident, the student visa came under increased scrutiny when it was discovered that Eyad Ismoil, one of the terrorists involved was in the United States on an expired student visa.{{cite news | last = Suhler | first = Jayne Noble | author2 = Timms, Ed | title = Security worries putting spotlight on student visas | url = http://www.cis.org/articles/Katz/katz1999.html | work = The Dallas Morning News | date = September 20, 1998 | access-date = 2007-05-21 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070512122504/http://www.cis.org/articles/Katz/katz1999.html | archive-date = May 12, 2007 }}{{cite news | last = Suhler | first = Jayne Noble | author2 = Timms, Ed | title = Cases highlight flaws in federal visa system | url = http://www.cis.org/articles/Katz/katz1999.html | work = The Dallas Morning News | date = November 8, 1998 | access-date = 2007-05-21 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070512122504/http://www.cis.org/articles/Katz/katz1999.html | archive-date = May 12, 2007 }}{{cite web|url = https://shareok.org/bitstream/handle/11244/917/3187222.PDF?sequence=1|title = A Descriptive Case Study of the Impact of 9/11 on International Student Visa Policy in the 20 Months Following the Attacks|author = Mary Helen Reeves|access-date = February 10, 2016}}{{cite web|url = https://oig.justice.gov/special/0205/chapter6.htm|title = CHAPTER SIX. THE INS'S FOREIGN STUDENT PROGRAM|date = May 20, 2002|access-date = February 10, 2016}}

A memorandum from the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Investigative Agency Policies to the Deputy Attorney General dated September 24, 1994, mentioned the need to subject foreign students to thorough and continuing scrutiny before and during their stay in the United States. On April 17, 1995, the Deputy Attorney General asked the Immigration and Naturalization Service(INS) Commissioner to address this issue. This led to an INS task force in June 1995 to conduct a comprehensive review of the F, M, and J visa processes. Besides the INS, the task force included members from the State Department and the United States Information Agency, and experts in the administration of international student programs. The task force report, issued on December 22, 1995, identified problems in the tracking and monitoring of students by schools, problems in the certification of schools by the INS, and problems with INS receiving and maintaining up-to-date records from schools. As a result of these findings, the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 directed the Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to develop and conduct a program to collect certain information on nonimmigrant foreign students and exchange visitors from approved institutions of higher education and designated exchange visitor programs.

In June 1997, the INS launched a pilot program for a centralized electronic reporting system for institutions, called the Coordinated Interagency Partnership Regulating International Students (CIPRIS). The CIPRIS pilot officially ended in October 1999, as the INS felt it had gathered enough data from the prototype to start working on the nationwide system. The INS began working on a new system that would be called the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) with the associated information system called the Student and Exchange Visitor Information Service (SEVIS). During the rollout, CIPRIS and SEVIS met with considerable opposition from the Association of International Educators and the American Council on Education. However, they claimed that the opposition was not against the programs in principle but due to the concern that a botched rollout by the INS could result in many students suffering.

In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks (September 11, 2001) and the Patriot Act passed in response (October 26, 2001), there was further increase in scrutiny of student visas, increasing the momentum in favor of the adoption of SEVIS. This was partly because one of the attackers, Hani Hanjour, had come to the United States on a student visa.{{cite web|url = http://www.factcheck.org/2013/05/911-hijackers-and-student-visas/|title = 9/11 Hijackers and Student Visas|last = Farley|first = Robert|date = May 10, 2013|access-date = June 17, 2016}}

Below is a timeline of the key events in the two years after the attacks describing the key steps in the evolution of SEVIS:

SEVIS has undergone six major releases since its launch. The release is numbered using a major release version number followed by a dot and a minor release version number. Below is a partial list of release dates:{{cite web|url = http://www.nafsa.org/Professional_Resources/Browse_by_Interest/International_Students_and_Scholars/SEVIS_Releases/|title = SEVIS Releases|date = October 26, 2015|publisher = NAFSA: Association of International Educators|access-date = January 29, 2015}}

During the first half of 2012, changes that affect all colleges, universities, and other educational institutions that provide English language training ("ESL") programs began. These changes stem from the Accreditation of English Language Training Act ("Accreditation Act"), which became effective in June 2011. Pursuant to the Accreditation Act, ESL programs that enroll foreign nonimmigrant students must obtain accreditation from a regional or national accreditation agency recognized by the United States Department of Education. The Accreditation Act applies to two types of ESL programs: Stand-Alone ESL Schools whose officials have indicated on the school's Form I-17 the intention to offer only ESL programs of study; and Combined Schools whose officials have indicated on the school's Form I-17 that the school offers an ESL program of study, as well as other programs of study. A Combined School may either contract out the ESL program of study or wholly own and operate the ESL program of study under the institution's governance.{{cite web |title=SEVP Implementation of the Accreditation Act|url=http://www.natlawreview.com/article/sevp-implementation-accreditation-act|publisher=Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.|work=The National Law Review|date=2012-07-03|access-date=2012-10-01}}

Schools and programs approved to host students and scholars on these visas are required to report certain information. Information that must be reported includes:

• Change of legal name
• Change of U.S. address
• Change of major field of study
• Change of education degree level
• Change of funding
• Authorization for off-campus employment

In addition, they must report events that constitute a violation of the international visitor's visa status, such as academic suspension, criminal conviction, failure to enroll and unauthorized off-campus employment.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the SEVP program allowed international students to take more online coursework in the spring and summer semesters of 2020 to accommodate the various state-mandated school closures and stay-at-home orders without penalizing the students. On July 6, 2020, ICE issued a regulation that stated that for any current international visitor under SEVP to remain in the country come the fall 2020 semesters, they must return to taking most of their coursework in person, limiting any online coursework to a maximum of one class or three credit hours online, or be enrolled in a hybrid system but still required to take some physical classes. Students failing to meet these would be face "immigration consequences including, but not limited to, the initiation of removal proceedings", and students who had indicated they would be taking only online classes would be denied visas.{{cite web | url = https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/6/21315168/ice-immigration-international-students-universities-deportation | title = ICE says international students must take in-person classes to remain in the US | first = Monica | last = Chin | date = July 6, 2020 | access-date = July 13, 2020 | work = The Verge }}

The new change was criticized by students, schools, and states alike, as with the pandemic worsening in most of the United States at the time, many schools did not have plans to commit to opening to physical classes in the fall semester, leaving these international students at risk of deportation.{{cite web | url = https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/06/politics/international-college-students-ice-online-learning/index.html | title = International students may need to leave US if their universities transition to online-only learning | first1 = Priscilla | last1 = Alvarez |first2= Catherine E. | last2= Shoichet | date = July 6, 2020 | access-date = July 13, 2020 | work = CNN }} At least three separate lawsuits were filed against ICE on the changed within the week on the basis that the decision was arbitrary and capricious and failed the Administrative Procedure Act: A joint suit by Harvard University and MIT,{{cite web | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/10/us/f1-student-visa-lawsuit.html | title = As Universities Seek to Block Visa Rules, Trump Threatens Tax Status | first1 = Anemona | last1 = Hartocollis | first2= Miriam | last2 = Jordan | date = July 10, 2020 | access-date = July 13, 2020 | work = The New York Times }} the state of California,{{cite web | url = https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/california-becomes-first-state-sue-trump-administration-over-student-visa-n1233381 | title = California becomes first state to sue Trump administration over student visa policy | first = Alicia Victoria | last = Lozano | date = July 9, 2020 | access-date = July 13, 2020 | work = NBC News }} and a separate collation of 17 states and the District of Columbia.{{cite web | url = https://www.theverge.com/2020/7/13/21322780/ice-lawsuit-states-universities-international-students-visa-pandemic-trump | title = Seventeen states sue Trump administration over new student visa guidelines | first = Monica | last = Chin | date = July 13, 2020 | access-date = July 13, 2020 | work = The Verge }} Prior to a second hearing where it was expected that a preliminary injunction was to be placed on the new ruling on July 14, 2020, ICE affirmed it would rescind the new rule and continue to allow international students to participate in online classes.{{cite web | url = https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/507293-trump-administration-rescinds-policy-to-strip-visas-from-foreign |title = Trump administration rescinds foreign students rule | first = John | last= Kruzel | date = July 14, 2020 | access-date = July 14, 2020 | work = The Hill }}

{{Further|Education policy of the second Donald Trump administration}}

In 2025, the Department of Homeland Security under the Trump administration announced the "revocation" of Harvard University's SEVP certification, banning the university from enrolling international students and forcing existing foreign students to transfer to other institutions.{{cite news |title=Trump administration ends Harvard's ability to enrol international students |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c05768jmm11o |access-date=23 May 2025 |work=www.bbc.com |date=22 May 2025}}{{cite news |last1=Schmidt |first1=Michael S. |last2=Bender |first2=Michael C. |title=Trump Administration Says It Is Halting Harvard’s Ability to Enroll International Students |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/us/politics/trump-harvard-international-students.html |access-date=23 May 2025 |work=The New York Times |date=22 May 2025}} Harvard sued the Trump administration within 24 hours.{{cite news |title=Harvard sues Trump administration for blocking foreign student enrolment |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cje7ledqvyqo |access-date=23 May 2025 |work=www.bbc.com |date=23 May 2025}}

In 2004, the United States Congress mandated that all international students and exchange visitors pay the I-901 SEVIS fee, which funds the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) and SEVIS. The fee can be paid online at fmjfee.com. As of June 24, 2019, the fees are as follows:{{cite web|url = https://www.fmjfee.com|title = I-901 SEVIS Fee|publisher = U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement}}

The SEVIS fee must be paid after receiving the initial document (I-20 or DS-2019) and is a prerequisite for obtaining the F, J, or M visa,{{cite web|url = https://internationalaffairs.uchicago.edu/page/students/admitted|title = Admitted Students|publisher = University of Chicago|access-date = February 9, 2016}} or if transitioning to student status using Form I-539.{{cite web|url = https://studyinthestates.dhs.gov/2013/07/what-is-the-form-i-539|title = What is the Form I-539?|date = June 18, 2013|access-date = February 1, 2016|publisher = U.S. Department of Homeland Security}}

The fee needs to be paid only for the principal (the F-1, J-1, or M-1). Dependents (F-2, J-2, and M-2) do not need to pay the fee. Also, the fee needs to be paid only once per initial SEVIS record, and in particular, does not need to be paid again if applying for a new visa on the same status.{{cite web|url = https://internationalaffairs.uchicago.edu/fmjfee|title = SEVIS Fee|publisher = University of Chicago Office of International Affairs|access-date = January 29, 2017}} It is distinct from the visa fees, which need to be paid for each visa application.

Below is the list of fees for schools seeking SEVP certification (through Form I-17) or re-certification, as of January 2017.

• Department of Homeland Security
• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.ice.gov/sevis/index.htm Official DHS SEVIS website]
• [http://StudyintheStates.dhs.gov DHS Study in the States website]
• [http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/08/01/student.tracking/index.html International student registry deadline arrives], CNN, August 1, 2003

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Category:History of immigration to the United States

Category:Student exchange

Category:U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement