What to do if your school is no longer SEVP certified

If you attend an SEVP certified school that has been automatically withdrawn from SEVIS certification as a result of SEVP’s ongoing recertification process please:

•  Don’t panic!
•  Contact your designated school official about your options.
•  Finish the current semester/term at your current school.
•  If your designated school official lets you know that your school is being reinstated to enroll nonimmigrant students, you may continue to be enrolled at your school.
•  If the school remains withdrawn from certification, you will be notified by letter from SEVP. You may do one of the following within 30 days of the schools withdrawal:

1. Depart the United States; 2. Transfer to another SEVP certified school; or, 3. Change to another nonimmigrant status.

If you have questions you can call the SEVP Response Center at (703) 603-3400 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET.

DHS announced a new initiative to streamline the international student visa process for foreign students seeking to study in the United States. The Study in the States initiative is a key component of a government-wide effort to encourage the best and brightest foreign students to study and remain in the U.S. For more information, visit Study in the States website .

These Questions & Answers address the automatic extension of F-1 student status in the United States for certain students with pending or approved H-1B petitions (indicating a request for change of status from F-1 to H-1B) for an employment start date of October 1, 2009 under the FY 2010 H-1B cap. Read the Cap Gap Press Release.

If you employ an F-1 nonimmigrant student on post-completion optional practical training (OPT) and that student is the beneficiary of a pending or approved H-1B petition, the student may be able to continue working beyond the expiration date on his or her employment authorization document (EAD). Click here for an update from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

USCIS posted supplemental Q & As to its website regarding the 4/4/08 interim final rule extending optional practical training (OPT) for qualified F-1 nonimmigrant students. Click here for PDF document.