NAFSA Annual Conference and Expo. SEVIS Technical Functionality Session. May 30, 2017

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NAFSA Annual Conference and Expo SEVIS Technical Functionality Session May 30, 2017 Note: This document provides answers that interpret U.S. government regulation, but does not serve as a replacement for federal regulation or official Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) policy guidance.

1 NAFSA Annual Conference and Expo SEVIS Technical Functionality Session May 30, 2017 Note: This document provides answers that interpret U.S. government regulation, but does not serve as a replacement for federal regulation or official Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) policy guidance. Questions have been edited for grammar and style. 1. The Computer Linked Application Information Management System (CLAIMS) is failing to push optional practical training (OPT) approval to the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) to reflect Approved status. This results in the institution having to scan and double-check every Employment Authorization Document (EAD) that arrives and then request an update. If any issues are not caught, SEVIS automatically terminates students whose status is inaccurate, causing a host of issues for the student on OPT, the employer, and the sponsoring institution. This is especially important since the institution is required by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to maintain accurate records, and we want to be sure that our students are able to apply for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) OPT. Is SEVP aware of this issue and if so, does SEVP have a plan to address it? A. SEVP is working with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to resolve the interface problems between SEVIS and CLAIMS. The April 28, 2017, SEVIS Release 6.33 implemented a fix that should reduce the need for correction requests by designated school officials (DSOs). This fix will alert SEVP if there is a discrepancy between the number of records sent by CLAIMS and the number of records SEVIS ultimately processed. This early notification will allow SEVP to reach out to USCIS immediately and have the data manually pushed to SEVIS. This fix will not resolve all of the problems, Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) 1

2 as SEVP has no way of knowing if the data was not sent initially or if the data was applied to the incorrect record. DSOs should continue to report problems to the SEVIS Help Desk and to submit correction requests to change the status of a student s OPT requests. DSO action is our best way of identifying records with incorrect data. Because students must file the Form I-765, Application for Employment Authorization, directly with USCIS, and because USCIS processes data with their own system, SEVP is not notified of the filing until SEVIS receives interface data. 2. In a summer 2016 SEVIS release, it became mandatory for transfer-in schools to provide the student s phone number and their local U.S. address in order to issue a transfer-pending Form I-20, Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status. SEVP advised that active F-1 students must maintain a local U.S. address. We note that transfer students often come from U.S. high schools and return home in the summer. They do not have a U.S. local address to provide when transitioning between schools, and while they have a valid Transfer Pending SEVIS record, they are not technically in Active status in SEVIS during the transfer process (the SEVIS record would be in Initial status). Has SEVP considered ensuring that the U.S. address and phone number transfer over with a student s SEVIS record, ensuring that those mandatory fields remain populated? The transfer-in school could then use discretion to update if there is a change in information, but would not be put in a position of reporting false data. Ultimately, these fields would be updated no later than the time of registration for the transfer-in student. A. Thank you for your suggestion. SEVP will address this issue as part of SEVIS Modernization. Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) 2

3 3. Is it possible to remove old alerts from the SEVIS real time interface (RTI)? If not, will SEVP consider this functionality in the future? A. We recognize that this is an ongoing issue for school officials. SEVP plans to address these alerts as part of SEVIS Modernization. 4. Our school shortened multiple records via Batch to the end of our fall 2016 term (Dec. 20, 2016). However, we received the following error code stating S1089: New program end date may not be after current program end date. Were these errors due to the fact that this Batch was submitted in 2017, and the date being changed was in 2016? Or is this a SEVIS error? A. Without a school code and Batch ID number, we are unable to comment on this question. Please send your school code and Batch ID number, along with a description of the error code to SEVP at SEVISTechnicalFeedback@ice.dhs.gov so the problem can be addressed. 5. In the J-1 login for SEVIS, whenever the user validates an exchange visitor record, the user is kicked out of the record. If the user needs to access the record, they must search for the record again. Is it possible to change this so that the user is able to return to the record instead of having to search for the record again? A. Thank you for the recommendation. This suggestion has been forwarded to the U.S. Department of State for consideration as they work to modernize SEVIS. 6. USCIS informs us that we can request a change to a student s start date once the student s OPT has been requested, and before status is pending. They have informed us that a new Form I-20 should be submitted with the new request date. However, that functionality to change the OPT start date is not built into SEVIS. This action requires a request for evidence from USCIS, Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) 3

4 followed by a data fix from SEVP in order to get the date changed. Is this functionality something that SEVP would consider implementing? A. This is something SEVP can consider as part of efforts to modernize SEVIS. Further suggestions to improve SEVIS can always be sent to SEVISTechnicalFeedback@ice.dhs.gov. 7. When a STEM OPT request is made, the start date is automatically noted as the date after the OPT ends, and the end date is noted as two years plus one day later. The employment end date field automatically fills when entering the employment information. When USCIS adjudicates STEM OPT applications, they go into SEVIS and change the end date to correct the system generated error. However, the end date in the employment information section still includes one day too many. Also, SEVIS does not consider dates outside of the approved OPT dates as dates that the student is employed, resulting in the unemployment counter showing all days as unemployment. The student is also placed on the Students Who Have Not Reported Employment alert list. Could SEVP please comment on any pending or planned fixes for this issue? A. We are working to correct how unemployment is calculated. This will be addressed in a future release. 8. Currently, SEVIS auto-populates the employment end date upon STEM recommendation. Should this field remain blank given that there is no certainty the individual will remain employed? A. No, this field should not be left blank. This field can be edited when the student stops working for the employer. 9. There have been ongoing issues between USCIS and SEVIS for updating employment authorization status. Can SEVP comment on this problem in relation to the 17-month STEM OPT and additional seven month extension? Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) 4

5 Can SEVP also comment on how the calculations for the six-month check-ins are determined? A. SEVP will address the problem with the interface between the two systems as we modernize SEVIS. This issue is not related to the additional seven months of STEM OPT. The six-month reporting is calculated based on the start date of the STEM OPT. 10. DSOs are finding that employment remarks are no longer populating on the Form I-20. Is this information still being used by agencies if data is entered? A. Although employment remarks may not appear on the Form I-20, agencies review this information electronically in SEVIS. The U.S. Department of State s Bureau of Consular Affairs relies on the data in SEVIS, including any remarks. 11. There have been situations when SEVIS has undergone technical updates, which negatively impact a student record. For example, a student s Active OPT records were automatically deactivated. Can SEVP comment on why this is happening and how schools can identify if an Active OPT student was deactivated by SEVIS? Additionally, if this is happening due to an error from SEVIS, is there a reason the school is asked for documents of support to solve the issue? A. SEVP is unaware of this problem and needs more information regarding this case. Please SEVISTechnicalFeedback@ice.dhs.gov with the details so that a solution can be found. 12. Designated school officials (DSOs) note that SEVP has provided varied advanced notice regarding Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) outages. Sometimes, the notices come days in advance, and other times, the notice comes a few hours before the outage after Batches have Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) 5

6 been submitted. Could SEVP provide clarification about the difference in the notice of SEVIS outages? A. SEVP acknowledges the need for more timely communication and tries to provide advance notice about planned SEVIS outages to stakeholders. Unfortunately, SEVP is unable to predict all SEVIS outages that affect Batch processing. Some outages are the result of other U.S. Department of Homeland Security considerations, and there may be little advanced notice. SEVP is committed to providing its partners with as much advanced warning as possible. Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) 6

SEVIS Release 6.13 Final System Changes. SEVIS Batch. All Users

SEVIS Release 6.13 Final System Changes. SEVIS Batch. All Users May 23, 2013 Production Release Date: May 24, 2013 The following summarizes the final system changes to SEVIS with Release 6.13. SEVIS Batch An overview of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information