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Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) is the mandated Department of Homeland Security (DHS) monitoring system which tracks foreign student (F-1) visa holders and researcher and scholar (J-1) visa holders. SEVIS itself is part of the Student Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) which is maintained by the US Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) branch of the DHS. SEVIS is an event-based monitoring system. As such, approved schools and institutions are required to report to the DHS certain events or milestones in the academic career of an F-1 or J-1 visa holder.
After being accepted by the institution as a student, researcher or scholar, the institution must generate the appropriate documentation for the visa classification sought by either the non-US citizen or non-US lawful permanent resident, i.e. I-20 or DS-2019. An I-20 or DS-2019 is produced through SEVIS by the approved institution entering specific biographical and financial information. It should be noted at Villanova production of the I-20 is under the direction of the International Student Office and will only be produced after the International Student Office has been notified by the admitting body that the student has been admitted as a matriculating student and his or her file is complete. Finally, researcher and scholar i.e. DS-2019 come under the direction of the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. Like the I-20, the DS-2019 will only be produced once the researcher or scholar has been accepted by a specific organization or department and the source of his or her funding is determined.
These documents i.e. I-20 or DS- 2019 will have an individual identification number unique for that individual and institution. It should be noted that if the individual has applied to more than one institution and obtains more than one I-20 or DS-2019, he or she will have more than one record within the SEVIS database. Multiple record holders should note that the I-20 or DS-2019 for the institution which the appropriate visa has been issued under will be deemed to be valid. As such, in the initial entry into the US, the multiple I-20 or DS-2019 holders MUST present ONLY the I-20 or DS-2019 which matches the visa page institution entry. Further, the visa holder MUST present himself or herself at that institution upon entry into the US to be registered.
Once in the US arrival at the institution is the first event which must be registered with the DHS. It should be noted that registration with DHS at Villanova University is a procedure which is performed by the Registrar’s Office. The procedure for registration with DHS at Villanova is reviewed at the International Student orientation therefore please ensure that you attend this meeting. If you cannot attend, please make sure that you meet with one of the foreign student advisors.
At Villanova University reporting of such events for Foreign Students (F-1) are under the direction of the International Student Office. Although the reporting requirements are slightly different for researchers and scholars (J-1), the reporting function is performed by the Office of the Vice-President for Academic Affairs.
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