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EmailFINAL SEVIS VERIFICATION AND REPORTING
P 121904Z FEB 03
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO ALL DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR POSTS PRIORITY
SPECIAL EMBASSY PROGRAM PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY KABUL PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE PRIORITY
AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM PRIORITY
UNCLAS STATE 040362
VISAS, FOR CONSULS, ALSO FOR PAO''S
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CVIS, KPAO
SUBJECT: FINAL SEVIS VERIFICATION AND REPORTING
INSTRUCTIONS
REF: A) STATE 026911 AND PREVIOUS, B) 02 STATE 113328
1. Summary: Late the week of February 10, 2003, the first
tranche of INS Student and Exchange Visitor Information
System (SEVIS) production data will be made available on
the Consolidated Consular Database (CCD) to posts
worldwide. This cable contains specific instructions
for searching for and reporting SEVIS data. Once
consular sections receive these instructions and confirm
the availability of SEVIS data on the CCD, users may opt
to use SEVIS to verify all SEVIS-generated Forms I-20
and DS-2019. Department reminds posts that, for SEVIS-
generated Forms I-20 and DS-2019 issued prior to the new
SEVIS full implementation date of February 15, 2003, the
Department''s Interim Student and Exchange Authentication
System (ISEAS) remains available as a verification
mechanism. ISEAS should be searched before any case
involving a pre-February 15 Form I-20 or DS-2019 is
suspended under 221(g). For those documents created on
or after February 15, 2003 SEVIS is the sole electronic
verification system available to consular staff.
2. Per reftels, SEVIS is the permanent system that will
record electronically all significant events in the U.S.
"careers" of international students and exchange visitor
program participants. Beginning with the new SEVIS full
implementation date of February 15, 2003, all Forms I-20
issued by academic and vocational educational
institutions, and all Forms DS-2019 issued by exchange
visitor program sponsors, must be created within SEVIS.
See reftels for explicit instructions on the
verification of Forms I-20 and DS-2019 issued prior to
the SEVIS full implementation date (originally January
30, 2003, now February 15, 2003,) descriptions of SEVIS
documents, and additional background information. End
Summary.
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Consular Processing Isn''t Changing Overnight:
the ISEAS to SEVIS Transition
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3. Department points out that on February 15, SEVIS "full
implementation" commences with Forms I-20 and DS-2019
prepared in the United States on and after that date and
then forwarded to recipients around the globe. Given
the usual exigencies of the student/exchange visitor
visa application process, it is likely that weeks will
pass before posts begin adjudicating significant numbers
of F, M and J visa cases with Forms I-20 or DS-2019
issued on or after February 15. Over the short run,
most of the F, M and J visa applicants will present
Forms I-20 or DS-2019 issued by their sponsoring
institutions or organizations prior to that date. In
these cases, consular employees can continue to use
ISEAS to verify those forms, whether they are older
"paper" forms or SEVIS documents. ISEAS will remain
available to consular sections after February 15, 2003
for this purpose.
4. Following a period of inter-agency data sharing and
testing issues, SEVIS production data in workable form
was pushed from INS to CA on January 28, 2003. By
January 31, CA/EX/CSD contractors had completed the
process of receiving, revising and loading these data
into the CCD. This first tranche of usable SEVIS
production data consisted of 203 files containing
records on 90,920 individual F-1 and M-1 students, 4,606
F-2/M-2 dependents, 296 J-1 exchange visitors, and 153
J-2 dependents. Following receipt of those data and
their posting to the Consolidated Consular Database, the
Visa Office conducted Washington-based testing of the
verification and reporting processes described below to
ensure that the SEVIS verification system functions as
intended.
5. SEVIS production data will be made available to posts
worldwide late the week of February 10, 2003. As soon
as posts receive these instructions and confirm the
availability of SEVIS data on the CCD, users may opt to
use SEVIS to verify all SEVIS-generated Forms I-20 and
DS-2019. Department reminds posts that, for SEVIS-
generated Forms I-20 and DS-2019 issued prior to the new
SEVIS full implementation date of February 15, 2003,
ISEAS remains available as a verification mechanism and
should be searched before any case involving a pre-
February 15 Form I-20 or DS-2019 is suspended under
221(g). For those documents created on or after the
SEVIS full implementation date of February 15, 2003,
SEVIS is the sole electronic verification system
available to consular staff.
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SEVIS How-to
--------------
6. Consular employees will access SEVIS data under the NIV
tab in the CCD, available on the CA Intranet home page
menu bar. Within CCD, click on the NIV tab, then select
"SEVIS Lookup," which appears under the new "NIV Student
Exchange Visa" bar. Selecting SEVIS Lookup will bring
the user to the "SEVIS Lookup Report Parameter Form"
page. From this page users will first select one of
four records categories indicated by the I-20/DS-2019
form type presented by the visa applicant (F-1 or M-1
student, F-2 or M-2 student dependent, J-1 exchange
visitor or J-2 exchange visitor dependent) and commence
their search for SEVIS records. (Note: SEVIS Forms I-20
A-B and I-20 M-N differentiate between students and
dependents with the annotation "Student''s Copy" or
"Dependent''s Copy" located directly over the SEVIS ID
number above the bar code. SEVIS Forms DS-2019 bear the
designation "J-1" or "J-2 Dependent" directly below the
SEVIS ID number, also above the bar code. End note.)
Department recommends launching record searches by
entering the SEVIS ID number, which is the most case-
specific search parameter. Users may elect to search
for records using the applicant''s surname,
School/Program name or School code/Program number, or a
combination of these search criteria.
7. Search parameters: Users are advised that SEVIS queries
will run against a large database. As stated above, the
SEVIS ID number - an eleven character alphanumeric code
beginning with the letter "N", and located over the
barcode on the Form I-20/DS-2019 - is the recommended
and most case-specific search parameter. When users opt
to use the SEVIS ID number as the search parameter,
remaining parameter fields need not be filled out.
(Note: a single SEVIS ID number may be associated with
more than one entry; every time an individual file is
updated, a new entry will be created in SEVIS. All
entries under a specific SEVIS ID number should refer to
the same individual. Users will need to be aware of
which of the files are current. End note.) When
searching by date of birth or country code, users must
enter a full or partial surname. Users are instructed
to enter the date of birth by specifying day, month, and
year in the three separate fields provided. Users must
enter the day of birth as a two digit number (01 or 23),
the month using the three character abbreviation (JAN,
FEB, etc.), and the complete four-digit year. Partial
dates of birth can be entered by omitting one or two of
the date fields. When specifying a given name, users
MUST enter a surname. When conducting a search using
criteria other than the SEVIS ID number, users must
specify enough parameters to narrow the search.
Inadequately narrowed queries would potentially return
very large files; therefore they will be rejected.
8. While the SEVIS record contains more information fields
than an ISEAS record, users must verify only the
following fields:
- school code/program number,
- school/program name,
- surname and first/given name,
- date and country of birth,
- nationality/citizenship.
Users are reminded that F-2, M-2 and J-2 dependents
receive individually issued SEVIS documents. Users also
will note that fields including education level, major,
second major, minor, and nationality are filled in with
code numbers or are perhaps blank. Department notes
that in many of these early SEVIS records, the School
Official Name appears as "INTERNAL INTERNAL," with no
official title listed. We don''t know yet the reason for
this, but posts should not/not suspend visa processing
if this is encountered. Department will provide
guidance on these data field issues, as well as an
explanation of the SEVIS status codes (initial, active,
cancelled and terminated) via future septel(s).
9. Unlike an ISEAS verification, users will not click on a
box to "verify" the record. Rather, users must copy the
SEVIS ID number from the SEVIS record into the
appropriate NIV 4.01 reporting field in order to record
and report SEVIS verification. Secondly, until
instructed otherwise, whenever an F, J, or M visa is
printed the SEVIS ID number must be entered beginning as
the first characters on the first line of the MRV
annotation field followed by a space. After that space
the balance of the visa annotation can be entered. This
annotation policy must be followed strictly in order to
allow for recognition of the SEVIS ID number at INS
ports of entry until information system upgrades permit
INS inspectors to acquire the SEVIS ID number
electronically. Adherence to the NIV 4.01 data entry
requirements described above does not/not relieve posts
from this separate visa annotation requirement. Septel
will advise the field when entry of the SEVIS ID number
in the MRV annotation field is no longer required.
10.Another significant difference between ISEAS and SEVIS
is that there is no workaround procedure for cases in
which an applicant presents a SEVIS I-20 or DS-2019,
issued on or after February 15, 2003, and for which
there is no corresponding SEVIS record. In such cases
the visa application must be suspended under INA 221(g)
and the applicant advised to contact his or her
school/program regarding the need for a SEVIS entry.
(For SEVIS Forms I-20 and DS-2019 issued prior to that
date, users can use ISEAS as a verification tool.)
Department will provide regular updates as our responses
to this and other issues are developed.
l1.To sum up, here is a step-by-step SEVIS verification and
reporting guide:
- Prospective student or exchange visitor tenders SEVIS-
generated Form I-20 or DS-2019.
- User accesses CA Intranet web page, selects the CCD
and clicks on the NIV tab.
- User selects "SEVIS Lookup," which appears under the
new "NIV Student Exchange Visa" bar.
- User uses the "SEVIS Lookup Report Parameter Form"
page to conduct SEVIS record check on the basis of the
document type presented by the applicant, SEVIS ID
number (recommended), surname, school code/program
number, school/program name, etc.
- Visa issued provided the applicant is otherwise
eligible; SEVIS ID number entered as first characters
of the first line of the MRV annotation field,
followed by a space and the balance of the visa
annotation.
- Once NIV 4.01 loaded at post, SEVIS ID number entered
in the dedicated data entry field.
12.Department expects start-up difficulties as this massive
effort is launched by the INS and SEVIS data is pushed
around the world, and thanks posts in advance for their
support during the transition to SEVIS verification and
issuance procedures. The visa office is committed to
the highest possible level of service and wants to hear
from posts as we gain experience with SEVIS.
POWELL
