Pre-origins: CIPRIS 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. 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. Below is a timeline of the key events in the two years after the attacks describing the key steps in the evolution of SEVIS: 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.
Mandatory reporting requirements 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.
COVID-19 pandemic change 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. 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. 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, the state of California, and a separate collation of 17 states and the District of Columbia. 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.
2025 revocation of Harvard's SEVP 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. Harvard sued the Trump administration within 24 hours. == Fee ==