I-20 (form)
The Form I-20 (also known as the Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant (F-1) Student Status-For Academic and Language Students) is a United States Department of Homeland Security, specifically ICE and the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), document issued by SEVP-certified schools (colleges, universities, and vocational schools) that provides supporting information on a student's F or M status. Since the introduction of the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) run by SEVP, the form also includes the student tracking number (SEVIS ID number) and school code. The Form I-20 is only for F-1, F-2, M-1, and M-2 statuses. J-1 and J-2 status holders have an equivalent Form DS-2019 which is issued by a United States Department of State-designated J exchange visitor program.
The I-20 was updated starting June 2015, with all new I-20s issued using the new format starting June 26, 2015, and the new I-20 necessary for all students seeking entry or re-entry starting July 2016. The main reason for the update to the form was the standardization of names in SEVIS. The changes include:
The new Form I-20 is three pages long. Each dependent gets an additional three pages, with the same format.
Page 1 contains the following:
Page 2 contains the following (this is information that appeared on Page 3 in the previous I-20):
In the case of long event histories, Page 2 could spill over to multiple pages.
Page 3 contains instructions.
The Form I-20 used until June 2015 has three pages, of which the second page is an instructions page, so that only the first and third pages contain information specific to the student's SEVIS record.
Page 1 contains the following:
Page 3 includes the following:
An additional Page 4 may be included for information on the student's dependents, if any.
The Form I-20 is issued by a Designated School Official (DSO) at the institution (college, university, or vocational school). Only institutions that are SEVP-certified can issue Form I-20s. An institution can acquire SEVP certification by filing Form I-17 with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (this is a one-time process). Note that an institution can be SEVP-certified despite not holding national or regional accreditation. Conversely, an institution may hold national or regional accreditation but may have chosen not to obtain SEVP certification if it does not intend to admit international students in the F, J, or M status.
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