Form I-20, Certificate of Eligibility: SEVIS, OPT, and Transfers

The Form I-20, Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status, is the document a U.S. school issues so you can apply for an F-1 or M-1 student visa, enter the country, and prove you belong here as a student.¹ Your school creates it in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), and the same form follows you through the visa interview, every border crossing, any work authorization, and your eventual departure or change of status.

What the Form I-20 Does

One document does a lot of work. The consular officer uses your I-20 to verify that a legitimate SEVP-certified school has admitted you and reviewed your funding. A Customs and Border Protection officer uses it at the port of entry to decide whether to admit you. Your Designated School Official (DSO) uses it later to record travel endorsements, program extensions, transfers, and work authorization. Lose track of any of those updates and your status can lapse without you realizing it.

F-1 students are typically admitted for “duration of status” (shown as “D/S” on the I-94 record), meaning your authorized stay lasts as long as you keep valid student status rather than expiring on a fixed date. The I-20 is what defines that status.

Who Qualifies

To receive a Form I-20, you must first be admitted to a full-time program at a school certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP).² A school without current SEVP certification cannot legally issue the form, no matter its reputation. Part-time or casual enrollment does not qualify.

At a college or university, full-time generally means at least 12 semester or quarter hours per term. Language programs have their own clock-hour thresholds.²

How to Get Your I-20

After admission, you submit personal and financial documents to your DSO. At minimum, you need a valid passport and proof that you can cover tuition, living expenses, and related costs for at least the first year of your program.³

Acceptable financial evidence includes family bank statements, scholarship letters, financial aid letters, sponsor documentation, and employer letters showing annual salary.⁴ Schools vary in what they accept, so check with the international student office first. The DSO needs to see funds that are actually accessible, not tied up in illiquid investments.

When the DSO signs the form, they are certifying under penalty of perjury that the school reviewed your records and determined you meet admission standards.³ SEVIS generates a unique SEVIS ID number that appears on page one and stays with you for your entire time in the system. The school delivers the form as a physical document or a digitally signed PDF.

If you receive a digital version, print it. SEVP guidance directs students to present a printed copy at both the visa interview and the port of entry.⁵ Review every detail: your name should match your passport exactly, and your date of birth, program dates, financial information, and school code should all be correct. Then sign the student attestation on page one. Fixing errors now is far easier than fixing them later.

SEVIS Fee, Visa Interview, and Arrival

With a signed I-20 in hand, pay the I-901 SEVIS fee, which is $350 for F-1 and M-1 applicants.⁶ Payment goes through FMJfee.com using the SEVIS ID number and school code from your form.⁷ Save the receipt for the visa interview and port of entry.

At the interview, the consular officer uses the I-20 to confirm the school and program are legitimate and to evaluate whether you have credible ties to your home country. Inconsistencies between your financial documents and the funding listed on the form, or implausible program details, can lead to denial.

If your visa is approved, carry the original signed I-20 when you travel. A CBP officer at the port of entry inspects it with your visa and passport. Arriving without a signed I-20, without proof of SEVIS fee payment, or with a SEVIS status issue can result in denied entry. The officer also has discretion to issue Form I-515A, which grants temporary admission for 30 days. If you receive one, contact your DSO on arrival; you then have 30 days from entry to email the required documents (the I-515A, signed I-20, I-94 record, passport admission stamp, and SEVIS fee receipt) to the SEVP processing team. Miss the deadline and your SEVIS record can be terminated.⁸

Keeping Your I-20 Valid

Getting the form is only the beginning. Maintaining status requires ongoing attention.

Full Course of Study

Stay enrolled full-time every required term. Dropping below a full course load without prior DSO authorization puts you out of status immediately. A DSO can authorize a reduced load in limited circumstances: academic difficulty (once per program level, and you must still take at least six semester or quarter hours), a documented medical condition (up to 12 months total per program level), or your final term if you need fewer courses to graduate.⁹ Get the authorization before you drop, not after.

Travel Endorsements

Before leaving the country and returning, get a travel endorsement signature from your DSO on page two of your I-20. The endorsement is typically valid for 12 months or until your program end date, whichever comes first. Without a current endorsement, CBP may deny re-entry or issue an I-515A.

Program Extensions and Changes

If you cannot finish by the end date on your I-20, apply for a program extension before that date. A DSO cannot grant an extension once the program end date has passed, and a student who misses the deadline is out of status.² Changing your major, transferring schools, or moving to a higher degree level also requires an updated I-20.

Work Authorization Recorded on the Form

Page two of your I-20 records any off-campus employment authorization your DSO approves.

Curricular Practical Training

Curricular Practical Training (CPT) is employment tied directly to your curriculum, such as a required internship. Your DSO authorizes CPT in SEVIS for a specific employer and issues an updated I-20 with the CPT details on page two.¹⁰ Do not begin working until you have the updated form. Using 12 months or more of full-time CPT eliminates your eligibility for post-completion Optional Practical Training.

Optional Practical Training

Optional Practical Training (OPT) allows F-1 students to work in a field related to their major for up to 12 months. The DSO recommends OPT in SEVIS and issues an updated I-20. You then have 30 days from the DSO’s recommendation date to file Form I-765 with USCIS. Filing outside that window results in denial.¹¹

STEM OPT Extension

Students with degrees in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics fields may apply for a 24-month extension of post-completion OPT. This requires a new I-20 endorsed by the DSO, plus a completed Form I-983 (Training Plan for STEM OPT Students) signed by you and your employer. The plan must describe how the job connects to your STEM degree and your learning goals. Any material change to your employment requires a modified I-983 submitted to the DSO as soon as possible.¹²

Transferring Schools

If you transfer to a different SEVP-certified school, you and your current DSO agree on a transfer release date, which is when control of your SEVIS record shifts to the new school. The new school’s DSO then issues a new I-20 with updated program details. Report to the new school’s international office within 15 days of the program start date. You must also begin attending classes within five months of your last day at the previous school, or at the next available session, whichever comes first.¹³

Dependents

Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 can accompany you on dependent status (F-2 for F-1 students, M-2 for M-1 students). Each dependent needs their own I-20, issued by your SEVP-certified school. A dependent who follows you later must show that you have been admitted and are enrolled in a full course of study, or will be within 30 days. Any substantive change to your own record, such as a transfer or program level change, also triggers new dependent I-20s.¹⁴ Dependents do not pay a separate SEVIS fee, but they do need their own visas and should carry their individual I-20s when traveling.

Grace Periods After You Finish

When you complete your studies and any authorized practical training, you don’t have to leave immediately, but the window is defined.

F-1 students receive a 60-day grace period to prepare for departure, apply for a change of status, or transfer to another SEVP-certified school.¹⁵ M-1 students get a shorter 30-day grace period, and their total authorized stay (program plus practical training plus grace period) cannot exceed one year.¹⁶

One important limit: you generally cannot re-enter the United States during the grace period. For F-1 students, those 60 days exist only to prepare for departure.¹⁷ If you leave the country during this window, treat it as your final departure. Students who fell out of status before completing the program are not eligible for any grace period. F-1 students whose DSO authorizes a withdrawal from classes receive only a 15-day departure period instead of the full 60 days.¹⁵

If You Fall Out of Status

Reinstatement is possible but difficult, and USCIS treats it as a discretionary decision, meaning approval is never automatic even when you meet every criterion. You apply by filing Form I-539 with USCIS, along with a new I-20 from your school carrying the DSO’s recommendation for reinstatement.¹⁵

To qualify, you must show:

You filed within five months of falling out of status, or exceptional circumstances prevented earlier filing.
You do not have a history of repeated or willful violations.
You are pursuing or will immediately pursue a full course of study.
You have not engaged in unauthorized employment.
The violation resulted from circumstances beyond your control, or it involved a course load reduction the DSO could have authorized and denying reinstatement would cause extreme hardship.

Violations caused by your own actions, such as criminal activity, do not qualify as circumstances beyond your control.

Fixing Errors on Your I-20

Misspelled names, wrong program dates, and incorrect financial figures happen more often than you might expect. For most corrections, your DSO submits a correction request through SEVIS. The request goes to a Student and Exchange Visitor Program Response Center analyst, who typically processes it within 30 days.¹⁸

Expedited processing is available in time-sensitive situations, including an I-515A deadline within 30 days, an upcoming visa appointment, or a pending USCIS request for evidence.¹⁸ The DSO can request expedited handling only once per correction, so gather all supporting documentation before the request goes in.

1
Study in the States. Students and the Form I-20
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eCFR. 8 CFR 214.2 – Special Requirements for Admission, Extension, and Maintenance of Status
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Study in the States. DSOs and the Form I-20
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Study in the States. Financial Ability
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. SEVP Policy Guidance – Use of Electronic Signatures and Transmission for the Form I-20
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. I-901 SEVIS Fee
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Study in the States. Paying the I-901 SEVIS Fee
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Study in the States. Form I-515A Overview
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy Manual Volume 2, Part F, Chapter 3 – Courses and Enrollment
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Study in the States. F-1 Curricular Practical Training (CPT)
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Study in the States. F-1 Optional Practical Training (OPT)
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Optional Practical Training Extension for STEM Students (STEM OPT)
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Transfers for F-1 Students
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy Manual Volume 2, Part F, Chapter 9 – Dependents
15
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Policy Manual Volume 2, Part F, Chapter 8 – Change of Status, Extension of Stay, and Length of Stay
16
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. SEVP Governing Regulations for Students and Schools
17
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Travel
18
Study in the States. Correction Requests Overview