The Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council (HSAAC) met on March 19. 2014. The Subcommittee on International Students, co-chaired by NAFSA Executive Director and CEO Marlene Johnson and New York University President John Sexton, submitted the following findings and recommendations.
On April 3, 2014 NAFSA hosted a virtual brown bag, "How SEVP Field Representatives Will Interact with Designated School Officials." During the event, Steve Acton, Unit Chief, SEVP Field Representative Unit, explained the role of the Field Representatives and what Designated School Officials (DSOs)
SEVP resources for schools to assist in the one-time conversion of the school accreditation/recognition information on fields 10 and 11 of their electronic Form I-17. All SEVP-certified schools had to participate by updating their Form I-17 by July 18, 2014.
In a May 8, 2014 letter to exchange program sponsors, Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) for Private Sector Exchange Robin Lerner provided a recap of new directions and focuses of the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program.
On September 8, 2014, NAFSA submitted comments on the Student and Exchange Visitor Program's (SEVP) Draft Guidance for Adjudicators 1402-07: The Form I-20 and the English Proficiency Field. The draft guidance is part of SEVP's multi-part development of guidance on the topic of conditional admission
This SEVP Broadcast Message informs SEVIS users of SEVP's initiative to review STEM OPT data in SEVIS, which might result in "Remedial Action Plans" (RAPs) being sent to schools.
On August 5, 2014 the ISS-RP Exchange Visitor Subcommittee conducted a liaison with the Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) to discuss the Exchange Visitor Program. The call focused on staffing changes at ECA and the 24-month bar on repeat program participation.
Each year between December 2 and March 2 of the following year, Principal Designated Officials (PDSOs) and Responsible Officers (ROs) must update SEVIS to verify that all PDSOs, Designated School Officials (DSOs), ROs, and Alternate Responsible Officers (AROs) at their respective schools or exchange