SEVIS II description

From the U.S. ICE website concerning SEVIS II (http://www.ice.gov/sevis/sevisii/index.htm), the following description:

"SEVIS II is a modernization effort to address limitations in the original SEVIS application. SEVIS II improves on the existing SEVIS system in several areas. First, SEVIS II will create an entirely paperless process for all activities related to the admission and tracking of F/M/J nonimmigrants. Under SEVIS II, F/M/J nonimmigrants and school and sponsor officials will use digital signatures to sign electronic forms related to the student and exchange visitor process. Government officials will also use SEVIS II—or a system that links to SEVIS II—to document electronically decisions about visa issuance, changes of status, entry into the U.S., and other requests for nonimmigrant benefits (e.g., employment authorization).

Second, SEVIS II will permit F/M/J nonimmigrants to create user accounts and directly access their own information in the system. This feature of SEVIS II permits F/M/J nonimmigrants to view information about their status, immigration benefits, and payment of SEVP fees. F/M/J nonimmigrants will also be able to view their own information in the system in real time and request that SEVP or OPSE make a change if it is inaccurate.

Third, SEVIS II will create a new, person-centric recordkeeping system that will unify information about the same F/M/J nonimmigrants that the original SEVIS maintained in multiple records. SEVIS II seeks to unify records about the same individuals by using immigration identification numbers (IINs) assigned to F/M/J nonimmigrants through the activation of SEVIS II accounts. SEVIS II will also links to biometric information for F/M/J nonimmigrants collected by US VISIT. SEVIS II will use this biometric to maintain the one-person, one-record system; however, SEVIS II does not collect, store, or process actual fingerprints or other biometric information.

Fourth, SEVIS II will generate and displays an admissibility indicator for each F/M/J nonimmigrant that reflects whether they are currently eligible for admission into the U.S. under the terms of their F/M/J class of admission. F/M/J nonimmigrants may view their admissibility indicator in SEVIS II before traveling to the U.S. to confirm that they are eligible to enter the U.S. at that time. To generate the admissibility indicator, SEVIS II uses the information already in the system and a set of business rules to determine if the individual is currently eligible to enter the U.S. as an F/M/J nonimmigrant. SEVIS II will exports the admissibility indicator to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Treasury Enforcement Communications System (TECS) to allow CBP officers to view the admissibility indicator when the F/M/J nonimmigrant arrives at the border and requests admission. The CBP officer uses the admissibility indicator to determine if the individual may enter as an F/M/J.

Finally, SEVIS II will indicate whether a nonimmigrant is eligible for employment in the U.S. under the terms of his or her F/M/J class of admission. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) E-Verify system queries SEVIS II in response to a request for an employment authorization. SEVIS II uses information already in the system and a set of business rules to determine if the nonimmigrant is eligible for employment, the maximum allowable length of employment, and (if applicable) the allowable location for employment under the terms of his or her F/M/J admission. This information is sent to E-Verify."