When to Contact OGS

The Office of Global Services (OGS) is the University’s liaison to U.S. governmental agencies on matters relating to international students and scholars studying and working in the United States. OGS also serves as a resource to Departments who wish to admit, invite, or hire international students, researchers, faculty, staff, and student interns by helping them understand the pertinent federal regulations, determining the appropriate visa classification, issuing visa documents and filing Department of Labor and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) petitions. Please contact your program’s dedicated IS Advisor with any questions.

Below are a variety of situations in which OGS should be included in the communication loop as early as possible in order to protect and preserve both a student’s immigration status as well as the integrity and compliance of the University’s F-1 and J-1 programs. This list is not inclusive of all situations that may arise. When in doubt, please contact your program’s dedicated IS Advisor. It is better for our office to be over-informed as our ability to support students and departments after a violation has occurred is limited.

• Early terminations: suspensions; expulsions or withdrawals
• Leaves of absence
• Late arrivals & deferrals 
• Students who decide not to attend
• Doctoral students terminating with a Master’s degree 
• Extensions
• Failing to make normal progress towards degree
• Study or research abroad
• Missing students
• Less than full-time enrollment
  • Authorized Drop Below Full Course: Medical Reason (.docx)
  • Authorized Drop Below Full Course: Improper Placement (.docx)
• Registration holds
• New programs
• Updates to existing programs

SEVP Approval Required for New Programs & Updates to Existing Programs: Evaluating Academic Program Eligibility for F-1 and J-1 International Students

Georgetown must receive Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) approval for new programs before OGS can issue a Form I-20 or Form DS-2019 for international students to study at the University. SEVP must also approve changes to existing programs such as changes to time to degree, the addition of online courses, or revisions to internship experiences before those changes go into effect for F-1 and J-1 international students.

1. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences: In conjunction with the Graduate School, OGS will review the New Graduate Program Profile Form as part of the program proposal process if the academic department has indicated on the form that it plans to admit international students. In addition, the Graduate School contacts academic programs each semester to ask about updates to existing programs. The Graduate School will notify OGS of any changes to programs that admit F-1 or J-1 international students. Program administrators are encouraged to consult with the Graduate School and OGS about the SEVP approval timeline before implementing program changes that will impact international students.

2. All Other Programs: Academic programs that do not fall under the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences must work with OGS directly to get SEVP approval to admit F-1 or J-1 international students. Program administrators must submit a Program Verification Form (PVF) for all new programs as well as to report changes to any existing program’s structure or delivery.

   a) Submit a Program Verification Form (PVF) to OGS.

   • Certificate Programs (.docx)

   • Executive and Global Programs (.docx)

   • Graduate Degree Programs (.docx)

   • Graduate Exchange Programs (.docx)

   • Short-Term Special Programs (.docx)

b) OGS reviews the PVF within two weeks.

c) OGS submits the new program or the program change to SEVP or the Department of State using I-17, “Petition for Approval of School for Attendance by Nonimmigrant Student”.

d) I-17 is reviewed by SEVP. The review can take up to 14 months.

e) Approval decision is granted by SEVP and communicated to OGS.

f) OGS alerts the new program that immigration documents may be issued for the next admissions cycle.

Please note: during Recertification cycles, the I-17 is locked and OGS cannot submit new programs for SEVP review. At these times, new programs must wait for the adjudication of the recertification before OGS can submit programs to SEVP.