Appendix 1: Sample sevis II implementation Plan for pdsos/ROs

Appendix 1: Sample SEVIS II Implementation Plan for PDSOs/ROs

SEVIS II Implementation Stage one: Pre-Initial Operating Capability (Months leading up to Institutional enrollment in SEVI S II and creation of Customer Accounts)

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  Policy & Process: Monitor information on SEVIS II provided by SEVP, the Exchange Visitor Program, and professional associations such as NAFSA, the Alliance, etc. Become familiar with the technical changes of SEVIS II.
  

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  Policy/Process: Monitor changing F, M, and J regulations and modify institutional business procedures, information, etc. to reflect any changes needed to implement new regulations.
  

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  Process: Conduct institutional scan – Identify what current institutional systems, processes, applications, websites, handouts, etc. would be affected by SEVI S II changes. Include new information that does not currently exist that would need to be integrated into these things. Are there any other processes you’d like to change at this time? This is a good time to evaluate all your systems and make improvements.
  

What needs to change?	Who “owns” it?

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  Process: Visualize how your ideal new process (processes) would look like in SEVIS II. Articulate this vision so you can present it to your institutional implementation team as a good starting point for SEVIS II implementation discussions.
  

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  Process: Think about your implementation team(s). Do you need one single implementation team or are you better served by having more than one (example, F-1 and J-1 students vs. J-1 scholars)?
  

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  Process: Identify which offices/individuals should be part of the SEVIS II implementation team(s). Get the right people on the team – do they have the authority and/or skills needed to carry out their roles or tasks? Front-line personnel are great in figuring out better ways of processing things they handle each day, but may not have the clout to affect policy changes. Clearly articulate your expectations of them and the role they are being asked to play.
  

Office/Individual	Role/Function/Task

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  Communication: Brief those offices/individuals of the pending changes. Pay particular attention to tech support. Share your vision for new systems.
  

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  Process: Develop preliminary implementation and communication schedule for major stages of the project. Share this schedule with implementation team(s) to initiate collaborative planning process. You will add more details later.
  

Stage	Target date	Who takes the Lead?
Pre-Implementation
Form Implementation Team
Gather information for I-17 and or the institutional information on the J visa side of SEVIS II
Develop plan for managing transition of current students/exchange visitors and any dependents
Develop overall communications and training strategies for handling migration of data
Revise any institutional processes (for future implementation)
Discuss issue of SEVIS downloaded data and relation to institutional information system; who will decide if data flows back from SEVIS to SIS or not?
Phase One of SEVIS II goes live (Initial Operating Capability)	(?)
Create customer accounts to acquire Immigration Identification Numbers (IIN)
Register institution & verify program data (complete SEVIS II I-17)
Communicate with students, EVs and their dependents about changes in SEVIS II
Student/EV account set up
Work with students/EVs to correct data/SEVIS history
Phase Two of SEVIS Goes Live (Final Operating Capability)	(?)

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  Policy: Since students and exchange visitors create their own customer accounts to get their own IIN, how important is it to the sponsoring institution that the name on the IIN account in SEVIS II match the one in the institutional database?
  

Institutional Plan to handle data discrepancy in names and/or addresses:

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  Policy/Process: On the F-1 side, more detailed information about each specific academic program (level, duration, session dates, etc.) will be required. I-20s can only be issued for the academic programs defined formally on the I-17. Instructional programs offered are dynamic and ever changing. Identify how new academic programs are formally created and who at your institution learns of them and assigns the CIP code. Identify who will notify the PSDO as new academic programs to be added to the I-17.
  

Creating new academic programs
What is the Process:
How/by whom is PDSO notified of changes to academic programs and/or CIP codes for updates to I-17:

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  Policy/Process: The J program proposed rules require RO/ARO background checks. If this requirement is required, develop an institutional process for ensuring these are done and maintained.
  

Background check is…	…by
Initiated	(name of institutional office requesting background check)
Conducted by	(name of company used by institution to conduct background check)
Maintained	(name of office that maintains results)

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  Policy/Process: Review current PDSO/DSO and RO/AROs listing. SEVIS II will allow for the assignment of roles within SEVIS. These roles will determine the level of access the individual will have. On the F/M program side, these roles can vary from read-only to full access. On the J-Program side, institutional payments such as for re-designation, reinstatements, etc. must be paid through pay.gov which will be accessible only through SEVIS.
  

Individual__Role_in_SEVIS'>Individual	Role in SEVIS
President/CEO	Sign I-17 appoint PDSO/RO

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  Process: Discuss and develop a plan for how Immigration Identification Number (IIN) will be collected and integrated into existing data collection processes.
  

Plan to collect IIN from PDSO, DSOs, ROs, AROs, President/CEO, and others accessing SEVIS II (such as Payers needing to access Pay.gov for J programs)

Plan to collect IIN from Current Students and Exchange Visitors and Dependents:

Plan To Collect IIN from Prospective Students and Exchange Visitors and Dependents:

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  Process: Review and update existing I-17 and DS-3036 information in SEVIS. SEVIS II will require institutions to once again define their programs by completing new versions of I-17 and DS-3036. Existing data will be automatically migrated into SEVIS II. Compare current institutional information in SEVIS to the institutional information SEVIS II will require. (See unofficial I-17 worksheet in Appendix 2)
  

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  Process: On the F/M side, SEVIS II will allow for schools to identify temporary SEVIS users to key in data on the I-17. Identify any additional individuals who will assist in keying data on the institutions academic programs into SEVIS II. Once SEVIS II goes live, their access will end.
  

Individual(s)

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  Communication: Develop preliminary communication plan for students, exchange visitors and their dependents and identify target implementation dates and point people for managing these tasks. Decide what types of outreach to continuing students/EVs is appropriate/feasible given institutional realities (manpower of your office, number of students/EVs, on-site vs. off-site location of students/EVs). Don’t forget students on OPT or Exchange Visitors on Academic Training or student employment.
  

Type of Outreach/Communication (and method)	Target Date	Who Takes the Lead

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  Communication: For institutions using batch, communicate with vendor and/or internal IT people to discuss how SEVIS II changes affect implementation. Discuss database synching, data audits, testing of system.
  

Stage	Target date
Pre-Implementation
Get batch schema
Phase One of SEVIS II: Initial Operating Capability	Feb/March 2010 (?)
System testing phase
Design testing plan?
Phase Two of SEVIS II: Final Operating Capability	Oct. 2010 (?)

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  Communication: Identify what institutional written material(s) need to be prepared or revised, and by whom?
  

Written materials to be created/updated	By whom?	By When?

SEVIS II Implementation Stage Two: Initial Operating Capability – (Account Creation, Data migration, Student/EV Account Creation)

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  Policy & Process: Continue to monitor information on SEVIS II provided by SEVP, the Exchange Visitor Program, and professional associations such as NAFSA, the Alliance, etc. Become familiar with the technical changes of SEVIS II.
  

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  Process: Individuals who use SEVIS must create their customer accounts in SEVIS and provide their IIN to the PDSO/RO. Each individual who has access to SEVIS will be given different levels of permission which will define what he/she can do in SEVIS. A single individual may be responsible for several different roles. (Example, an RO may also serve as a Payer for their J program in SEVIS II)
  

Individual	IIN	Role(s) in SEVIS
President/CEO		Sign I-17 and DS-3036; appoint PDSO/RO

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  Process: Enter/upload Institutional data into SEVIS II.
  

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  Process/Communication: SEVIS II will be paperless for Immigration purposes. Does this affect what/how you will communicate pre-arrival information to new students and exchange visitors?
  

Plan for distributing pre-arrival information

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  Communication: Develop, schedule and conduct outreach for current students, exchange visitors, and dependents. Consider a strategy that includes written and electronic communication as well as appropriate follow up. Does the use of social networking sites make sense?
  

Type of Outreach	Date(s)

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  Communication: Develop outreach plan for students on OPT and Academic Training. How will you inform and assist them in the transition to SEVIS II considering they are most likely off site and out of the area? Consider a strategy that includes written and electronic communication, appropriate follow-up.
  

Type of Outreach	Date(s)

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  Communication: Develop website and informational tools to lead new students, exchange visitors, and their dependents through the process of creating customer accounts.
  

Websites and information/handouts to update	By Whom?	By When?

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  Communication: Update websites/handouts on existing procedures/processes to reflect future changes that will take effect when in SEVIS II goes live. [For example current institutional procedures for effecting transfers in SEVIS remain in effect throughout this phase of SEVI SII implementation, but once SEVIS II is fully implemented, it is the receiving institution that initiates the transfer in SEVIS.]
  

Websites/handouts that temporarily may need to have two different sets of instructions	Updated by whom?	By When?

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  Policy/Process: Though no paper forms will be issued for purposes of obtaining a visa or applying for immigration benefits including admission into the U.S., a paper version of the form will be available for non-immigration purposes, such as I-9 completion and applications for Social Security Numbers, driver’s licenses, .eases, etc. The domestic, printed forms can only be issued by the sponsoring institution’s PSDO/DSOs or RO/AROs. Develop an internal protocol for issuance of these domestic forms for students and/or exchange visitors and any dependents. Is any particular person/persons assigned this duty? How does a Student/exchange visitor get one?
  

Who can print domestic I-20 or DS-2019 for your institution?
What internal protocols should be followed for issuing these forms? Is this different for new arrivals versus continuing students and exchange visitors and their dependents?

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  Communication: Inform internal and external partners who may not be part of the SEVIS II implementation team about changes to regulations, processes. Discuss how new system requirements will affect them and the process by which students and exchange visitors will acquire visas/immigration status and how pre-arrival information is delivered. Develop new or tweak existing processes to accommodate the changes. Internal partners could include institutional departments that host the students/exchange visitors, human resources, payroll, study abroad offices, etc. External partners can include overseas exchange partners.
  

Offices/Partners to inform/train	What needs to change?

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  Communication: Reach out to outside service providers with whom you have established relationships (social security offices, DMV, banks, etc.) to inform them of changes to the immigration document the students/exchange visitors will have to demonstrate their status.
  

Who needs to be informed?	What does this communication look like?

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  Communication: Develop plan to assist students and exchange visitors with incorrect data in SEVIS/SEVIS history. Consider way to have them help verify accuracy of their data currently in SEVIS.
  

SEVIS II Implementation Stage Three: Final Operating Capability (SEVIS II becomes the official record, SEVIS I deactivated)

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  Policy: Continue to monitor regulations, SEVIS II developments, guidance (SEVP and NAFSA) for changes that would affect institutional policy, procedures, or management of program.
  

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  Process: Brainstorm on things that could go wrong and potential solutions. Remember, many problems will require specific SEVP/DOS guidance before they can be resolved.
  

If this happens…	…Then we do …
Student/exchange visitor/dependent did not create customer account
Name discrepancy
Incomplete student/exchange visitor history in SEVIS

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  Policy/Process: Periodically revisit policies and procedures to assess effectiveness and make changes as needed.
  

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  Communication: Revise websites, trainings, handouts, handbooks/orientation materials to reflect only SEVIS II protocols.