What is an Approved School for Immigration Purposes?
What Types of Schools Qualify to be Authorized Schools?
Where Can I Find the Law?
How Do I Apply for Approval of My School?
What Information Do I Need to Present?
What Does Approval by USCIS Allow the School to Do?
What Does Approval by USCIS Require of the School?
How Can I Find Out About the Status of My Application?
Can I Appeal?

What is an Approved School for Immigration Purposes?

The immigration law provides for aliens to study in the United States. They must attend a school that has been approved by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for such attendance. An approved school is one that has received permission from USCIS to enroll foreign students. USCIS approval conveys no other recognition or endorsement.

What Types of Schools Qualify to be Authorized Schools?

Schools can be public or private. They can be vocational or academic. They can provide language training, instruction in the liberal or fine arts, instruction in the professions, or instruction or training in more than one of these areas. They can be at any educational level from elementary school to university.

Where Can I Find the Law?

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) governs the admission of all people to the United States. For the part of the law concerning nonimmigrant student status, please see INA §101(a)(15)(F) and (M). The regulations governing schools are found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 8 CFR §214.3 and 214.4. However, the regulations are in the process of being amended in light of the provisions outlined in Sec. 641 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA) (P.L. 104-208). In particular, the list of information to be collected on each student, as required in 8 CFR 214.3(g), will be augmented. The revised regulations, amending 8 CFR 214.3 and 214.4, should be published in mid-2002.

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How Do I Apply for Approval of My School?

An authorized official (employee) of a school must submit Form I-17, Petition for Approval of School for Attendance by Nonimmigrant Students, to seek USCIS approval of the school for attendance by foreign nationals. The petition is submitted to the USCIS district director having jurisdiction over the location of the school.

School systems which fall within one USCIS district's jurisdiction can apply for system-wide qualification, which will be applicable for all their schools. In the case of schools which are part of a school system that falls within more than one USCIS district, each school must file separately.

Please go to our Field Office section to determine which USCIS district your school or system is located in. Once there, click on your state, which will bring up a page listing your state's USCIS offices. Click on the district office closest to your system's or school's location, and when that page comes up, click on the "About Us" link on the left side of your District Office page. The Service Area information is found under the "Who Are We?" section. (MAP).

What Information Do I Need to Present?

Is yours a public school, or a private or parochial school?

Also, is it an elementary school, a secondary school, a publicly funded adult education program, a vocational/business/language school, or an institution of higher education?

A public elementary school or a publicly funded adult education program may not accept F-1 students. A public secondary school can only accept an alien as an F-1 student for a maximum period of 12 months, and only if that student has reimbursed the local educational agency that administers the school for the full unsubsidized per capita cost of providing education for the period of the student's attendance.

A public school or school system must establish that it is owned and operated by the United States, or by a state, or a political subdivision of a state. It can do so by providing a certificate signed by the appropriate official recognizing the institution's public school status.

A private or parochial school must establish that it meets state or local public educational standards, and that it is accredited, licensed and approved by national, state and local public education systems. It can do so by providing a certificate signed by the appropriate public official.

• physical size
• educational facilities
• educational, vocational and professional qualifications of the teaching staff
• teacher salaries
• attendance and grading policies
• nature of supervisory and consultant services staff for students and trainees
• financial documents, including a certified copy of the most recent accountant's statement of the school's net worth, income and expenses

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An elementary or secondary school which is neither public nor accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting body needs to submit evidence identifying that:

• attendance at that institution satisfies the compulsory attendance requirements of the state in which it is located, and
• its graduates are qualified for and accepted by public or accredited schools of a higher educational level

A vocational, business or language school, or American institution of research recognized by the Attorney General, needs to submit evidence that its coursework is accepted as fulfilling the requirement for the attainment of professional, educational or vocational goals, clarifying that it is not a recreational or avocational organization.

An institution of higher education which is not a public educational institution operated by the United States, a state, or a political subdivision of a state, and is not accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting body needs to provide documentation evidencing that:

For more detailed information, see 8 CFR 214.3(b) and (c)

What Does Approval by USCIS Allow the School to Do?

The school is restricted in how it advertises that it is an approved school for the attendance of nonimmigrant students. It may issue Form I-20, Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status, to students it has accepted for attendance. It may provide certain employment authorizations and make recommendations for other employment authorizations to USCIS.

What Does Approval by USCIS Require of the School?

The school must abide by the regulations in 8 CFR 214 as they apply to nonimmigrant students and schools. This includes certain record keeping and reporting requirements as detailed in 8 CFR 214.3(g)

How Can I Find Out About the Status of My Application?

Please contact the USCIS office that received your application. You should be prepared to provide the USCIS staff with specific information about your application. Please click here for complete instructions on checking the status of your application. Click here for information on USCIS offices.

Can I Appeal?

If your petition is denied, the denial letter will tell you how to appeal. Generally, you may file a Notice of Appeal along with the required fee with the office that issued the denial letter within 33 calendar days after the mailing date of the denial. Once the fee is collected and the form is processed, the appeal will be referred to the Administrative Appeals Unit in Washington, D.C. Sending the appeal directly to the AAU will delay the process. For more information, see How Do I Appeal?. Please click here for more information on USCIS offices.

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