What Is Form I-20? A Guide for F-1 Student Visa Applicants

An admission letter from a US school starts the student visa process, but it is not the document the process runs on. That document is Form I-20, which your school issues separately once it has admitted you. You will need it to pay the SEVIS fee, complete the DS-160, attend your visa interview and cross the border.

Several widely repeated details about the I-20 are also out of date. Student visas are no longer limited to 120 days before your program starts, and the SEVIS fee is no longer $200. A 2026 rule that would have tied your permitted stay directly to the dates on your I-20 is currently on hold by court order.

What is Form I-20?

Form I-20’s official title is the Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status. It is used for both F-1 students (academic study and language programs) and M-1 students (vocational and technical training). It shows that a school has admitted you and has created a record for you in SEVIS, the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System the US government uses to track international students.

Who issues it: your school’s DSO and SEVIS

The I-20 is issued by your school, not by a government agency. The person responsible is the school’s Designated School Official (DSO), who creates your SEVIS record and generates the form from it. Only schools certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) can issue an I-20.

Every I-20 carries a SEVIS ID, a number that starts with the letter N and appears at the top of the first page. It works as your identifier throughout the process: you will enter it when you pay the SEVIS fee and when you complete your DS-160.

An I-20 is not a visa

An I-20 does not by itself allow you to enter or stay in the United States. Visas are issued by US embassies and consulates under the Department of State, and the I-20 is the basis for that application. The reverse is also true: a student visa alone is not enough, because you must present a valid I-20 together with your visa when you arrive.

I-20 vs. DS-2019: F-1, M-1 and J-1

The three main study and exchange categories rely on different documents:

Visa	For	Document (issued by)	SEVIS I-901 fee
F-1	Academic study and language programs	I-20 (school)	$350
M-1	Vocational and technical training	I-20 (school)	$350
J-1	Exchange programs	DS-2019 (program sponsor)	$220 ($35 for some programs)

If you are joining an exchange program, your process runs on Form DS-2019 rather than an I-20. Our J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa guide covers it in detail.

How to get an I-20

Admission to a SEVP-certified school

The Department of State describes the first step plainly: you apply to and are accepted by a SEVP-certified school, and the school then issues your I-20. A school without SEVP certification cannot issue one, so confirm certification before you apply.

Proof of funding

The I-20 records not only what your studies will cost but also how you will pay for them. Schools therefore ask for proof of funding before they issue the form, whether that is your own savings, a sponsor’s support, a scholarship from the school, or a combination.

The documents you show the school should tell the same story as the ones you later bring to your visa interview. Our guide to US visa bank balance requirements explains what consular officers typically look for.

Electronic I-20s

You no longer have to wait for a paper original with a wet signature. Under SEVP policy guidance dated November 1, 2021, school officials may sign the I-20 electronically and send it by email or through a secure online platform. If you receive your I-20 electronically, print it and sign it yourself.

Reading your I-20

SEVIS ID and school details

The form shows your SEVIS ID and your school’s SEVIS code, alongside your personal details and the level and field of your program (for example bachelor’s, master’s or English language training).

Program start and end dates

These two dates drive most of the deadlines in the process. The program start date determines how early your visa can be issued and how early you can enter the US. The program end date marks when your program officially finishes. If you will not finish by then, the extension has to be made before the end date passes.

Estimated costs and funding

The financial section first lists the school’s estimate of your costs: tuition, living expenses, and expenses for any dependents who will join you. It then lists the sources that will cover them.

These figures are not just informational. As explained below, the amount on your I-20 is also the benchmark for the financial evidence you carry when you are admitted to the US.

Signatures

The Department of State is direct about this: both you and a school official must sign the I-20. The school official’s signature may be electronic. On a form you received by email, you sign the printed copy.

What to check when your I-20 arrives

A mistake on the I-20 carries into every later step, from your SEVIS payment to your visa application. Check the form as soon as you receive it, before you pay anything or start the DS-160:

• Your name matches your passport’s machine-readable zone. SEVIS name fields accept only the basic Roman alphabet, with no accents or special characters, and SEVP’s name standard is that the name in SEVIS should match the passport’s MRZ (the two lines of machine-readable characters at the bottom of the photo page). If your name contains accented letters or is written in a non-Latin script, compare your I-20 with the MRZ, not with the printed name above it.
• Your date of birth matches your passport.
• The program level and field match your admission letter.
• The start date reflects the term you were admitted for.
• The funding sources match the documents you plan to show at your interview.
• Both signatures are in place.

When you pay the SEVIS fee, enter your last name exactly as it appears on your I-20. ICE treats this as a critical field for matching your payment to your record. If you spot an error on the form, ask your DSO for a corrected I-20.

From I-20 to F-1 visa

Paying the I-901 SEVIS fee

The SEVIS I-901 fee is $350 for F-1 and M-1 students and $220 for J-1 exchange visitors. Pay it before your visa interview and allow at least three business days for the payment to be received and verified. You can book your interview before paying.

If you hold I-20s from more than one school, you do not pay for each of them: one payment for one I-20 is enough. If you change schools before you receive a visa or apply for admission at the border, the payment can be transferred to the new school’s I-20.

DS-160 and the visa application fee

Once you have your I-20, you complete the online visa application, Form DS-160. It asks for your SEVIS ID and school details, so keep the I-20 open while you fill it in. Our DS-160 guide walks through the form section by section.

The application fee (MRV fee) for F and M visas is $185. Depending on your nationality, a separate visa issuance fee may also be charged when the visa is issued; check the reciprocity table for your country. A federal law enacted in July 2025 also provides for a “visa integrity fee” of at least $250, collected when a visa is issued and adjusted annually for inflation. The fee does not yet appear on the Department of State’s official fee schedule, and when and where it will be collected remains unclear, so check current fees before your appointment. Our US visa application fees guide covers every fee in detail.

Your I-20 at the visa interview

Bring your I-20 to the interview and present it to the consular officer. The Department of State advises scheduling the interview at the embassy or consulate in the country where you live. Your answers about your school, your program and how you will fund your studies should be consistent with what the I-20 says. Our F1 visa interview preparation guide covers the questions that come up most often.

The 365-day and 30-day windows

For new students, F and M visas can be issued up to 365 days before the program start date on the I-20. However early the visa is issued, you may not enter the US more than 30 days before that start date. The frequently repeated “120 days before” limit is no longer current.

Canadian and Bermudian students

Citizens of Canada and Bermuda generally do not need a visa to enter the United States as students. They do still need the I-20: they must present a valid I-20 at the port of entry and pay the SEVIS I-901 fee before arriving.

F-2 dependents need their own I-20

Your spouse and unmarried children under 21 who will live with you during your studies can apply for F-2 visas. Your school must issue a separate I-20 for each dependent. F-2 dependents do not pay the SEVIS I-901 fee. Their expenses are included in the financial section of your own I-20, so your funding documents need to cover that total.

Your I-20 in the United States

At the port of entry

On your first arrival, you present your I-20 to the border officer along with your passport and visa. Federal regulations also require you to have documentary evidence of financial support in the amount indicated on your I-20.

Duration of status and the 60-day grace period

F-1 students are not admitted until a fixed date but for duration of status (D/S): you may stay as long as you are pursuing a full course of study and maintaining status. After you complete your program, you have 60 days to prepare to depart or to move on to another school or program. The 2026 rule that would have changed this is on hold by court order, as explained below.

Travel signatures and the five-month rule

If you travel abroad during your studies and return within five months or less, you need a valid visa and an I-20 that your DSO has signed for reentry, known as a travel signature. SEVP recommends requesting it two to four weeks before you travel.

If you interrupt your studies and stay outside the US for more than five months, the rules change: you return as if you were a new student, which includes obtaining a new I-20.

When you need a new I-20

• Extending your program: if academic or medical reasons mean you cannot finish by the end date on your I-20, your DSO must extend the program in SEVIS before that end date.
• Transferring schools: your current school sets a release date for your SEVIS record. After that date, the new school issues a transfer I-20, and you must report to its DSO within 15 days of the program start date.
• Changing education level at the same school: moving from a bachelor’s to a master’s program, for example, means your DSO creates a new I-20 while your SEVIS ID stays the same. This must happen before the 60-day period after your current program’s end date runs out.
• Staying abroad more than five months: as above, you need a new I-20.

You do not pay the SEVIS fee again when you transfer between schools at the same level or change your education level.

The 2026 duration-of-status rule and the court order

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a final rule on July 17, 2026 that would have tied an F-1 student’s permitted stay directly to the dates on the I-20. Scheduled to take effect on September 15, 2026, it would have introduced:

• a fixed period of admission matching the program length on the I-20, capped at four years, in place of D/S;
• a post-program period cut from 60 to 30 days;
• extensions requested through an application to USCIS rather than through the school;
• limits on transferring before completing the first academic year, and on graduate students changing schools or programs.

On September 14, 2026, the day before the rule was due to take effect, the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction postponing its effective date. The relief applies to the rule as a whole, not only to the institutions that brought the case. As of late September 2026, duration of status and the 60-day period remain in place.

This is not settled. The ruling is a preliminary one, the case is ongoing, and the government may appeal. If the rule eventually takes effect, the program end date on your I-20 would become the direct limit on how long you can stay. Keep track of your end date and of developments in the case with your DSO.

Common I-20 mistakes

1. Comparing your I-20 with the printed name in your passport. SEVIS follows the machine-readable zone.
2. Paying the SEVIS fee the day before your interview. Allow at least three business days for verification.
3. Paying the SEVIS fee for every I-20 you receive. One payment is enough, and it can be transferred if you change schools.
4. Trying to enter more than 30 days before your program starts. An early visa does not move that limit.
5. Traveling abroad without a travel signature. You need a DSO-signed, current I-20 to return.

How Vizeyon can help

We help students check that their I-20 is consistent with their passport and financial documents, prepare the DS-160 and get ready for the visa interview. For the full F-1 process, see our F1 Student Visa guide. To tell us about your situation, request a free pre-assessment.