Augsburg College is committed to doing everything in its power to make your goal of studying with us a reality. Our admissions counselors are here to help you understand and meet the government requirements for studying in the United States. There is a lot of paperwork, but we'll help you get through it!
First, let's look at the two main entities that you'll be dealing with as you apply to study in the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security
On March 1, 2003, the functions of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) were moved into three bureaus in the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is responsible for immigration services and benefits.
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (USICE) is responsible for immigration investigations, enforcement, deportation, and SEVIS.
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) is responsible for immigration inspections at U.S. ports of entry, for Border Patrol, and for the Customs Service. (NAFSA Advisers Manual 2003 release)
What is SEVIS?
Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) is an Internet-based method for keeping track of international students and scholars as well as their dependents in the United States, through the SEVIS database. Information is submitted by the schools.
Meeting the Requirements
Now that you know about the Department of Homeland Security and SEVIS, we can go through the process of meeting their requirements.
