Cfr 214.4

Department of Homeland Security

§ 214.4

chapter, and school approval under
§§ 214.3 and 214.4, and affirming the official’s intent to comply with these regulations. At the time a new designated
official is added, the designated official
must make the same certification.
[30 FR 919, Jan. 29, 1965]

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EDITORIAL NOTE: For FEDERAL REGISTER citations affecting § 214.3, see the List of CFR
Sections Affected, which appears in the
Finding Aids section of the printed volume
and at www.govinfo.gov.

§ 214.4 Denial of certification, denial of
recertification, or withdrawal of
SEVP certification.
(a) General—(1) Denial of certification.
The petitioning school will be notified
of the reasons and its appeal rights if a
petition for certification is denied, in
accordance with the provisions of 8
CFR
103.3(a)(1)(iii).
A
petitioning
school denied certification may file a
new petition for certification at any
time.
(2) Denial of recertification or withdrawal on notice. The school must wait
at least one calendar year from the
date of denial of recertification or
withdrawal on notice before being eligible to petition again for SEVP certification if a school’s petition for recertification is denied by SEVP pursuant to 8 CFR 214.3(h)(3)(v), or its certification is withdrawn on notice pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section.
Eligibility to re-petition will be at the
discretion of the Director of SEVP.
SEVP certification of a school or
school system for the attendance of
nonimmigrant students, pursuant to
sections
101(a)(15)(F)(i)
and/or
101(a)(15)(M)(i) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act, will be withdrawn on
notice subsequent to out-of-cycle review, or recertification denied, if the
school or school system is determined
to no longer be entitled to certification
for any valid and substantive reason
including, but not limited to, the following:
(i) Failure to comply with 8 CFR
214.3(g)(1) without a subpoena.
(ii) Failure to comply with 8 CFR
214.3(g)(2).
(iii) Failure of a DSO to notify SEVP
of the attendance of an F–1 transfer
student as required by 8 CFR
214.2(f)(8)(ii).

(iv) Failure of a DSO to identify on
the Form I–20 which school within the
system the student must attend, in
compliance with 8 CFR 214.3(k).
(v) Willful issuance by a DSO of a
false statement, including wrongful
certification of a statement by signature, in connection with a student’s
school transfer or application for employment or practical training.
(vi) Conduct on the part of a DSO
that does not comply with the regulations.
(vii) The designation as a DSO of an
individual who does not meet the requirements of 8 CFR 214.3(l)(1).
(viii) Failure to provide SEVP paper
copies of the school’s Form I–17 bearing
the names, titles, and signatures of
DSOs as required by 8 CFR 214.3(l)(2).
(ix) Failure to submit statements of
DSOs as required by 8 CFR 214.3(l)(3).
(x) Issuance of Forms I–20 to students
without receipt of proof that the students have met scholastic, language, or
financial requirements as required by 8
CFR 214.3(k)(2).
(xi) Issuance of Forms I–20 to aliens
who will not be enrolled in or carry full
courses of study, as defined in 8 CFR
214.2(f)(6) or 214.2(m)(9).
(xii) Failure to operate as a bona fide
institution of learning.
(xiii) Failure to employ adequate
qualified professional personnel.
(xiv) Failure to limit advertising in
the manner prescribed in 8 CFR 214.3(j).
(xv) Failure to maintain proper facilities for instruction.
(xvi) Failure to maintain accreditation or licensing necessary to qualify
graduates as represented in the
school’s Form I–17.
(xvii) Failure to maintain the physical plant, curriculum, and teaching
staff in the manner represented in the
Form I–17.
(xviii) Failure to comply with the
procedures for issuance of Forms I–20
as set forth in 8 CFR 214.3(k).
(xix) Failure of a DSO to notify
SEVP of material changes, such as
changes to the school’s name, address,
or curricular changes that represent
material change to the scope of institution offerings (e.g., addition of a program, class or course for which the
school is issuing Forms I–20, but which

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§ 214.4

8 CFR Ch. I (1–1–20 Edition)

does not have Form I–17 approval), as
required by 8 CFR 214.3(f)(1).
(3) Automatic withdrawal. A school
that is automatically withdrawn and
subsequently wishes to enroll nonimmigrant students in the future may
file a new petition for SEVP certification at any time. The school must
use the certification petition procedures described in 8 CFR 214.3(h)(1) to
gain access to SEVIS for submitting its
petition. Past compliance with the recordkeeping, retention, reporting and
other requirements of 8 CFR 214.3(f),
(g), (j), (k), and (l), and with the requirements for transition of students
under paragraph (i) of this section will
be considered in the evaluation of a
school’s subsequent petition for certification. SEVP certification will be
automatically withdrawn:
(i) As of the date of termination of
operations, if an SEVP-certified school
terminates its operations.
(ii) As of a school’s certification expiration date, if an SEVP-certified
school does not submit a completed recertification petition in the manner required by 8 CFR 214.3(h)(2).
(iii) Sixty days after the change of
ownership if an SEVP-certified school
changes ownership, unless the school
files a new petition for SEVP certification, in accordance with the procedures at 8 CFR 214.3(h)(1), within 60
days of the change of ownership. SEVP
will review the petition if the school
properly files such petition to determine whether the school still meets
the eligibility requirements of 8 CFR
214.3(a)(3) and is still in compliance
with the recordkeeping, retention, reporting and other requirements of 8
CFR 214.3(f), (g), (j), (k), and (l). SEVP
will institute withdrawal proceedings
in accordance with paragraph (b) of
this section if, upon completion of the
review, SEVP finds that the school is
no longer eligible for certification, or
is not in compliance with the recordkeeping, retention, reporting and other
requirements of 8 CFR 214.3(f), (g), (j),
(k), and (l).
(iv) If an SEVP-certified school voluntarily withdraws from its certification.
(4) Automatic withdrawal as of SEVIS
mandatory compliance date. The present
approval of any school that has not

filed for enrollment in SEVIS by the
mandatory compliance date for attendance of nonimmigrant students under
section
101(a)(15)(F)(i)
or
101(a)(15)(M)(i) of the Act is automatically withdrawn as of the day following
the mandatory compliance date for
SEVIS. Given the time necessary to
conduct a review of each school, the
Service will review and adjudicate
Form I–17 petitions for approval in
SEVIS prior to the SEVIS mandatory
compliance date only for Form I–17 petitions filed at least 75 days prior to
this mandatory date. If a Form I–17 petition is filed less than 75 days prior to
the mandatory compliance date and is
not adjudicated prior to the mandatory
compliance date, the school will not be
authorized to access SEVIS and will be
unable to issue any SEVIS Forms I–20
until the adjudication is complete.
(b) Withdrawal on notice. SEVP will
initiate an out-of-cycle review and
serve the school with an NOIW if SEVP
has information that a school or school
system may no longer be entitled to
SEVP certification prior to the school
being due for its two-year recertification. The NOIW will inform the
school of:
(1) The grounds for withdrawing
SEVP certification.
(2) The 30-day deadline from the date
of the service of the NOIW for the
school to submit sworn statements,
and documentary or other evidence, to
rebut the grounds for withdrawal of
certification in the NOIW. An NOIW is
not a means for the school to submit
evidence that it should have previously
submitted as a part of its established
reporting requirements.
(3) The school’s right to submit a
written request (including e-mail)
within 30 days of the date of service of
the NOIW for a telephonic interview in
support of its response to the NOIW.
(c) Assistance of counsel. The school or
school system shall also be informed in
the notice of intent to withdraw approval that it may be assisted or represented by counsel of its choice qualified under part 292 of this chapter, at
no expense to the Government, in preparation of its answer or in connection
with the interview.

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Department of Homeland Security

§ 214.4

(d) Allegations admitted or no answer
filed. If the school or school system admits all of the allegations in the notice
of intent to withdraw approval, or if
the school or school system fails to file
an answer within the 30-day period, the
district director shall withdraw the approval previously granted and he/she
shall notify the designated school official of the decision. No appeal shall lie
from the district director’s decision if
all allegations are admitted or no answer is filed within the 30-day period.
(e) Allegations denied. If the school or
school system denies the allegations in
the notice of intent to withdraw approval, then the school or school system shall, in its answer, provide all information or evidence on which the answer is based.
(f) Interview requested. (1) If in its answer to the notice of intent to withdraw approval the school or school system requests an interview, the school
or school system shall be given notice
of the date set for the interview.
(2) A summary of the information
provided by the school or school system at the interview shall be prepared
and included in the record. In the discretion of the district director, the
interview may be recorded.
(g) Decision. The decision of SEVP
will be in accordance with 8 CFR
103.3(a)(1).
(h) Appeals. A school may file an appeal of a denial or withdrawal no later
than 15 days after the service of the decision by ICE. The appeal must state
the reasons and grounds for contesting
the denial or withdrawal of the approval. The appeal must be accompanied by the fee as provided in 8 CFR
103.7(b)(1)(ii)(O).
(i) Operations at a school when SEVP
certification is relinquished or withdrawn,
or whose recertification is denied and on
the SEVIS access termination date—(1)
General. A school whose certification is
relinquished or withdrawn, or whose
recertification is denied may, at SEVP
discretion, no longer be able to create
Initial student records or issue new
Forms I–20, Certificate of Eligibility
for Nonimmigrant Student, for initial
attendance. Schools must comply with
the instructions given in the notice of
withdrawal or denial with regard to
management of status for their Initial

and continuing F and/or M students.
All other SEVIS functionality, including event reporting for students, will
remain unchanged until the school’s
SEVIS access termination date. The
school must continue to comply with
the recordkeeping, retention, reporting
and other requirements of 8 CFR
214.3(f), (g), (j), (k), and (l) until its
SEVIS access termination date.
(2) SEVIS access termination. In determining the SEVIS access termination
date, SEVP will consider the impact
that such date will have upon SEVP,
the school, and the school’s nonimmigrant students in determining the
SEVIS access termination date. In
most situations, SEVP will not determine a SEVIS access termination date
for that school until the appeals process has concluded and the initial denial
or withdrawal has been upheld unless a
school whose certification is withdrawn or whose recertification is denied is suspected of criminal activity
or poses a potential national security
threat. The school will no longer be
able to access SEVIS, and SEVP will
automatically terminate any remaining Active SEVIS records for that
school on the SEVIS access termination date.
(3) Legal obligations and ramifications
for a school and its DSOs when a school
is having SEVP certification denied or
withdrawn. Schools are obligated to
their students to provide the programs
of study to which they have committed
themselves in the students’ application
for enrollment and acceptance process.
Schools are obligated to the U.S. government to comply with the recordkeeping, retention, reporting and other
requirements contained in 8 CFR 214.3.
With any new petition for SEVP certification, SEVP will consider the extent to which a school has fulfilled
these obligations to students and the
U.S. government during any previous
period of SEVP certification.
[37 FR 17463, Aug. 29, 1972, as amended at 48
FR 14592, Apr. 5, 1983; 48 FR 19867, May 3,
1983; 48 FR 22131, May 17, 1983; 49 FR 41015,
Oct. 19, 1984; 50 FR 9991, Mar. 13, 1985; 54 FR
19544, May 8, 1989; 55 FR 41988, Oct. 17, 1990;
67 FR 60112, Sept. 25, 2002; 73 FR 55702, Sept.
26, 2008; 84 FR 23979, May 23, 2019]

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