I-20& SEVIS
The form your school issues and the system that tracks you. Together they are the bridge between your admission and your F-1 visa. Here is exactly how both work.
No I-20,no visa.
The I-20 is the form your school issues once you are admitted and have shown you can fund the plan. You cannot even book a visa interview without it. SEVIS is the US database your record lives in, and the SEVIS fee switches it on.
Get these two right and the visa stage runs smoothly. Get a name, a date or a funding figure wrong, and everything downstream stalls. This is detail work, and detail is what we do.
Every field, decoded.
The I-20 looks dense, but it is just a handful of things that matter. Tap any line to see what it means and why it is worth getting exactly right.
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Admission to visa-ready.
Four moves turn an offer letter into a SEVIS record you can take to the embassy. Tap each to see what happens.
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Switching it on.
The SEVIS fee is a required US government payment that activates your student record. You pay it once you have your I-20, before the visa interview.
After your I-20 is issued (you need the SEVIS ID from it) and before you attend the interview.
A fixed US government fee. The amount is set by the US and changes over time, so we confirm the current figure with you.
Keep your payment receipt safe. You will need to show the SEVIS fee receipt at your visa interview. We confirm the current amount and the method that works best for you before you pay.
Funding that holds up.
The school issues your I-20 only when your funding convinces them. The same proof carries into your visa interview, so it has to be real, clear and consistent.
Cover the full estimate
Your funds must meet or beat the school's estimated cost on the I-20, for the period it covers. Falling short stalls everything.
Use sources that count
Personal and family savings, a documented sponsor, scholarships, assistantships or approved loans. We help you assemble what qualifies.
Show it is real and available
Bank statements and sponsor letters that prove the money exists and can be used. Promises and projections are not enough.
Make it all match
The figures on your funding documents, your I-20 and your DS-160 must agree. Inconsistencies read as a red flag to officers.
Keep it active.
Your F-1 status lives or dies by your SEVIS record staying in good standing. Tap each habit you will keep and watch your status light go green.
Easy to get wrong.
None of these are hard to avoid, but each one can delay your visa or break your status. This is exactly where careful hands matter.
Name does not match
The name on your I-20 must match your passport exactly. A small mismatch can invalidate it for the visa.
Funding falls short
Proof of funds below the I-20 estimate. The school may not issue it, and the officer will not be convinced.
Wrong SEVIS ID on the fee
Paying the SEVIS fee against an old or mistyped SEVIS ID. The receipt then does not match your record.
Paying the fee too late
Leaving the SEVIS fee until the last minute. It must be paid and processed before your interview.
Losing the receipt
Misplacing the SEVIS fee receipt. You may be asked for it at the interview and at the border.
Letting status lapse
Dropping below full-time or ignoring DSO rules once enrolled. A broken record is hard to repair.
We sweatthe details.
The I-20 and SEVIS stage is all small, unforgiving details. This is the part where one wrong figure costs weeks, and where having us beside you earns its keep.
Proof that convinces
We help you build funding documents that meet the estimate, hang together and survive scrutiny at both the school and the embassy.
Names, dates, numbers
We check your I-20 against your passport and your plans so nothing is mismatched before it reaches the visa stage.
Paid right, on time
We confirm the current amount, the method that works from Nigeria, and that your receipt is in hand for the interview.
An I-20 and a paid SEVIS fee let you apply for the visa. They do not guarantee one, and the figures and rules are set by others and change. We always confirm the current details for your case.
I-20 & SEVIS, cleared up.
Lock inyour I-20.
Send us where you are and we will make sure your I-20, your funding and your SEVIS fee are all correct and in order, ready for the visa stage.