You can find detailed information about the SEVP Portal on the Study in the States page and the SEVIS User Guide. We highly recommend that our students watch the SEVP Portal Help videos and read the SEVIS User Guide for a step-by-step guide to navigating and updating the SEVP Portal.

OPT Students update in the SEVP Portal within 10 days of the change: 

• Personal information (residential address, mailing address, and telephone number) 
• Any employment changes 

You should include the following information in the field: "How employment is related to course work". (Note: There is a limit of 1,000 characters.)

• Job title
• Employer name
• Major area of study
• Whether full-time or the average number of hours worked per week
• Description of regular job duties and how they connect to your studies.

EXAMPLE: Masters in Computer Science: I am employed as a Computer and Information Research Analyst at ABC Research Institute. I work as part of a team of scientists and engineers that designs experiments to test the operation of various software systems. My work builds on research in complex algorithms and machine learning, which I studied as part of my thesis. 

STEM OPT Students update in the SEVP Portal within 10 days of the change:

• Personal information (residential address, mailing address, and telephone number) 
• End date for current employment (student evaluation should also be submitted, see below)

STEM OPT Students update using the Employment Update Report Form within 10 days of the change:

• New employment (with updated Form I-983)
• End of current employment with student evaluation (Form I-983, page 5)
• Changes to current employment (with updated Form I-983; Examples: Work Address, Salary, Company Merger.)
• Validation reports every 6 months

Please Note: ISSS processing time for Employment Updates is within 21 days. Employment Updates are neither an emergency nor are they urgent. Contacting our office during this processing time will not expedite your report.

Troubleshooting

Use the SEVP Portal Access Form if:

• You have not received a portal account creation email after the start date on your EAD (please check your SJSU email account first)
• Your invitation to create an account or your password has expired
• Your portal account is locked and the “Reset Password” function will not work
• You wish to change the email address used for the SEVP Portal (access to your SJSU email account will end one year after your last semester)

If you cannot access our forms (Due to Okta or DUO authentication) or receive an error, please use this e-form guide.

Contact the ISSS Office if:

• You have received approval for a change in immigration status
• The portal will not accept a correct work or home address
• You have received an email from SEVP to access your account, but it does not work
• You have access to the SEVP Portal, but cannot add or edit employment
• You have followed our e-form guide due to receiving an error, but are still not able to use our e-forms
• You have another issue not answered here