The Form I-20, Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant (F-1) Student Status, is an official U.S. government form. A prospective non-immigrant student must have a Form I-20 issued by an SEVP-certified school to become an F-1 student.

Only a SEVP-certified school can issue a Form I-20 to students that have been accepted for enrollment. All academic and financial admission requirements must have been met before Trident Technical College can issue Form I-20. It acts as proof of acceptance and contains the information that is needed to pay the SEVIS I-901 fee; apply for a visa or change of status, and admission into the United States.

The Form I-20 has the student's unique SEVIS identification (ID) number on the upper left-hand side. SEVIS ID numbers begin with the letter N.