Part I: You'll need to be Certified
There's been a lot of confusion on the SEVIS Readiness mailing list as to what type of certificate you'll need to communicate with SEVIS. Server certificates are relatively expensive at close to $700/year and client certificates go for a paltry $14.95/yr. The good news is, you can get the client certificate. The bad news is, ... actually there is no bad news. It's pretty simple.
- Click this link: http://www.verisign.com/products/class1/index.html
- Follow the signup process.
Like any other online purchase, Verisign will ask for your contact information and credit card information, then send you a confirmation email to make sure you are who you say you are.
After you receive the confirmation email, you return to the Verisign web site and enter in a PIN code included in the email.
At this point you're ready to install the certificate. If you're using Internet Explorer, it will 'grab' the certificate from the Verisign web site and install it in it's internal certificate list. Before doing so, you'll see the warning below.
Click okay and you've got a certificate.
