SEVIS Fee Information

On July 1, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implemented a SEVIS fee for F, J or M visas and to cover the costs of administering the Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) and related enforcement efforts. The SEVIS fee has been set at $100.00.

The SEVIS fee is generally a one time fee for each nonimmigrant "program" in which the student or exchange visitor participates. For the purposed of the SEVIS fee, a "single program" for an F or M status to the time the student falls out of status, changes status or departs the United States for an extended period of time.

For a J exchange visitor, a "single program" is defined by the category and/or sponsor at the time of initial program participation and extends and extends until a change of category or until such a times as the nonimmigrant falls out of status or changes status. Exchange visitors who apply for reinstatement after a substantive violation of status or who have been out of program status for longer than 120 days but less than 270 days during their program must pay a new fee.

The SEVIS fee is non-refundable. Refunds will only be made for payments made in error. No refunds will be made in the case of a visa refusal for any reason.

The SEVIS fee must be paid prior to visa issuance. Proof of payment must be presented to consular officials during the visa application process or prior to submitting a change of status request. However, applicants may schedule interview appointments before paying the fee.

Payment Options

Mail

DHS has set up a lock box to accept fee payments by mail. Mail the Form I-901 and payment to:

I-901 Student/Exchange Visitor Processing Fee
P.O. Box 970020
St. Louis, MA  63197-0020

or

I-901 Student/Exchange Visitor Processing Fee
1005 Convention Plaza
St. Louis, MO  63101

Internet

You may also complete the Form I-901 online. The form and payment may then be submitted as instructed above. Alternately, online payment may be made using a credit card. The online Form I-901 is available is available at www.FMJfee.com. The person paying the fee will receive a receipt either by return mail or electronically. Consular officers should note in the absence of any other information this receipt is sufficient proof of SEVIS fee payment.

In order to ensure that fee payment can be verified electronically the fee payment must be processed at least three business days prior to the scheduled date of the visa interview. Persons who pay through the Internet may also print out their fee receipt at the time of filing and present it as proof of payment prior to this information appearing in the SEVIS database. Once again, Internet verification is not required if the applicant presents a paper receipt.

Counselor Officer's Responsibility

Consular officers will not be responsible for collecting the SEVIS fee with the exception of the two countries, India and China that are participating in a pilot program to test the viability of collecting the fee. However, as mentioned above, consular officers must verify that the SEVIS fee has been paid before issuing an F, J or M visa. There are two ways to verify that the fee has been paid:

1. The SEVIS record available on the CCD will have the information that the individual has paid the SEVIS fee directly to the DHS. CCD will indicate either "Payment" or "Cancelled" to show that the SEVIS fee has been paid.
2. In cases where payment information has not reached the CCD SEVIS record, consular officers may accept the I-901 receipt as proof of payment. This receipt should not be retained by the consular officer and should be returned to the applicant.

China and India Pilot Program

At the request of DHS, China and India have been selected to participate in a pilot program for overseas, off-site SEVIS fee collection. The Department has already contacted those posts about the SEVIS fee collection. We envision no other posts participating in SEVIS fee collection in the near future.

Additional details on SEVIS and the SEVIS fee can be found on the U.S.Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Student and Exchange Visitor Program web site.

Last Modified: September 20, 2005