SEVIS fees

About SEVIS and Your I-20 or DS-2019 Form

SEVIS stands for the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System. It is a database of information about every Student (F-1 or M-1 visa) and Exchange Visitor (J-1 visa) to the United States. The information is input and updated not by the Consulate, but by the school you will attend or the exchange program sponsor. If your are not entered in SEVIS, or if there is a discrepancy between your passport and the information in SEVIS, we will not be able to issue your visa until you have contacted the school and confirmed that they have corrected the problem. The Consulate cannot contact the school on your behalf.

How do you know whether your SEVIS entry is correct? When you receive your I-20 or DS-2019, check it carefully for errors. These are some of the more common ones we have found:

• name misspelled;
  
• family name and given name(s) reversed;
  
• date of birth wrong (month and day reversed);
  
• country of birth or nationality wrong.
  

If you find an error on the I-20 or DS-2019, then your SEVIS entry is most likely also incorrect. You should contact your school or exchange program sponsor immediately, get the error corrected and have them express mail you a new I-20 or DS-2019. In most cases, if the information on the paper form is correct, the electronic SEVIS entry will also be correct.

The SEVIS Fee

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security collects a fee to cover the costs for the continued operation of the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP). Everyone entering the United States either as a student or an exchange visitor with a Form I-20 or DS-2019 dated on or after September 1, 2004 has to pay the SEVIS fee. Participants in federally sponsored exchange visitor programs (which are designated by program codes beginning with G-1, G-2, or G-3) are not subject to this fee. Spouses and dependent children (F-2, M-2) of students or exchange visitors (J-2) do not pay this fee. Refer to the following chart for details:

 

The fee CANNOT be paid at the Consulate. It must be paid before you come for your interview, as we cannot issue your visa until payment is confirmed.

The fee can be paid in one of four ways:

• Through the Internet at www.fmjfee.com by using a credit card and completing the online Form I-901 (Fee for Remittance for Certain F, M, and J Nonimmigrants); or
  
• Through the mail by submitting a completed Form I-901 and a check or money order drawn on a US Bank and payable in US currency; or
  
• By a third party such as a school or sponsor (in such a case, they should inform you that payment has been made on your behalf).
  
• Through the Western Union Quick Pay service. Instructions for using the Western Union Quick Pay form can be seen on the Student and Exchange Visitor Program website.

For more details about the SEVIS fee.