In 2004, Congress mandated all international students and exchange visitors must pay the I-901 SEVIS Fee, which funds the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) and SEVIS. This fee is separate from visa fees and school SEVIS administration fees.
Section 641 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), Public Law No. 104–208, 110 Stat. 3546 (September 30, 1996), codified at 8 USC 1372, (as amended) required the creation of a program to collect information relating to nonimmigrant foreign students and exchange visitor program participants during the course of their stay in the United States. The program became known as SEVP (Student and Exchange Visitor Program) and its core technology became known as SEVIS (Student and Exchange Visitor Information System).
A number of rules outline the requirements and procedures for SEVIS. They are:
Section 442(a)(4) of the Homeland Security Act, as amended, specifically transferred responsibility for SEVIS to ICE.
Section 641(e) of IIRIRA, as amended, requires that a fee be established and charged to students or exchange visitors tracked in SEVIS to fund the program and further requires that the fee be used only for SEVP related purposes. I-901 SEVIS Fees will be deposited into a sub-account within the Immigration Examination Fee Account and maintained for SEVP use.
On October 26, 2003, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register, to implement section 641 of IIRIRA, requiring the collection of information relating to nonimmigrant foreign students and exchange visitors and providing for the collection of the required fee to defray the costs.
On July 1, 2004, a final rule was published to amend DHS regulations to provide for the collection of a fee to be paid by certain individuals who are seeking status as F-1, F-3, M-1 or M-3 nonimmigrant students or as J-1 nonimmigrant exchange visitors.
On October 27, 2008, DHS amends its regulations to provide a final rule published to amend DHS regulations to provide for the collection of a fee to be paid by certain individuals who are seeking status as F-1, F-3, M-1 or M-3 nonimmigrant students or as J-1 nonimmigrant exchange visitors.
On May 23, DHS published a final rule to adjust the fees charged to certain individuals who are seeking status as F-1, F-3, M-1 or M-3 nonimmigrant students or as J-1 nonimmigrant exchange visitors. Effective June 24, 2019, all students and exchange visitors will be required to pay the new and increased fees.
Generally, the rule levies a fee of $350. Some applicants for certain J-1 exchange visitor programs will pay a fee of $220, others a reduced fee of $35 and certain other applicants will be exempt from the fee.
The final rule explains who is required to pay the fee, describes the consequences that a person seeking F-1, F-3, M-1, M-3 or J-1 nonimmigrant status faces upon failure to pay the fee and specifies who is exempt from the fee.
The purpose of the fee has been to cover the costs of developing and deploying the next modifications to SEVIS as well as administering and maintaining the current version of SEVIS, which includes ensuring compliance with the system’s requirements by individuals, schools and exchange visitor program sponsors.
Effective June 24, 2019, all students and exchange visitors will be required to pay the new and increased fees.
Potential nonimmigrants, for purposes of the SEVIS Fee rule, are:
Regulation requires all prospective F, M and J students to pay the I-901 SEVIS Fee before the Department of State issues a visa. Students who pay the I-901 SEVIS Fee prior to the fee implementation date, but before they obtain a student visa or enter the United States, will not need to pay the difference between the new fee and the old fee. Students will continue to pay the I-901 SEVIS Fee on www.fmjfee.com
If a Form I-20 or Form DS-2019 for initial status in a new program was issued on or after October 27, 2008, the nonimmigrant traveling on that document will be required to pay the fee. This does not include F-1 students who are transferring or changing level to attend a new program while maintaining F status. See the section, Do I pay the fee?, for who needs to pay the fee.