Effective September 1, 2004 there will be a $100 SEVIS fee . Students will be required to pay the fee when applying for a visa abroad or changing non-immigrant status in the Unites States.

There are 4 ways that you can pay this fee. These are the current rules and options of payment:

The person paying the fee will receive a receipt, either by return mail or electronically. In order to ensure that the 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. If a paper receipt is provided internet documentation is not required.

The SEVIS I-901 fee is completely different from the visa fee and you must pay both, unless informed otherwise. The visa fee is to defray the cost for machine-readable visas and to support the consulates. The SEVIS I-901 fee supports the Student and Exchange Visitor program in the Department of Homeland Security.

Please see the web site for more detailed information related to this fee: http://www.ice.gov/graphics/news/newsreleases/articles/SEVISfactSheet.htm