DOS Advises Posts on Implementation of SEVIS Fee
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO ALL DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR POSTS IMMEDIATE
SPECIAL EMBASSY PROGRAM
AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE
AMEMBASSY BUJUMBURA
AMEMBASSY KHARTOUM
UNCLAS STATE 187635
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CVIS, CMGT
SUBJECT: SEVIS FEE UPCOMING
REF: STATE 162300
1. SUMMARY: Posts are reminded that persons applying for F, J and M visas with initial I-20 or DS-2019 forms issued on or after September 1, 2004 will require payment of the SEVIS fee, also known as the "SEVIS I-901 fee" before making a visa application.
Consular officers must verify SEVIS fee payment before approving any of these visas.
END SUMMARY
2. Students and exchange visitors should use Form I-901, the SEVIS Fee Application, to pay the SEVIS fee. Form I-901 will be available on the SEVIS fee website, the DHS SEVIS website, and at domestic DHS form centers. Schools and exchange programs will also be encouraged to provide Form I-901 to their students and participants. DHS has provided students and exchange visitors two different methods for paying the fee: (1) with a credit card (VISA, MasterCard or American Express) via the Internet site www.fmjfee.gov, and (2) with a U.S. dollar check or international money order mailed to a lockbox address in the United States. Some exchange visitor program sponsors will pay the fees for their participants directly to DHS in a "bulk payment" process. DHS must approve the sponsor's participation in this payment process. DHS is also exploring an agreement with Western Union to collect the SEVIS fee. In general, the SEVIS fee is non-refundable. However, students and exchange visitors may request a refund from SEVP if a payment was made in error.
3. Students and exchange visitors cannot pay the SEVIS fee before the September 1 SEVIS fee implementation date. Only students and exchange visitors with a Form I-20 or DS-2019 issued on or after September 1 are subject to the fee. The SEVIS fee Internet web site - www.fmjfee.gov will not be operational until September 1.
4. Most students and exchange visitors will pay the full $100 SEVIS fee. Certain short-term exchange visitors (au pairs, summer work/travel and camp counselors) will pay a reduced fee, $35. Individuals participating in a program sponsored by the Federal Government whose program number prefix begins with "G-1," "G-2" or "G-3" are statutorily exempt from the fee. Only principal applicants pay the SEVIS fee prior to visa issuance - F-2, J-2 and M-2 derivatives do not pay. Aliens in the United States who are studying while in another nonimmigrant classification are not subject to the fee.
5. Consular officers will be able to verify SEVIS fee payment through the SEVIS CCD screen. CCD will indicate either "Payment" or "Cancelled" to show that the SEVIS fee has been paid. Consular officers may also accept the receipt for SEVIS fee payment, either generated by the website or sent to the applicant by mail on a Form I-797, as proof of payment. This receipt should not be retained by the consular officer and should be returned to the applicant. Verification of a fee paid less than three days before the interview may not always be available on CCD. In this situation, payment should be verified with the paper receipt. The SEVIS fee paid on one Form I-20 may be applied to a different Form I-20. The SEVIS fee paid on one Form DS-2019 may be applied to a different Form DS-2019 if the SEVIS fee paid is greater than or equal to the SEVIS fee due. Applicants who cannot demonstrate that they have paid the SEVIS fee should be refused a visa under 221(g).
6. The SEVIS fee is generally a one-time fee for as long as the nonimmigrant maintains the status in which he or she was initially admitted. For an F or M student the covered period generally extends from the time the student is granted 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. As long as the student continues to remain in F or M immigration status, a new fee is not required. If the student does fall out of status, a new fee must be paid, even on the same program. An F or M student will not be required to pay a new fee upon transfer to a new school, extension of stay, change in educational level, when obtaining a new visa for re-entry for program continuation, upon a temporary absence of less than 5 months, or upon a period of approved absence in which the student is engaged in overseas study as part of his/her U.S. educational program requirements.
7. 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 until a change of category (e.g., a change from research scholar to student), a transfer from a fee-exempt sponsor (program number prefix begins with "G-1," "G-2," or "G-3") to a non-fee-exempt sponsor, or until such time as the nonimmigrant falls out of valid program status requiring reinstatement or changes status. Exchange visitors who apply for reinstatement after a substantive violation of status, or who have been out of valid program status for longer than 120 days but less than 270 days during their program, must pay a new fee. A some nonimmigrants who participate in multiple subsequent programs will have to pay a new fee for each new program.
8. Until the two in-country SEVIS fee collection pilot programs are operative in India and China, students and exchange visitors from those two countries should utilize the two available SEVIS fee collection methods provided by DHS.
9. 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 (SEVP) web site, www.ice.gov/sevis.