SEVIS Fee Payment
Upon receiving the I-20 form you must follow the steps below.
Individuals seeking F-1 or J-1 visas must pay a SEVIS fee. This fee helps pay for
the cost of maintaining the SEVIS system that U.S. schools use to produce the I-20
and DS-2019 forms. This fee is in addition to the visa application fee.
You must pay the fee before you apply for your visa. You can pay the fee through the
Internet, through Western Union Quick Pay Service in your home country (if available),
or by mail/post. You must include Form I-901 with the fee. A family member or friend
can pay the SEVIS fee for you inside or outside the U.S.
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Pay Your SEVIS Fee Through the Internet (strongly recommended)
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1. Find the form I-901 online.
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2. Complete the form online and supply the necessary Visa, MasterCard, or American
Express credit card information. Be sure to write your name exactly how it appears
on your I-20 form.
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3. Print a copy of the online receipt.
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4. Make an extra copy of your receipt and keep it with you other important immigration
documents.
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If you pay the SEVIS fee by Internet, you can print a receipt directly from your computer
at the same time. This computer-printed receipt can be used to prove to any U.S. official
that you have paid the fee. If you lose your computer-printed receipt and are relying
on the electronic record of payment, then you must wait 3 business days before applying
for a visa.
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Pay Your SEVIS Fee Locally by Western Union Quick Pay Service
This payment option is available only in countries where Western Union offers its
Quick Pay service.
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1. Find the form I-901 online and print it out.
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2. Complete the form. Be sure to write your name exactly how it appears on your I-20
form.
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3. At the SEVIS I-901 Fee website, select "Western Union Quick Pay" and read the instructions for this payment option.
Print these instructions and the sample of the completed Western Union form (on the
same website page; follow link under Western Union Quick Pay International F and M
Visa Instructions (PDF).
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4. Bring the printed instructions and the sample of the completed Western Union form
to the Western Union agent in order to correctly process your payment.
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5. Western Union will collect the SEVIS fee in your local currency and will electronically
transmit the payment and your personal data to SEVP.
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The properly completed Western Union receipt serves as immediate proof-of-payment
for a visa interview at a U.S. Consulate and for admission at a U.S. port of entry.
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Pay Your SEVIS Fee by Mail/Postal Service (Persons from Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Gambia,
and Nigeria must pay by mail)
We recommend that you use this option only if you are unable to use either of the
two options above.
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1. Find the form I-901 online and print it out.
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2. Complete the form. Be sure to write your name exactly how it appears on your I-20
form.
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3. Prepare a check, international money order, or foreign draft drawn on a U.S. bank,
foreign subsidiaries of U.S. banks, or foreign banks that have an arrangement with
a U.S. bank. Make payable to The Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and
Customs Enforcement.
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4. Send the completed I-901 form and payment.
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• Send your payment by regular air mail to:
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OR
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• Send your payment by Express Courier to:
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I-901 Student/Exchange Visitor
Processing Fee
P.O. Box 970020
St. Louis, MO 63197-0020
USA
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I-901 Student/Exchange Visitor
Processing Fee
1005 Convention Plaza
St. Louis, MO 63101
Tel: (314) 418.4393
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If you mail the fee, then you must wait at least 3 business days after DHS
receives your payment before trying to apply for your visa. (This could be tricky
trying to judge when DHS has received your mailed I-901 and payment.) You should eventually
receive Form I-797 receipt confirmation notice. Be sure to make a copy of this receipt
notice and keep it with your other important immigration documents. In addition to
a paper receipt, there should also be an electronic record of your fee payment in
the US Consulate's database. If there is an electronic record of fee payment in the
database, you will not need to show your paper receipt (I-797) to apply for the visa.
However, we recommend that you wait for a copy of the paper fee payment receipt before
making a visa application. The paper receipt is mailed to the address you wrote on
the Form I-901. If you want to pay more, you can ask DHS to send the receipt by express
courier.
Fee payments should be entered into your permanent immigration SEVIS record, but we
recommend that you keep a copy of your fee receipt (Form I-797) to use in the future.
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