SEVIS I-901 Fee 3rd Party Payment

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The I-901 form is used to transmit the fee for the F and J nonimmigrant reporting system authorized by the Illegal Immigration reform and Immigration Responsibility Act (IIRIRA) of 1996. Public Law 104-208, Subtitle D, Section 641.The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) implemented rules regarding payment of this fee on September 1, 2004.  The fee to be paid by F-1and J-1 students, as well as, J-1 scholars is $100.   

The SEVIS fee must be paid and fully processed before the applicant arrives at the consulate for the visa interview. For those individuals who do not need a visa to enter the U.S. as a student or exchange visitor, the fee must be paid and fully processed before applying for entry at a U.S. port-of-entry. Having a receipt for the SEVIS fee payment will facilitate the visa application process.  However, if the student/scholar is unable to print a receipt from an on-line payment and/or do not receive the mailed receipt in time for their visa interview they should still go to the interview as long as the fee has been processed by DHS. 

Some departments may want to pay this fee on behalf of the student or scholar.  To do so, they should follow the steps listed below for EACH student or scholar.  Departments are strongly advised against batch payments since making an error on one individual in a batch of 10 or 12 individuals will result in the rejection of the entire batch.  In addition, departments will need to inform International Student Services (if a F-1/J-1student) or International Faculty and Scholar Services (if a J-1 scholar) of their intent to pay on behalf of the foreign national so the department will be able to gain access to the I-20 or DS-2019 if they do not already have it.  It is important that the department inform ISS or IFSS of the SEVIS Fee payment so that they can advise and assist the students and scholars properly.

1. Learn how to fill out a sample form I-901 using a sample I-20 or sample DS-2019. 

2. Complete Form I-901 at http://www.ice.gov/sevis/i901/.  You can choose to pay the SEVIS Fee by either applying on-line and paying with a credit card or by mailing in a check or money order. When you go to this website, you will see the following; italicized instructions have been added to assist you:

 

File the I-901 Form online    (click on this link to complete the form online and use the below directions to complete the form)

1. DO NOT USE ANY SOURCE TO COMPLETE THE I-901 FORM OTHER THAN a copy of student’s or scholar’s I-20 or DS-2019 ( sample I-20 or sample DS-2019) for the following data:   individual’s official name (last, middle, first), SEVIS ID number, birthdate, country of birth, gender, country of citizenship, school code if the student is F-1, exchange visitor program number and exchange visitor category if the individual is a  J-1. >
2. You will also need the individual’s city of birth, which is not listed on the I-20 for F-1 students.  This data for students can be found on SIMS screen 007 for students with I-20s (sample SIMS screen 007).  This data for scholars or students who have J visas is contained in the DS 2019.
3. The personal information used to fill out the I-901 form must be an exact match for information on the I-20 or DS-2019 or there is a risk that the application will be rejected or delayed.

Paper Form I-901
(ISS advises not using this version of the form because the online version prevents delays.)

I-901 Fee Frequently Asked Questions 
(This link is a good source of basic information about the SEVIS fee.)

Select the type of payment you want to make:  Credit/debit card OR check/money order.   Note that it is strongly advised by DHS and the Department of State that the I-901 and payment are made no later than 3 days prior to the visa interview.  

Credit or debit card:  To pay by credit (currently only Visa, MasterCard and American Express are accepted) or debit card (currently only Visa and MasterCard are accepted; see Q&A for tips about using ProCards): 

1. Complete Form I-901 on line (https://www.fmjfee.com/index.jhtml), choose “option of payment” as credit card and follow the instructions to pay the $100.  Remember to do this for each student and scholar separately rather than as a batch or you risk the entire batch being rejected if one individual in the batch has an error.
2. Print a receipt; do not exit the screen until the receipt is completely printed and you verify its accuracy.
3. Click the “Submit” button.
4. Send the student or scholar a copy of receipt.  It is recommended that it should be faxed, scanned or sent electronically.
5. Student/Scholar must receive receipt before his/her scheduled visa interview

Paying the SEVIS Fee on-line is recommended because it is faster, data transfer is more accurate, and payments are more secure.

Check or money order:

1. Complete from I-901 on line (https://www.fmjfee.com/index.jhtml) and choose “option of payment” as check or money order and follow the instructions to pay the $100.
2. Generate payment coupon; do not exit the screen until the receipt is completely printed and you verify its accuracy.
3. Mail the payment coupon with the $100 check or money order to the address provided on the website. You should request that the receipt be mailed to your department’s address  or to the individual’s  address abroad.  Moreover, if checks are chosen as the payment option, it is strongly recommended that departments have the receipt delivered to their departmental mailing address and then fax or scan and e-mail the receipt to the individual rather than requesting the receipt be mailed directly to the individual abroad.   DHS will send the receipt by regular airmail and this will take 3-6 weeks for some countries, if it arrives at all.
4. The student or scholar must receive the receipt before his/her scheduled visa interview.

 

Is it OK to pay for multiple persons with the same payment?

Yes, but if you mail a check for a group, and if there is one mistake for any member of the group, the whole group is rejected. It is better to send one check per individual. 

What if a student decides to go to another school instead of Texas A&M?  

The student must request that the payment be returned to you. You can’t request it.  If student refuses to request the payment be returned, you will lose the money.

What if student or scholar decides not to come to Texas A&M, or the visa  is denied, or the visa is issued but entry to the US is denied? 

The fee is lost.

Is it okay to use the TAMU Purchasing Card (ProCard) to pay the fee on behalf of a prospective student?

Yes, it is okay to use the ProCard to pay the fee but only for degree seeking students.  You are required to enter Pathway Net during the reallocation period and change the object code to 5245 on this transaction.  The student's name must also be captured in Pathway Net.