SEVIS Fee for F-1: Who Pays, How to Pay, and Refunds

The SEVIS fee for F-1 students is a one-time $350 federal charge, paid on Form I-901 through the official portal at FMJfee.com before your visa interview or entry into the United States. The payment is tied to the SEVIS record your school created for you, and the consular officer will check that it has posted before issuing your visa. In most situations, it is non-refundable.

Who Has to Pay

Three groups owe the fee: new F-1 students applying for a visa at a U.S. consulate abroad, people already in the United States on another visa who are applying to change status to F-1, and students seeking reinstatement after falling out of F-1 status.

If you already have F-1 status and are simply transferring between schools or moving to a new academic level, you do not pay again. Your original payment carries with you as long as your status has not lapsed.

Who Doesn’t Pay

Several situations are exempt, and it’s worth checking these before you spend the $350:

F-2 dependents (spouses and children of the F-1 student) are covered by the primary student’s payment.¹
Students reapplying after a visa denial do not pay again if they reapply within 12 months of the original payment.²
Students applying for reinstatement within five months of the status violation are also exempt from a new fee.²

The five-month reinstatement window is easy to miss. Wait longer than that, and you owe a fresh $350 on top of the harder reinstatement case.

What You Need Before You Pay

You cannot pay until your school issues Form I-20, the certificate of eligibility for F-1 status.³ Pull the I-20 out and have it in front of you. The payment system will ask for:

Your SEVIS ID, printed near the top of the I-20. It starts with the letter N followed by a string of digits.
The school code, an alphanumeric identifier in the school information section. Copy it character by character.
Your full legal name, date of birth, country of citizenship, and a working email address.

The system matches these against your SEVIS record. A single typo in the SEVIS ID or school code can create a mismatch that stalls your visa. Verify every field against the physical I-20 before you submit.

A related trap: make sure the name you enter on the I-901 matches the name on your I-20 exactly, even if your passport spells it differently. If the I-20 itself has the wrong name, ask your designated school official to reissue it before you pay.

How to Pay

All F-1 SEVIS fee payments go through Form I-901 at FMJfee.com.⁴ The amount is $350.⁵ You have three options.

Credit or debit card online is the fastest. The system accepts major cards and processes the payment immediately.

Western Union Quick Pay works if you can’t use a card. Complete the I-901 form online first, which generates a unique coupon number. Take that coupon to any Western Union location and use the company code SEVISFEE, entering your coupon number as the account number. Someone else can make the payment on your behalf as long as they have your coupon number.

Check or money order by mail is the slowest option. Allow at least two weeks for the payment to reach SEVP, plus up to three additional business days for it to post to the SEVIS system.²

If You’re a Citizen of Cameroon, Ghana, Gambia, Kenya, or Nigeria

Citizens of these five countries cannot pay by credit card online.⁶ Your only options are Western Union Quick Pay, a money order, or a certified check drawn on a U.S. bank. The restriction is based on citizenship, not where you live, so plan the payment method (and mail time, if you need it) accordingly.

Save Your Receipt

Once the payment clears, the system generates a confirmation page that is your official I-901 receipt. Print it right away and save a digital copy. Bring the printed receipt to your visa interview. Border officers may also ask for it on arrival.

Lost it? Reprint through the Check I-901 Status page on FMJfee.com by entering your SEVIS ID, last name, and date of birth.⁷

When to Pay

The regulation requires that the fee be paid before the consulate issues your visa.¹ In practice, pay at least three business days before your visa interview so the payment has time to post to the system the consular officer checks during your appointment.² You can schedule the interview before paying, but the payment must be visible in the system by the time you sit down.

If the officer can’t verify your payment, expect a refusal or a hold until the fee posts. Students from visa-exempt countries face the same check at the border: Customs and Border Protection looks at the system before granting admission.

Paying by mail? The math is tight. Two weeks of delivery plus three business days of processing means mailing roughly three weeks before your interview. Online card payment removes that risk almost entirely.

Fixing an Error on the I-901

If you entered the wrong name, SEVIS ID, or school code, request a correction by emailing fmjfee.sevis@ice.dhs.gov with a detailed description of the error.⁶ Volume is high, so send the email at least two weeks before your visa interview. If the correction hasn’t been processed within that window, call the SEVP Response Center at 703-603-3400.

Transferring the Payment to a New SEVIS Record

If you paid and then switched schools or received a new SEVIS ID, you can often move the existing $350 credit rather than pay again. Go to the Check I-901 Status page on FMJfee.com and enter your original SEVIS ID, last name, and date of birth. If a valid payment exists, the system will show a transfer request button.⁷ You can also email the request to fmjfee.sevis@ice.dhs.gov.⁶

A transfer is not a refund. You’re moving the credit to a different record, not getting money back. That distinction matters because refunds are narrow.

Refunds Are Rare

The SEVIS fee is non-refundable in nearly every situation students ask about. Visa denied? No refund. Decided not to come to the United States? No refund. Withdrew a change-of-status application? No refund. Denied entry at the border? No refund.²

SEVP issues refunds in only two situations: a duplicate payment (someone paid twice for the same student when only one payment was owed) and a payment made in error (you paid but were actually exempt). Even then, the request must be submitted within 90 days of the duplicate or erroneous payment. Only the student named on the record can request the refund, and the money goes to whoever actually paid.²

One useful cushion for a denied applicant: you don’t owe a new fee if you reapply within 12 months of the original payment date.² After 12 months, it’s a fresh $350.

1
eCFR. 8 CFR 214.13 – SEVIS Fee for Certain F, J, and M Nonimmigrants
2
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. I-901 SEVIS Fee Frequently Asked Questions
3
Study in the States. Students and the Form I-20
4
Department of Homeland Security. Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) I-901 SEVIS Fee Processing Website
5
Immigration and Customs Enforcement. I-901 SEVIS Fee
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Study in the States. Paying the I-901 SEVIS Fee
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Department of Homeland Security. Check I-901 Status