Embassy of the United States Paris, France

SEVIS

On January 1, 2003, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, USCIS, completed the deployment of its Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS). SEVIS is an Internet-based system that will track F, M and J visa participants (and their family members) from the time they receive their initial documentation (either an I-20 or a DS-2019) until they graduate/leave school or conclude/leave program.

Effective February 15, 2003, all F, M, and J visa applicants must be enrolled in SEVIS before their visa can be issued. All Forms I-20/DS-2019 issued on or after February 15, 2003 including all forms issued to continuing students who departed the US on or after February 15, 2003, must be SEVIS compliant.

Since some F, J and M applications require additional administrative processing,we recommend that students apply as soon as they receive their SEVIS documentsfrom their schools or other organizations.

When making your appointment, student visa applicants and exchange visitor applicants MUST immediately identify themselves as such to the call center in order to get a timely appointment.

SEVIS Fee

Effective September 1, 2004 international students and exchange visitors(visa categories F1, J1, and M1) whose DS 2019 or I-20 forms were issued on or afterSeptember 1, 2004 are required to pay a SEVIS fee. Only primary visaholders are required to pay the SEVIS fee. It is not required of spouses and children.

• This fee must be paid before you come to your appointment for your interview.
• You may not/not pay the SEVIS fee at the ConsularSection at the time of the interview.
• Your visa cannot be issued unlessand until the Consular Section receives from you a record of the paymentof the fee.

Persons with I-20 or DS-2019 forms issued before September 1, 2004 are not subject to the SEVIS fee regardless of when they apply for their visa.

Persons participating in Federally Sponsored Exchange VisitorPrograms (programs codes that start with G1, G2, or G3) are exempt fromthe payment of the fee.

Nonimmigrants currently in the United States who apply for student or exchange visitor status must pay the fee prior to filing their change of status application.

Note: The applicant should contact his/her school/organization in any case about the SEVIS Fee. A missing payment can prolong processing time considerably.

How much is the fee?

How is the fee paid?

The SEVIS fee may be paid in one of the following ways:

• On the Internet at www.fmjfee.com by using a credit card and completing the online Form I-901 (Fee for Remittance for Certain F, M, and J Non immigrants).
• Through the mail by submittinga completed Form I-901 and a check or money order drawn on a US Bank and payable in US currency and sent to the DHS address listed on the Form I-901.
• By athird party such as a school or sponsor.
• By selected sponsors of an exchange program by submitting a bulk or group payment.

When must the fee be paid?

The fee must be paid sufficiently in advance of the interview to ensure that the payment can be deposited and recorded in SEVIS prior to the scheduled visa interview. To allow for adequate processing time the fee must be paid:

• At least three business days prior to the visa interview date for electronicsubmissions.
• At least three businessdays before the scheduled visa interview for mail submissions to allow or delivery at the DHS address listed on the Form I-901. This time frame allows the fee payment to be deposited and recorded in SEVIS.

Please allow sufficient extra time for the mailing to reach the final destination before the interview and for the return receipt to be returned to the applicant.

How will the payment be verified during the interview?

Either of the following must be presented during the visa interview:

• an electronic receipt printed immediately at the time of payment for individuals who file electronically.
• an official paper receipt (I-901) issued by DHS. Individuals may request Express delivery service for the I-901 receipt at an additional cost of $30.

Continuing Programs

Continuing students (F-1, M-1, or non immigrants that have begun, but not finished, a program) must pay the SEVIS fee before:

• Filing an application for reinstatement when they have been out of status for more than five months; or
• When applying for a new visa or returning to the United Statesafter an absence of more than 5 months that did not involve authorized overseas study; or
• When filing an application for a change of status to an F, M, orJ classification.

Continuing exchange visitors (J-1 non immigrants who have begun, but not finished a program) must pay the SEVIS fee before:

• Filing a reinstatement application after a substantive violation; or
• Filing a reinstatement applicationafter they have been out of status between 121 and 269 days; or
• Applyingfor a change of exchange visitor category unless the new exchange visitorcategory is fee exempt (federally sponsored programs with programcodes that start with G-1, G-2, or G-3).

For additional information about this program please see SEVP on the web at http://ice.gov/sevis/

If you have additional questions about the I-901 fee, please contact the SEVP program office by phone @ 800.892.4829 for the SEVIS Help Desk By email: sevis.source@dhs.gov