Have you got accepted into American universities? Congratulations!

The university, that you intend to enroll in, will send you the Form I-20, “Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status.”

This document is everything for international students and you need this form to pay the SEVIS I-901 fee as well as to schedule the visa interview.

This blog post will cover A to Z to get the visa such as how to check the F1 visa interview appointment wait time, and what to bring to the interview.

If it is your first time applying for nonimmigrant visas, follow each step carefully and bring all the required documents to the interview.

Contents

• How to pay the SEVIS I-901 fee
• How to check the F1 visa interview appointment wait time
• What to bring for an F1 visa interview
• What is the MRV NIV Visa fee

How to pay the SEVIS I-901 fee

The first step you need to take upon the I-20 receipt is to pay the SEVIS I-901 fee.

You can understand this fee as a way to activate your account in the SEVIS system which manages international students’ databases.

Currently, the SEVIS I-901 fee costs $350 and you can make a payment from fmjfee.com.

Related blog post: How to transfer your SEVIS I-901 fee payment to your new school

It is worth mentioning that the payment is valid for 12 months.

Therefore, even if students are not sure if they can schedule a visa appointment for the incoming semester during the pandemic, students can still make the payment and apply for a visa later.

If you would like to learn more about different cases regarding the SEVIS fee payment, you can go to the I-901 SEVIS Fee Frequently Asked Questions.

Do not pay the SEVIS I-901 fee, if you already paid the SEVIS I-901 fee and are: Reapplying for a visa within 12 months of the date of your initial SEVIS I-901 fee payment

I-901 SEVIS FEE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

When you pay the SEVIS fee, you will be asked to provide your SEVIS ID as well as your School code. This information can be found on the Form I-20.

As you can see in the image below, SEVIS ID is located in the top left corner and it starts with the alphabet N.

The school code is located inside the box titled School Information. Once you pay the fee, save the payment confirmation page and print it out.

This is because the SEVIS I-901 fee payment confirmation page is one of the required documents for the visa interview.

What is more, some universities waive the deposit upon the SEVIS payment for international students.

Therefore, please check your institutional policy and make sure to forward the confirmation page to your international student advisor, if they accept the SEVIS fee payment for the deposit.

How to check the F1 visa interview appointment wait time

If you successfully paid the SEVIS fee, now you are ready to schedule the visa interview. Nonimmigrant visa applicants can check the Appointment wait time by going to travel.state.gov.

I searched Hyderabad for an example and as you can see the current visa appointment wait time is 56 calendar days as of May 2023.

Like this, you can check whether the U.S. Embassy in your local area is re-opened or how long it would take to schedule the visa.

Related blog post: 2023 interview waiver for international students

What to bring for an F1 visa interview

Listed below is what Travel.state.gov requires F1 visa interview applicants to bring to the interview.

• Valid passport
• Online Nonimmigrant Visa Application (DS-160)
• SEVIS I-901 fee confirmation page
• 2 Photos (only when you failed to upload photos while completing the DS-160)
• The form I-20

Other than the aforementioned documents, consular officers might ask you to provide additional documents to prove your academic plans, purposes of visit (study), and financial abilities. Examples of each document are listed below.

• academic-related document examples: high school diploma, high school transcript, AND test scores that you submitted to the university like SAT, GRE or GMAT.
• Proof that you will leave the country upon the completion of the program: flight tickets. Please see (3) below for more details.
• finance-related document examples: bank statement

 (U) An applicant applying for a student visa under INA 101(a)(15)(F)(i) or INA 101(a)(15)(M)(i) must meet the following requirements in order to qualify for a student visa:

(1)  (U) Acceptance at a school as evidenced by a Form I-20 (see 9 FAM 402.5-4(B) above and 402.5-5(D) below);

(2)  (U) Intent to enter the United States solely for the purpose of pursuing a full course of study at an approved institution;

(3)  (U) Present intent to leave the United States at conclusion of approved activities (see 9 FAM 402.5-5(E) below);

(4)  (U) Possession of sufficient funds to meet the individual’s financial needs (see 9 FAM 402.5-5(G) below); and

(5)  (U) Preparation for course of study (see 9 FAM 402.5-5(H) below).

9 FAM 402.5-5(C)  (U) Qualifying for a Student Visa (F-1/M-1)

What is the MRV NIV Visa fee

Just like students are charged for the SEVIS I-901 fee for your document Form I-20/Form DS-2019, there’s another fee that is associated with the visa issuance.

The fee is commonly called a Machine Readable Visa fee (because the visa has the machine-readable section on the bottom of the visa) or a NonImmigrant Visa processing fee.

The fee for an F-1 visa and J-1 visa is going to increase to $185 from May 30, 2023.

SEVIS I-901 fee goes to SEVP and MRV fee goes to DHS (Department of Homeland Security) and it is non-refundable and non-transferable.

The Department of State published a Final Rule regarding increases to certain nonimmigrant visa application (NIV) processing fees… other non-petition based NIVs such as student and exchange visitor visas, will increase from $160 to $185. 

Publication of Final Rule on Nonimmigrant Visa Fee Increases

Once you have all the required and additional documents to take the visa interview, now it is time to prepare for the visa interview.

For non-immigrant student visa applicants, it is crucial to note during the interview that the primary reason for entering the U.S. is to study.

From the related blog post below, you will learn 10 important tips to answer F1 visa interview questions.

Related blog post 1: Why 30~60% of student visa applicants get refused
Related blog post 2: How to answer visa interview questions