According to the most recent Common App report, International students especially from China and Korea tend to apply for Early Decision.

Usually, Early Decision has a condition that they must be enrolled in that college/university. However, if you are admitted into U.S. colleges and universities that do not have the condition, you may wonder how long should you wait until you pay the SEVIS I-901 fee thus scheduling the visa interview.

As SEVIS SAVVY is the website for international students providing immigration regulations in easy English, international students can find the following trustworthy information regarding the visa interviews:

Related blog post 1: F-1 Visa Interview wait time and what to bring
Related blog post 2: How to answer visa interview questions
Related blog post 3: Why 30~60% of student visa applicants get refused

This blog post will have a closer look at the SEVIS I-901 visa fee and the SEVIS I-901 fee payment transfer process.

Students who have already paid the SEVIS I-901 fee and were wondering if they need to pay the SEVIS I-901 fee again or not, they will find the answer and save around $400!

If you are required to pay the I-901 SEVIS fee (for more information, see the section, Do I pay the fee?) and need a visa to enter the United States as student or exchange visitor, you must pay the I-901 SEVIS fee before going to the United States embassy or consulate for your visa interview.

If you are required to pay the I-901 SEVIS fee and do not pay it, your visa application will be denied by DOS.

I-901 SEVIS FEE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

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Contents

• Case study scenario
• The answer based on the regulation
• How to transfer the SEVIS I-901 fee payment to your new school?
• What to do when your visa request is denied

Case study scenario

Q 1: Hello, I scheduled a visa interview based on Form I-20 (Form DS-2019 for J-1 visa) information that was issued the first among many colleges and universities that I applied to.

While I was waiting for the visa interview, I finally heard back from my dream university which I am so excited about. However, I was wondering if I need to re-pay the I-901 SEVIS fee for the new Form I-20. Can I transfer the I-901 SEVIS fee payment? If so, how can I proceed with the I-901 SEVIS fee transfer process?

Q 2: Hi, my visa was unfortunately denied so I had to defer my admission for one year. When I was finally ready to book another visa interview, I was issued the new Form I-20 after submitting the required documents for Form I-20/Form DS-2019. Should I make another SEVIS I-901 fee payment?

The answer based on the regulation

The two keywords that F-1 and J-1 visa applicants must remember regarding the SEVIS I-901 fee are “new SEVIS ID” and “1 year (12 months).”

Let’s have a look at the first keyword; new SEVIS ID. Prospective international students who are issued new immigration documents (Form I-20 or Form DS-2019) that show a new SEVIS ID are required to pay the I-901 SEVIS fee.

In this sense, both students in the first case scenario and the second case scenario are subject to the I-901 SEVIS fee payment. Because the first case scenario student was issued a new immigration document (Form I-20/Form DS-2019) by a different American university and the second student was issued a new Form I-20/Form DS-2019 that has the new SEVIS ID from the same school.

On the other hand, if the student was issued an updated Form I-20/Form DS-2019 with the same SEVIS ID, the student is not subject to paying another I-901 SEVIS fee.

For example, if the student transfer to a different university, only school information will be updated on the immigration document. In this case, the student is not required to pay the SEVIS fee.

Related blog post: Transfer college within the U.S. for international students

Likewise, if the student changes the education level from Bachelor’s to Master’s and Master’s to Doctoral, the education level information will be changed only. In this case, the student is not required to pay the SEVIS fee as well.

Next, let’s move on to the second keyword “1 year (12 months).”

The SEVIS I-901 payment is valid for one year (12 months). In other words, J-1 and F-1 visa applicants can schedule as many interviews within a year from the SEVIS I-901 fee payment date and they can transfer the SEVIS fee payment to a different SEVIS ID.

Let’s circle back to the first case scenario- The student will be able to transfer the SEVIS fee payment to his/her dream university as long as the payment was made within a year.

What can you learn here? If you would like to schedule the visa interview as soon as possible, you may consider paying the SEVIS I-901 fee with the first I-20/DS-2019 that is issued to you while waiting for more admission results.

Once you hear back from the desired university, you can transfer your SEVIS I-901 fee later.

On the contrary, if the payment was made more than one year ago like in the second case scenario, the student needs to pay the SEVIS I-901 fee even though a new Form I-20/ Form DS-2019 was issued by the same college/university.

If the student deferred just one semester so it has been within a year, the student can transfer the SEVIS fee to the new SEVIS ID. Click here to learn how to overturn the visa denial decision.

With two keywords; “new SEVIS ID” and “1 year (12 months),” students in most cases will be able to tell if they need to re-pay the SEVIS I-901 fee or not. If you are still unsure, you may want to check out the official U.S. government I-901 SEVIS Fee Frequently Asked Questions webpage or reach out to the International office.

Now if it looks like you are eligible for the I-901 SEVIS fee transfer, move on to the next section to learn how to transfer your SEVIS fee payment. It is worth noting that it should be the student who initiates the SEVIS I-901 fee payment transfer process, not your school.

The basic rules for moving a I-901 SEVIS Fee payment between SEVIS ID numbers are:

• The I-901 SEVIS Fee must be moved between SEVIS ID numbers for the same individual
• An additional I-901 SEVIS Fee is not required (For more information, see the section, Do I pay the fee?)
• The I-901 SEVIS Fee amount for the new school or program must be equal to the I-901 SEVIS Fee already paid (see the Fee Amount Chart)
• Only the student or exchange visitor may request the move

I-901 SEVIS FEE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Who’s eligible to transfer the SEVIS I-901 fee payment?

How to transfer the SEVIS I-901 fee payment to your new school?

1. Go to FMJFee.com and click the “Check I-901 Status” button on the right corner, or…

2. Click the “check I-901 status” box in the middle of the webpage

3. Enter your SEVIS ID which can be found on your old Form I-20 (scroll down to learn where to find your SEVIS ID on your Form I-20) that you paid SEVIS I-901 fee previously. Type your Last Name and Date of Birth as it appears in your passport. Then, click the “Check status/ view payment confirmation” button.

4. Confirm your payment status then click the “Request Transfer” button.

5. Confirm the auto-filled email address/street address and enter the new SEVIS ID from the new school as well as the new school code (scroll down to learn where to find the New School Code). Then, click the “Send Request” button.

What to do when your visa request is denied

International students whose student visa was denied must read the Why 30~60% of student visa applicants get refused.

As you can see from the post, it is important for students whose first visa attempt was denied to provide new information so visa officers can overturn the decision that was made previously.

Visa applicants whose family or relatives live in the U.S. or whose visa was denied more than twice are high-risk applicants. For this group of students, it’s important to develop a winning strategy by having one-on-one consultations with previous consular officers.

Just like SEVIS SAVVY is run by the current immigration advisor, students can seek assistance from previous visa officers through Argo Visa.

Internationals who would like to get professional consultation regarding their visas can click here to get a $25 discount. Before the discount price for each consultation type is as below:

30-minute one-on-one ($479)

Perfect for students who applied for visas for the first time and who do not hold potential risks to be denied.

60-minute one-on-one ($789)

Perfect for students whose visas were previously denied and/or who have families and relatives in the U.S. and/or who would like to tailor their visa interview answers.

Not ready yet to book a consultation with Argo Visa?​

Try their ArgoBot! ArgoBot is built by Ex-Visa Officers and what it does is that it will analyze and evaluate your student visa case before you go to your F-1 visa interview.

Click here to try ArgoBot and see if you can get approved for your upcoming F-1 visa interview.

To sum up, the post touched upon when F-1 and J-1 visa applicants are required to pay the I-901 SEVIS fee and how to transfer the SEVIS fee if they paid the fee within a year.

The bottom line appears F-1/ J-1 applicants need to pay the I-901 SEVIS fee if they are issued a new Form I-20/ Form DS-2019 with a new SEVIS ID. Also, each payment is valid for one year (12 months).

If you followed the post this far, you must be “savvy” who’s proactively looking for information that you need and apply to your individual circumstances. To learn more about F-1 and J-1 information, go to the English page.

Follow @sevissavvy on Instagram, @sevissavvyfb on Facebook, and @hannathesavvy on Youtube to find pop quizzes based on the articles to ensure that you really understood what you just read.