Students/Exchange Visitors

SEVIS I-901 Fee

General Refund Information

In general, all students, regardless of the reason, have 3 months (90 days) from the date of the I-901 fee payment to request a refund. If the refund request is not made within this time period, the student is not entitled to a refund.

I-901 Fee Process

Western Union Quick Pay

I-901 Fee Assistance

ALERT: I-901 CHARGEBACK COMPLIANCE UPDATE

(New: October 6, 2009)

If you received a letter titled, “Notice to Students and Exchange Visitors,” regarding I-901 Fee Payment Fraud, the notice gave instructions on how to avoid having your SEVIS status Terminated or Cancelled. If you didn’t remit payment within the 30 days allowed, the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) and the Department of State (DoS) will now proceed with the following actions.

• For ACTIVE, TERMINATED, NO SHOW or INACTIVE Status Students and Exchange Visitors:
  SEVP will terminate the SEVIS records of those nonimmigrant students and DoS will terminate the SEVIS records of those exchange visitors who did not make payment within the allowed 30 days provided by the previous notice. SEVIS records will show TERMINATE with reason code Other for J-1s and Otherwise Failing to Maintain Status for F-1s/M-1s.



• The comments accompanying this termination will note: Fee Payment Fraud Alert. A flag will be placed on the student’s or exchange visitor’s name and SEVIS record to alert the Customs and Border Protection officers at the ports of entry that the nonimmigrant student or exchange visitor has a Fraud Alert for failure to make a Fee Payment.



• All Terminated SEVIS records are reviewed by the Compliance Enforcement Unit (CEU) to determine if further investigation is required. Students and exchange visitors who do not remit the regulatory mandated I-901 fee after receiving notice are subject to investigation, possible arrest, detention, deportation, denial of requested benefits and may be barred from future entry into the United States.



• For INITIAL Status Students and Exchange Visitors:
  A list of the nonimmigrant students and exchange visitors who have not yet entered the United States will be sent to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Each record will be marked either CANCELED (if F-1/M-1) or INVALID (if J-1) and a flag will be placed on the student’s or exchange visitor’s name and SEVIS record to alert the Customs and Border Protection officers at the ports of entry that the nonimmigrant student or exchange visitor has a Fraud Alert for failure to make a Fee Payment. Entering nonimmigrant students and exchange visitors will be issued a Form I-515A allowing them 30 days to remit payment for the I-901 Fee. If payment is not received within the allotted 30 days, the CANCELED and INVALID status records will be forwarded to the CEU for investigation and possible removal.



• Upon receipt of payment from the student or exchange visitor and the subsequent processing of the payment, ALL flags will be removed; the SEVIS record will be cleared of comments and updated to reflect payment confirmation.

You may check your current status by contacting your school official or program sponsor. For inquiries, send a detailed e-mail to fmjfee.SEVIS@dhs.gov. For more information on Chargebacks, visit the following link “What Is a Chargeback?”