The I901 SEVIS Fee is mandated by Congress to support the program office and the automated system that keeps track of students and exchange visitors and ensures that they maintain their status while in the United States. Each student or exchange visitor issued an initial Form I-20 or DS-2019 on or after September 1, 2004, is responsible for paying this fee to SEVP. There are some exceptions. For more information, see the section, Do I pay the fee?
The fee has been used to:
Hire and train SEVP Field Representatives
Support the current version of SEVIS and develop and deploy the next modifications to SEVIS
Staff and manage the SEVP Office to:
Develop SEVP policies and procedures
Offer SEVIS-related training, assistance and problem resolution to the schools and exchange visitor program sponsors
Maintain enforcement oversight to ensure that:
Schools are maintaining accurate, timely information
Students or exchange visitors who fail to maintain status either leave the United States or apply for reinstatement