Fee Hike For Student Visas

The Department of Homeland Security plans to raise the fees that visiting international students must pay, according to a notice in the April 21 Federal Register. The new fees will be as much as $200 depending on the visa category and will take effect on Oct. 1. The categories affected are academic students (F visa), vocational students (M visa), or exchange visitors (J visa). DHS says revenue from the fees will help support a database on international visitors known as the Student & Exchange Visitor Information System. SEVIS was created by Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to track foreign students and exchange visitors during their stay in the U.S. Congress required that all costs for SEVIS be borne by international students and the institutions they attend. Since it was implemented in 2003, nearly 5 million students and their dependents have been entered into the database.