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Form I-17 - Pay Fees

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Form I-17 - Pay Fees

Last updated: June 8, 2020

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Schools are required to pay fees to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) and provide proof of payment to SEVP upon submission of their:

  • Certification petition
  • Recertification petition
  • Form I-290B, "Notice of Appeal or Motion"

Additionally, certain updates to the Form I-17 also require proof of fee payment upon the submission of the updated petition.

Fee Type Amount Due When
Form I-17 Filing $3000
  • Submitting a petition for initial certification
Change of Ownership $3000
  • Submitting a petition for Change of Ownership
Site Visit $655 per site
  • Submitting a petition for initial certification
  • Adding new site for an approved Form I-17

Note: You must pay for each site listed on the Form I-17.

  • Changing physical location for an existing site on an approvedForm I-17
Recertification $1250
  • Submitting petition for recertification
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For payment information about the Form I-290B, “Notice of Appeal or Motion,” see the SEVIS Help Hub article Filing an Appeal or Motion – Pay Fees.

The fees must be paid through the federal government’s secured Pay.gov website. A school may use a bank account (ACH - Automated Clearing House), debit card, or credit card to submit an electronic payment to SEVP using Pay.gov.

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SEVP may cancel petitions when proof of payment is not included with the submission of the petition in SEVIS.

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Paying the fees to SEVP is a five-step payment process. The first two steps are used with all methods of payments, and the last three steps are based on the method of payments.

AnchorBegin and Complete Agency Form

To begin the fee payment process:

  1. Go to Pay.gov or click the link in the SEVIS Certification: Certification Petition Successfully Submitted email. The Pay.gov home page opens.
Pay.gov home page

2. Enter SEVIS in the Search field of the Menu bar.

3. Click Search. The Search Results for “SEVIS” page opens with I 17 SEVIS School Certifications in the search results.

Search Results for SEVIS page

4. Click Continue to begin the five-step payment process. The I 17 SEVIS School Certifications – Before You Begin page opens.

Accepted payment methods

5. Click either:

  • Preview Form: Opens a non-editable preview of the first page of the DHS SEVIS School Certification Payment form.
  • Cancel: Cancels the payment process and returns the user to the Pay.gov home page. 
  • Continue to the Form: Opens the I 17 SEVIS School Certifications - Complete Agency Form: DHS SEVIS School Certification Payment page.
Pay.Gov Complete Agency Form Page

6. Complete the fields: 

Field Description/Explanation
School Information  
District/Affiliation/System If necessary, enter the name of the district, affiliation, or system associated with the school.

*School Name
  •  Enter the name of the school system.

Note: This is the same information entered in Field 1.2 on the first page of the electronic certification application (Form I-17), and not the name of the main campus.

  • This is a required field. 
*School Code 
  • If a school code has been assigned, enter the school code of the school.
  • If a school code had not been assigned, enter NONE.
  • This is a required field. 
*Address
  • Enter the street address of the school.
  • This is a required field. 
*City
  • Enter the city in which the school is located.
  • This is a required field.
*State
  • Click the drop-down arrow and select the state in which the school is located.
  • This is a required field.
*Zip Code
  • Enter a valid five-digit zip code for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) region which the school is located.

Note: The four-digit zip code extension is optional.

  • This is a required field. 
School Contact Information  
Prefix
  • Click the drop-down arrow and select a prefix for the person making payment: Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss, or Dr.
*First Name
  • Enter the first name of the person making payment, or the name in which the debit or credit card is assigned.
  • If the name for an institution, enter NFN in this field.
  • This is a required field. 
Middle Name 
  • This field may contain the middle name of the person making payment, or the name in which the debit or credit card is issued.
Last Name 
  • Enter the last name of the person making the payment at the school, or hte name in which the debit or credit card is issued.
  • If the bank account from which the payment is being drawn is the name of an institution, enter the name of the institution in this field.
  • This is a required field. 
Phone Number
  • Enter the telephone number for the person making the payment at the school. 
  • This is a required field.
*Amount
  • Enter the amount being submitted to DHS. Do not enter a decimal point or cents.
  • This is a required field. 
*Checkbox 
  • Click the checkbox to indicate that you understand the filing fee requirements.
  • This is a required field. 

7. Click either:

  • PDF Preview: Generates this page in Adobe PDF format for review. 
  • Continue: The I 17 SEVIS School Certifications – Enter Payment Info: Payment Information page opens for the next step in payment processing.
Payment Info Page

8. Under I want to pay with my: heading, select the radio button for your payment method.

  • Bank Account (ACH): Payment is from a personal or business bank account.
  • Debit or Credit Card: Payment is with an acceptable debit or credit card. Acceptable cards include:
    • Debit cards with a Mastercard or Visa logo
    • Mastercard
    • Visa
    • Discover
    • American Express
    • JCB
    • Union Pay
    • Diners Club International
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  • Additional payment and processing information is available on the Pay.gov FAQ page.
  • Pay.gov Customer Service contact information is available on the Pay.gov Contact Us page.

9. Click either:

  • Previous: Returns to the previous page.
  • Return to Form: Returns to the DHS SEVIS School Certification Payment form. 
  • Cancel: Cancels the payment process without making the required payment. This returns the user to the Pay.gov home page.
  • Next: Opens the I 17 SEVIS School Certifications – Enter Payment Info: Please provide the payment information below page for either paying with a:
    • Bank account (ACH)
    • Debit or credit card

Paying with a Bank Account (ACH)

To pay the fees with a bank account:

  1. Complete the Beginning and Complete Agency Form steps to open the I 17 SEVIS School Certifications – Enter Payment Info page for a bank account payment.
Enter Payment Information

2. Complete the required fields:

Field Description/Explanation
*Payment Amount This field is prepopulated and cannot be altered.
*Payment Date This field is prepopulated with the next available payment date and cannot be altered.
*Account Holder Name 
  • This field is prepopulated.
  • If the name of the account holder is not correct, make the necessary changes.
  • This is a required field. 
*Select Account Type
  • Click the drop-down arrow and select the type of bank account from which the funds will be drawn:
    • Personal Checking
    • Personal Savings
    • Business Checking
    • Business Savings
  • This is a required field. 
*Routing Number
  • Enter the routing number for your bank.

Note: The routing number is the first set of numbers imprinted on the bottom, left corner of your check.
*Account Number
  • Enter the account number from which the payment will be made.

Note: The account number is the second set of numbers imprinted on the bottom of your check.

  • This is a required field. 
* Confirm Account Number (Required) 
  • Re-enter your account number. 
  • This is a required field. 

School Name

School District/Affiliation/ System

School Code

School Address

School City 

School State

School Zip/Postal Code

School Contact First Name

School Contact Middle Name

School Contact Last Name

School Contact Phone Number 

Amount 

 These fields are prepopulated and cannot be edited. 

3.  Click either:

  • Previous: Returns to the previous page.
  • Return to Form: Returns to the DHS SEVIS School Certification Payment form.
  • Cancel: Stops the payment process without making the required payment and returns to the Pay.gov home page.
  • Review and Submit Payment: The I 17 SEVIS School Certifications – Review and Submit page opens.
Review and Submit page

4. Confirm entries prior to proceeding. If corrections are necessary, click Return to Form to make the changes. 

5. Enter:

  • *Email Address: This is a required field.
  • *Confirm Email Address: This is a require
  • CC: Enter any additional Email Addresses in this field, seperated by a comma. 

6. Read the Authorization and Disclosure Statement, and if you agree, click the checkbox statement, *I agree to the Pay.gov authorization and disclosure statement.

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The I agree to the Pay.gov authorization and disclosure statement checkbox is required to submit your payment.

7.  Click either:

  • Previous: Returns to the previous page. 
  • Return to Form: Returns to the DHS SEVIS School Certification Payment form. 
  • Cancel: Stops the payment process and return to the Pay.gov home page.
  • Submit Payment: Payment is submitted. A Payment Confirmation – I-17 SEVIS School Certifications page opens. You will also receive a Payment Confirmation email from Pay.gov.
Payment Confirmation - I-17 SEVIS School Certifications page is displayed.

Pay with a Debit or Credit Card

To pay the fees with a debit or credit card:

1. Complete the Beginning and Complete Agency Form steps to open the I 17 SEVIS School Certifications – Enter Payment Info page for a debit or credit card payment.

I-17 SEVIS School Certifications - Enter Payment Info page for entering card account numbers.
Field Description/Explanation
*Payment Amount This field is prepopulated and cannot be altered.
*Cardholder Name
  • This field is prepopulated.
  • If the name of the cardholder is not correct, make the necessary changes. 
  • This is a required field.
*Cardholder Billing Address
  • This field is prepopulated.
  • If the billing address is not correct, make the necessary changes.
  • This is required field.
Billing Address 2 Enter additional billing address information, if needed.
City 
  • This field is prepopulated.
  • If the information is not correct, make the necessary changes.
Country 
  • This field is prepopulated.
  • If the information is not correct, click the drop-down arrow and select the country to which the account holder’s bills are sent.
State/Province 
  • This field is prepopulated.
  • If the information is not correct, make the necessary changes.
Zip/Postal Code 
  • This field is prepopulated.
  • If the information is not correct, make the necessary changes.
* Card Number (Required) 
  • Enter the debit or credit card number.

Note: Do not include hyphens or spaces.

  • This is a required field.
* Expiration Date (Required)
  • Click the drop-down arrows and select the month and year in which the card expires. 
* Security Code (Required) 
  • Enter the security verification number displayed on the card: 
    • On VISA, MasterCard, and Discover cards the security code is a 3-digit number printed on the back of the card
    • On the American Express card, the security code is a 4-digit number printed on the front of the card. 

Note: On-screen help is available for this field through the What's This? link.

  • This is a required field.

School Name

School District/Affiliation/ System

School Code

School Address

School City 

School State

School Zip/Postal Code

School Contact First Name

School Contact Middle Name

School Contact Last Name

School Contact Phone Number 

Amount 

 These fields are prepopulated and cannot be edited. 

 

3. Click either:

  • Previous: Returns to the previous page. 
  • Return to Form: Returns to the DHS SEVIS School Certification Payment form. 
  • Cancel: Stops the payment process and return to the Pay.gov home page.
  • Submit Payment: Payment is submitted. A Payment Confirmation – I-17 SEVIS School Certifications page opens. You will also receive a Payment Confirmation email from Pay.gov.
Review and Submit payment page

4. Confirm entries prior to proceeding. If corrections are necessary, click Return to Form to make the changes.

5. Enter:

  • *Email Address: This is a required field.
  • *Confirm Email Address: This is a require
  • CC: Enter any additional Email Addresses in this field, seperated by a comma. 

6. Click checkbox statement, * I authorized a charge to my card account for the above amount in accordance with my card issuer agreement.

Icon - Pay attention to an important point

The * I authorized a charge to my card account for the above amount in accordance with my card issuer agreement checkbox is required to submit your payment.

6. Click either:

  • Previous: Returns to the previous page. 
  • Return to Form: Returns to the DHS SEVIS School Certification Payment form. 
  • Cancel: Stops the payment process and return to the Pay.gov home page.
  • Submit Payment: Payment is submitted. A Payment Confirmation – I-17 SEVIS School Certifications page opens. You will also receive a Payment Confirmation email from Pay.gov.
Payment Confirmation - I-17 SEVIS School Certifications page is displayed.

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