Three documents confuse almost every Indian student applying to a US university, and they are not interchangeable. The I-20 comes from your university. The SEVIS I-901 fee goes to US Homeland Security. The DS-160 and a second fee go to the US State Department. It feels like one big visa form, but it is really three separate filings to three different offices, and a single number ties them together. That number is your SEVIS ID, printed at the top of the I-20. Get the SEVIS ID, your name, and your date of birth identical on every form, and do them in the right order. Most avoidable delays come from a mismatch between these documents rather than from the F-1 visa interview, because the officer’s systems cross-check one form against another. This page explains what each one is, what every field means, the exact order, and the mistakes that cause the most trouble, whether you are heading to a bachelor’s after Class XII or a master’s.
What is the Form I-20, and who issues it?
The Form I-20 is your university’s official certificate that you have been admitted and are cleared to apply for a student visa. Its full name is the Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status, and it is a Homeland Security document, not just an admission letter. It is issued by your university’s Designated School Official, the staff member who runs the university’s Homeland Security record system, and only after two things are true. You have been admitted to a school approved to enrol international students, and you have shown the university enough money to cover the first year.
The I-20 is not a visa and does not let you into the country by itself. It is the document that unlocks every step after it. You cannot pay the SEVIS fee, fill the DS-160, or book a visa appointment without it. Because the university reads your details straight off your admission file, check the moment it arrives that your name and date of birth match your passport exactly, and that you have signed it yourself. Your Designated School Official signs the school section, and you sign the student section. If you are under 18, applying straight after school, a parent signs as well. Turn up with an unsigned I-20 and the officer will hand it back for you to sign at the counter.
What does every field on your I-20 mean?
The I-20 packs your whole immigration profile onto two pages, and the two fields that matter most are the SEVIS ID and the program start date. The SEVIS ID is your unique student number, and the start date controls when you are allowed to travel. Here is what each part means and why it matters to you.
| Field on the I-20 | What it is | Why it matters to you |
|---|---|---|
| SEVIS ID | Your unique student ID, an N followed by ten digits (for example N0001234567) | You type this into the SEVIS fee payment and the DS-160. It links all your records, so a single wrong digit sends the payment to the wrong record |
| School Code | The code and approval date of your university and campus | Entered alongside the SEVIS ID when you pay the SEVIS fee |
| Program start and end dates | The official first and last day of your program | You may not enter the US more than 30 days before the start date, whatever your visa says |
| Program of study | Your level (bachelor’s, master’s, PhD) and major | Must match what you tell the visa officer |
| Estimated cost of attendance | Tuition, fees, living costs and insurance for one year, with your funding sources | The officer weighs your funding story against this printed number |
| Signatures | Your Designated School Official’s signature and your own | Both are required. You must sign before the interview |
| Form Issue Reason | Initial Attendance, Continued Attendance, or Transfer | Tells the officer whether you are a new, continuing, or transferring student |
The estimated cost of attendance is worth a second look, because it is the figure a visa officer quietly measures your bank statements and loan against. It is not an invoice, it is a planning number, but your funding proof should comfortably cover it. The real, all-in cost of studying in the USA is usually higher than tuition alone, so plan around the total on the I-20, not the tuition line.
What is the SEVIS I-901 fee, and how do you pay it?
The SEVIS I-901 fee is USD 350 for an F-1 student, and you pay it to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, not to your university or the embassy. It funds the government database that tracks international students. You pay it after the I-20 arrives and before your visa interview, online at the official portal FMJfee.com, using the SEVIS ID and school code from your I-20. An Indian debit or credit card enabled for international payments works. Print the receipt the moment the payment goes through, because you carry it to the interview and, sometimes, to the airport on arrival. The official I-901 fee for F and M students has been 350 dollars since 2019, but treat it as changeable and check the figure before you pay.
You pay this fee once per SEVIS ID, not once per visa attempt, because it attaches to your SEVIS ID rather than to a visa. If your university reissues your I-20 with a corrected name or a deferred start date, the SEVIS ID stays the same, so you do not pay again. If a visa is refused and you reapply on the same SEVIS ID, you do not pay again. You only pay a fresh 350 dollars when a brand new SEVIS ID is created, which happens if your record is closed and reopened, or you move to a school that starts a new record. A proper school transfer keeps the record active, and the fee moves with it through the SEVIS fee transfer request.
Two mistakes here cause real pain. Paying on a copycat third-party site, and selecting the wrong visa category or mistyping the SEVIS ID. Both can leave your card charged while the officer’s screen still shows the fee as unpaid, because the money never attached to your real record. Pay only at FMJfee.com, select F-1, and check the SEVIS ID digit by digit. Pay at least three working days before your interview so the payment has time to show up in the system the officer checks.
What is the DS-160, and what is the confirmation page?
The DS-160 is the actual US visa application, filled online with the State Department, and it is a different form to a different agency from everything above. You complete it at the government site travel.state.gov, which sends you to the application portal at ceac.state.gov. It asks for your biographical details, your travel and family information, your university, and your SEVIS ID, which you copy straight off the I-20 so the officer can pull up your student record. Each person applies separately, so every family member needs their own DS-160.
When you submit, the system produces a confirmation page with a barcode, and this single page is what you print and carry. Homeland Security says plainly to print the confirmation page and bring it to your interview. The officer scans the barcode to open your full application, so the print quality matters more than people expect. Print the original confirmation file at full size. A screenshot, a shrunk page, or a photocopy can produce a barcode the scanner cannot read at the appointment centre.
Your photo is part of this step. You upload a recent colour photo, 2 inches by 2 inches, on a plain white background, taken within the last six months. If the upload is rejected, you must bring one printed photo in the same format to the interview, so it is worth carrying a printed copy either way. One recent change to plan for is that F, M and J visa applicants are now told to set every social media account to public and to list the handles they have used over the last five years, so submit the DS-160 a few days before the interview rather than the night before.
How is the MRV fee different from the SEVIS fee?
The MRV fee is the USD 185 visa application fee you pay to the State Department to book your interview, and it is completely separate from the 350 dollar SEVIS fee. MRV stands for Machine Readable Visa, and paying one fee never covers the other, because they go to different agencies for different reasons. In India you pay it in rupees through the official booking site ustraveldocs.com/in, which then lets you schedule your biometrics and interview. The visa application fee is non-refundable, so you do not get it back if the visa is refused.
The two fees confuse people constantly, so here is the plain comparison.
| SEVIS I-901 fee | MRV visa fee | |
|---|---|---|
| Amount (F-1) | USD 350 | USD 185 |
| Paid to | Homeland Security (ICE) | State Department |
| Paid where | FMJfee.com | ustraveldocs.com/in |
| What it does | Activates your SEVIS student record | Lets you book the biometrics and interview |
| Linked to | Your SEVIS ID | Your single visa application |
| Validity | Stays with your SEVIS ID across attempts | 365 days from the receipt to book an interview |
So an F-1 student pays 535 dollars in government fees before setting foot in an interview room, 350 for SEVIS and 185 for the MRV fee, on top of card charges and your university’s own application fees. Your MRV receipt number is what unlocks the booking calendar, and the payment can take a few hours to register, so pay it, wait, then book.
One more government charge is now on the way. A 2025 US law, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, created a Visa Integrity Fee of 250 US dollars that applies to almost every nonimmigrant visa, the F-1 included, and is charged when your visa is issued rather than when you apply, per Public Law 119-21. It is being phased in and was not yet charged uniformly at every US post in 2026, so confirm the current position on the official State Department fee page before you travel, and budget for it on top of the 535 dollars above. The fee can in principle be reimbursed later if you keep to your visa conditions and leave the US on time.
In what order do you complete the I-20, SEVIS fee, DS-160 and MRV fee?
The order is fixed, because each step needs a number or a document from the step before it. You cannot pay the SEVIS fee without the SEVIS ID on the I-20, and you cannot book an interview without the DS-160 confirmation and the MRV receipt. Here is the full sequence for an Indian applicant, start to finish.
- Get admitted and prove your funds. Your university admits you and asks for proof you can pay the first year. Cost so far, nothing new.
- Receive your I-20. The Designated School Official issues it with your SEVIS ID. Check the name, date of birth and start date against your passport.
- Pay the SEVIS I-901 fee. At FMJfee.com, using the SEVIS ID and school code. Cost 350 dollars. Print the receipt.
- Complete and submit the DS-160. Enter the SEVIS ID from the I-20, upload your photo, and print the barcoded confirmation page. Cost is included in the MRV fee below.
- Pay the MRV visa fee. On ustraveldocs.com/in, in rupees. Cost 185 dollars. Keep the receipt number.
- Book the OFC biometrics and the interview. Use the DS-160 confirmation and the MRV receipt to schedule both. In India these are usually two separate appointments on two days.
- Attend the biometrics, then the interview. Carry your passport, I-20, SEVIS fee receipt, DS-160 confirmation and funding papers.
- Travel, within the window. If approved, you enter the US no earlier than 30 days before the start date on your I-20.
Your visa can be stamped up to 365 days before your program starts, yet you still cannot enter the country more than 30 days before the I-20 start date. Those are two different windows, and Indian students misread them often. Someone who lands 31 days early can be turned back at the airport even with a valid visa in the passport.
Which mistakes reject or delay Indian F-1 applicants most often?
The mistakes that hurt are almost never about the interview answers. They are small inconsistencies across these documents, and the officer’s systems catch them because your forms are cross-checked against each other. These come up again and again.
- Name or date-of-birth mismatch across papers. Indian passports, admission files and I-20s often disagree on name order, initials, or expanded names. Fix the format to match your passport’s machine-readable line everywhere, before you pay the SEVIS fee.
- Wrong SEVIS ID or wrong category on the SEVIS payment. A mistyped digit or paying as J-1 when you are F-1 leaves the record unactivated, so the officer sees no payment even though your card was charged.
- Paying the SEVIS fee before the I-20 exists. You need the real SEVIS ID first. A provisional or borrowed number attaches the money to the wrong record.
- A rejected DS-160 photo. Non-white backgrounds, shadows or an old photo get bounced. Get US-visa-spec photos and carry a printed copy in case the upload fails.
- Booking or interviewing before the SEVIS fee posts. Pay a few working days ahead so the payment shows in the officer’s system, not just on your receipt.
- Travelling too early. More than 30 days before the I-20 start date is not allowed on an F-1 visa, whatever your ticket says.
Do you still attend an interview, or can you skip it?
As a first-time Indian F-1 student, you attend an in-person interview. The State Department narrowed its interview waiver rules through 2025, and the remaining first-time waiver is only for citizens of Visa Waiver Program countries who have travelled to the US before. India is not one of those countries, so the “Dropbox” route that skips the interview does not apply to a new student. Plan for the full appointment.
In India the visit is two steps. First the OFC biometrics appointment, where they take your fingerprints and photo, then the consular interview on a later day where the officer decides. Both are booked through the same portal once your MRV fee is paid. Bring every document from the sequence above, keep your answers short and consistent with what is on your DS-160 and I-20, and remember that your visa stamp’s expiry does not decide how long you can stay. Your student status does, tracked through your I-20 and the arrival record you collect at the airport.
- The I-20, SEVIS I-901 fee and DS-160 are three separate filings to two different agencies, tied together by the SEVIS ID printed on your I-20.
- The SEVIS fee is 350 dollars, paid to Homeland Security at FMJfee.com. The MRV visa fee is 185 dollars, paid to the State Department at ustraveldocs.com/in. Together that is 535 dollars before the interview, and a new 250 dollar Visa Integrity Fee, phased in from 2025, is charged on top when the visa is issued.
- You pay the SEVIS fee once per SEVIS ID. A corrected or deferred I-20, or a reapplication on the same SEVIS ID, does not need a second payment.
- Do them in order, admit, I-20, SEVIS fee, DS-160, MRV fee, book biometrics and interview, then travel.
- Your visa can be issued up to 365 days early, but you cannot enter the US more than 30 days before the I-20 start date.
- Most delays come from name or date-of-birth mismatches and wrong SEVIS-ID payments, not from the interview.
Frequently asked questions
Is the I-20 the same as a US student visa?
No. The I-20 is a certificate from your university confirming you are admitted and cleared to apply for an F-1 visa. The visa is a separate stamp the US State Department places in your passport after your interview. You need the I-20 first to apply for the visa, and you carry both when you travel.
How much are the SEVIS fee and the MRV fee for an F-1 student in 2026?
The SEVIS I-901 fee is 350 US dollars, paid to Homeland Security at FMJfee.com. The MRV visa application fee is 185 US dollars, paid to the State Department through ustraveldocs.com/in. They are separate fees to different agencies, so the two together come to 535 dollars. Verify both amounts on the official sites before paying.
What is the new $250 Visa Integrity Fee for F-1 students?
It is a 250 US dollar fee created by a 2025 US law that applies to most nonimmigrant visas, the F-1 included, and is charged when your visa is issued. It is being phased in through 2026, so confirm whether your consulate is collecting it yet, and budget for it on top of the SEVIS and MRV fees.
Do you pay the SEVIS I-901 fee again if you get a new I-20 or your visa is refused?
Usually no. The fee is tied to your SEVIS ID, not to a visa attempt. A corrected or deferred I-20 keeps the same SEVIS ID, and reapplying after a refusal on that same ID does not need a new payment. You only pay again when a brand new SEVIS ID is created, such as a closed and reopened record.
What is the DS-160 confirmation page and why must you print it?
The DS-160 confirmation page is the barcoded sheet the system produces after you submit your online visa application. You print it and bring it to the appointment, where staff scan the barcode to open your full application. Print the original file at full size, because a screenshot or photocopy can produce a barcode the scanner cannot read.
Can you enter the US as soon as your F-1 visa is stamped?
No. Your visa can be issued up to 365 days before your program starts, but you may not enter the United States more than 30 days before the start date printed on your I-20. Arriving earlier can get you turned back at the airport even with a valid visa, so book your flight inside that 30-day window.
Do F-2 dependents need their own I-20 and DS-160?
Yes. A spouse or child joining you on an F-2 visa gets an individual I-20 from your university and files a separate DS-160 and MRV fee. They do not pay the SEVIS I-901 fee, though, since only the main F-1 student pays that. Their funding is added to the cost shown on your I-20.
Do first-time Indian F-1 students get a Dropbox interview waiver?
No. The State Department tightened interview waiver eligibility in 2025, and the first-time waiver now applies only to nationals of Visa Waiver Program countries with prior US travel. India is not a Visa Waiver Program country, so a new Indian F-1 student attends an in-person interview after the OFC biometrics appointment.
More questions students ask
Each one is a short answer on its own page.
Sources
- US Department of Homeland Security, Study in the States, Students and the Form I-20, studyinthestates.dhs.gov
- US Department of Homeland Security, Paying the I-901 SEVIS Fee, studyinthestates.dhs.gov
- US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Form I-901 (SEVIS fee amount), ice.gov
- US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, I-901 SEVIS Fee, ice.gov/sevis/i901
- US Department of Homeland Security, SEVIS fee transfer requests, studyinthestates.dhs.gov
- US Department of State, Student Visa, travel.state.gov
- US Department of State, Fees for Visa Services, travel.state.gov
- US Department of State, Interview Waiver Update, 18 September 2025, travel.state.gov
- US Department of State, Expanded Screening and Vetting for Visa Applicants, travel.state.gov
- US Visa Information and Appointment Services, India, ustraveldocs.com/in
- US Congress, One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21), Sec. 100007 visa integrity fee, congress.gov
- USAGov, Arrival and departure record (I-94), usa.gov
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