WASHINGTON: International students, exchange visitors and scholars attending U.S. schools or conducting research in the United States in most cases will be required to pay a $100 fee when applying for visas. The fee, to take effect from Sept. 1 this year, applies to F, J, and M visa applicants. The charge is in addition to the fee students must pay to obtain a U.S. visa, according to a press release from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on July 9.

The fee is expected to help cover the costs of administering and maintaining Student Exchange and Visitor Information System (SEVIS), an Internet-based system that maintains information on foreign students and exchange visitors to the United States and helps facilitate their entry.

“The fee applies to F, J and M nonimmigrant classifications; however, participants in certain J-1 exchange visitor programs will pay a reduced fee of $35 or be fee-exempt,” said the release.