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.

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.

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.

Begin 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.

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.

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

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.

6. Complete the fields: 

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.

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

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.

2. Complete the required fields:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.