M-1 Visa Application Process: I-20, SEVIS Fee, and the Consular Interview

Getting Your Form I-20 for M-1 Study

An SEVP-certified vocational school issues your Form I-20 after it accepts you and registers your record in SEVIS, the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System. The I-20 lists your program, its start and end dates, and the cost of attendance your school expects you to cover for the length of study.

Check every field on the form before you sign it. A wrong program date or tuition figure creates problems later at your interview or when you enter the country, and corrections take time your travel schedule may not allow.

Paying the SEVIS I-901 Fee

Before you apply for your visa, pay the I-901 SEVIS fee , set at $350 for both M-1 and F-1 students as of 2026. Pay it at FMJfee.com using the SEVIS ID number printed on your I-20, then save the payment receipt.

Bring this receipt to your interview. A consular officer checks that your fee payment matches your SEVIS record before issuing the visa, and a missing or mismatched receipt is a common reason interviews stall.

Filing the DS-160 and Paying the Visa Application Fee

Complete the DS-160 nonimmigrant visa application on the Department of State website. Upload a passport-style photo that meets the size and background rules, then save the confirmation page and its barcode number, since you need it to book your interview appointment.

Pay the nonimmigrant visa application fee, called the MRV fee. For the M-1 and F-1 categories this fee is 5 as of October 2026, a rate in effect since June 17, 2023 under the current State Department fee schedule. Check this page again close to your appointment date, since consular fees for nonimmigrant categories moved more than once during 2026.

A separate $250 visa integrity fee was created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (signed July 4, 2025) and will apply to M-1, F-1, and other nonimmigrant visas once implemented. As of this writing it has not gone into effect: the State Department has not received implementation guidance from DHS and no collection-start date has been confirmed. Once active it will be charged at visa issuance and cannot be waived or reduced. Check travel.state.gov before your interview to see whether collection has begun.

Preparing for the Consular Interview

Schedule your interview at the US embassy or consulate that covers your home region. Appointment wait times vary widely by post, so book as soon as your I-20 and SEVIS receipt are ready rather than waiting until close to your program start date.

Bring your passport, I-20, SEVIS fee receipt, DS-160 confirmation page, a passport photo, and evidence you can cover your program and living costs. The officer wants clear answers about your vocational program, your school, and your plans once you finish.

Interviews typically last a few minutes. Every applicant faces a legal presumption of immigrant intent under INA 214(b) , so answer directly and be ready to explain why you chose this specific program and how it connects to your plans at home.

How the M-1 Process Differs From F-1

M-1 and F-1 applicants use the same SEVIS fee amount, the same DS-160 form, and the same interview format. The two categories diverge once you are enrolled and living in the country.

The practical training figures come from Study in the States guidance on M-1 practical training . Confirm your program's exact length and extension eligibility with your DSO, since M-1 rules leave less room to adjust course load or transfer schools than F-1 rules do.

After Your Interview

If the officer approves your visa, the consulate returns your passport with the visa stamp inside, usually within a few business days depending on the post. If your case goes into administrative processing under Section 221(g), the officer tells you what additional documents or steps to expect and roughly what to check back on.

Do not travel to the US more than 30 days before the program start date on your I-20. Report to your school's international student office soon after arrival so it can confirm your entry and keep your SEVIS record active.

Costs to Budget For

Add up the full cost before you commit to a program start date. The $350 I-901 SEVIS fee and the $185 MRV visa fee are separate payments, made on separate websites, and neither refunds if your visa is refused. Confirmed government fees currently total $535: $350 SEVIS and $185 visa application. A $250 visa integrity fee was created by law and will apply once implemented, but it is not yet being collected, so confirm at travel.state.gov whether it applies before you budget for it. Some applicants also owe a visa issuance fee tied to their nationality under visa reciprocity rules, which varies by country and sits outside these charges.

Check the reciprocity table for your country on the State Department site before your interview, since a reciprocity fee due at visa issuance catches some applicants off guard when they expected the standard fees to be the end of it.

Common Mistakes That Delay an M-1 Application

• Paying the SEVIS fee with a name that does not exactly match the passport used at the interview.

• Booking the visa interview before the SEVIS fee payment has processed and appears in the system.

• Bringing a copy of the I-20 instead of the original to the interview without confirming in advance that a copy is acceptable.

• Bringing evidence of funds that does not match the cost of attendance figure printed on the I-20.