International students hoping to obtain visas to study at the University will face new fees in September.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Thursday that a $100 fee will be charged to most foreign students when they apply to register in the Student Exchange and Visitor Information System, a mandatory tracking system for international students in the United States created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The fee is intended to cover the costs of administering and maintaining SEVIS.
The bureau will charge international students using F (full-time academic), J (vocational) and M (exchange visitor) visas the $100 fee. Students with J visas working as camp counselors or au pairs will only have to pay $35.
"I think it is too much. They already charge for everything," said Jesus Falazar, a UT petroleum engineering Ph.D. student from Venezuela. "Where I come from, every time you go in for an interview, they already charge you $100, whether you get the visa or not. I think it is unjustified that now you have to pay $100 for this, too."
The fee was originally proposed by the bureau in late October 2003 and was open to comments for a 60-day period before it became policy. Officials set the fee at $100, despite concerns that it would discourage foreign students from coming to the United States.
"We're going to have to wait and see whether it will have an effect," said Deane Willis, director of the International Student and Scholar Services at the University's International Office. "Students may consider it a detriment or just another part of the process."
Foreign students will pay $25,000 in tuition and living expenses during one year in Austin, according to estimates from the International Office.
The Web site for the International Office says financial aid is generally not available to international students. In comparison to what international students pay to attend the University and live in Austin, the fee would be relatively inconsequential, Willis said.
However, Willis said, some worry that the fee will drive international students to rethink their options.
Canada and Europe have been working hard to facilitate and recruit international students, and everything the U.S. does may affect whether students come here, Willis said.
"It is less complicated to go to Europe or Australia," Falazar said. "But if you come to the United States, once you are here, it is easier for you to get financial help."
Potential students will be able to pay the fee by mail or online with a credit card. The fee must be paid before students apply for their visas, and will only affect students applying or changing the status of their visas after Sept. 1.
Willis said that once the International Office has a better chance to understand the process of the new fees, it will do its best to help international students by determining their ability to pay the new fee and perhaps providing financial assistance.
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