Updated March 3, 2022
Visa processing for international scholars and employees will typically incur the following types of fees:
These fees do NOT include incidental costs such as express mail charges, passport photo or application fees, photocopying or document reproduction fees, fees for translation of foreign language documents, or fees for dependent family members accompanying the individual employee or scholar. In most cases the department is responsible for any administrative costs incurred out of business necessity, while the individual employee is responsible for other costs relating to their personal immigration and educational records and personal and family travel.
For information about the costs of sponsoring employees for US permanent residents, refer to the section on Sponsoring Permanent Residents.
International Center fees: Departments will be assessed International Center fees through IDRs once the International Center has issued visa documents for international scholars and employees.
US government filing fees: Departments will receive instructions from the International Center for payment of required US Department of Homeland Security or other filing fees for individual sponsorship cases. In most cases, Homeland Security fees must be paid by check made payable to the "US Department of Homeland Security"; where multiple fees are required, each fee must be paid by a separate check issued for the correct fee amount.
International Center processing fees are final and non-refundable once the International Center issues a Form DS-2019 (for J-1 scholars) or Labor Condition Application (for H-1B temporary workers and E-3 Australian specialty occupation workers). Prior to the issuance of these documents, the sponsoring department may ask that a J-1 or H-1B request be withdrawn with no charge to the department or individual self-funded J-1 scholars.
International Center fees must be paid by the department unless the J-1 scholar is invited to Tufts on a self-funded, courtesy basis. For self-funded scholars, the department may elect to pay the fee or require the scholar to pay the fee directly to the International Center.
*Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Center is temporarily waiving J-1 extension fees for short-term extensions of one month or less. This fee waiver will be granted only once per J-1 scholar. All other extension conditions remain in place.
Other J-1 fees are paid directly by the individual J-1 scholar prior to applying for a J-1 visa at a US consulate and/or entering the US. Currently these fees include:
International Center fees for H-1B workers must be paid by the department or hiring unit and cannot be passed on to the employee.
US Homeland Security filing fees must be paid by the department, with the exception of the I-907 Premium Processing fee, which may be paid by the employee if premium processing is needed for personal or family travel instead of business necessity.
For information about International Center fees and US government filing fees for other visa categories, please contact the International Center directly.