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INS ANNOUNCES PLAN TO CREATE FEE FOR F, J, AND M NONIMMIGRANT STUDENTS 
Among the many new rules in immigration created in 1996 was a provision instructing the INS to develop a program to gather information on foreign students and exchange visitors studying in the US.  In order to institute this program, the INS has proposed a  fee to be paid by F-1, J-1 and M-1 students.  The INS is accepting comments on the proposal until February 22, 2000.  The text of the regulation can be found in the Documents Collection of the Visalaw.com web site at http://www.visalaw.com/docs/. 
Under the plan as currently proposed, the schools and exchange visitor programs would be responsible for collecting the fee and submitting it to the INS.  The fee would be imposed whenever the student transfers to a new school, begins a new program of study, or changes exchange visitor category.  Failure by the student to pay the fee or by the school to submit it to the INS would cause the student to be out of status and in need of reinstatement.  The INS will issue receipts for the fee, and the receipt or a copy must be included with each subsequent request for an immigration benefit. 
A few students would be exempt from the fee.  These include J-1 exchange visitors who are participating in programs sponsored by the US government, and F-1 and M-1 students attending private elementary schools, private high schools, and public high schools.  Dependents in F-2, J-2 or M-2 status would not be subject to the fee.