MRV Fee Receipt: How to Pay, Download & Generate Fee Receipt?

Most applicants including children who are entering the USA are required to pay a Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fee to initiate their US Visa application process. The MRV is a government-mandated visa processing fee that is required to be paid whether your US visa is approved for travel or not.

To study in the USA, nonimmigrant applicants must submit a visa application. Student visa applications in the USA are also nonimmigrant, and applicants must pay a fee before starting the student visa process. Most applicants, including children entering the United States of America, must pay a Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fee to initiate their US Visa application process. The MRV is a government-mandated visa processing fee that must be paid whether your visa is approved for travel. The MRV fee is non-transferable and non-refundable.

MRV fee payment is an important step for submitting a student visa application to study in the US. This fee is not the same as SEVIS fee. Howver, MRV fee can be considered as the application fee for student visa USA application. If you get your I-20 form confirming your enrollment, you can start your applications.Check everything about the MRV fee, how to get the MRC receipt number and other details in this article.

What is MRV Receipt Number?

The receipt generated from the Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fee payment is termed the MRV Receipt number. MRV fee is a nonimmigrant visa fee paid by international students or tourists who want to go to USA. Even if the visa is not issued yet, MRV fee is supposed to be paid. Please note that it may take around 2-5 business days for MRV fee to reflect and MRV receipt to be generated. 

MRV fee is valid for one year, and with the same fee, a student can apply for a student visa anytime within a year as per his/her admission intake at the US university. To generate the receipt, applicants can go to USVAC website MRV receipt option can be chosen and details can be generated.

Check out how to use the USVAC website to generate an MRV receipt.

How to Generate MRV Fee Receipt?

There is a process to generate your MRV fee receipt. Before paying, read all the instructions and fill the student visa form carefully. To generate the MRV fee receipt, applicants can follow these simple steps given below for reference:

• Log on to the USVAC website and look for the option to add the reference number for the MRV fee.
• Once the reference number of the MRV fee is added, applicants can access and download the MRV fee receipt.
• Since the MRV fee is valid for a year, it can be accessed online from the time of payment until the end of the one-year deadline.
• Applicants will have to keep a copy of the MRV fee because, once the one-year lapses, applicants will not be able to access it again or be able to schedule the student visa interview. 

Please ensure that the fee receipt is kept in order so that the applicant can present it whenever requested for any reference at any point in time even when you are studying in USA. 

Also, Read

Is MRV Compulsory?

While most applicants are required to pay a Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fee to initiate their US Visa application process. It is compulsory for visa types - F1, M and J1.  Applicants are requested to check the official U.S. immigration website to determine if they are required to pay the MRV fee. Students visiting the country on US Student Visa F and M must pay an MRV fee of USD 185, roughly equivalent to ₹16,774 approx. This is a nonimmigrant visa fee and is compulsory to be paid.

How to Register for MRV Fee Payment?

MRV fee payment process is simple. If you are about to start your student visa application for USA you have to complete the application and pay the MRV fee. Ensure you complete the application and check details before paying. Follow the below-given steps for making MRV fee payment while applying for US student visa:

• Step 1: Candidates must log in to the US Travel Docs (CGI Portal) website and create a profile to pay the MRV Fee and activate their account promptly.
• Step 2: Next, click on the 'Schedule My Appointment' and fill out the necessary details.
• Step 3: Then click on Payment Options to select the preferred payment method. Payment can be made through the following media for Indian applicants:
  • NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer)
  • Axis Bank or Citibank branch in India
  • IMPS – Payment by Mobile Phone

Do note that since Indian banks are closed on the second and fourth Saturdays of every month, payments on those days would be non-operational.

• Step 4: Pick the payment option that is most convenient for you and make your payment. When you pay the visa fee, you acknowledge that this is a non-refundable visa application processing fee required as a prerequisite to the processing of an application. Kindly note: No refund is possible, regardless of the outcome of the application.

• Step 5: Whichever payment option you choose, you must save your CGI reference number or transaction number. You cannot schedule an appointment without your CGI reference or transaction number.

• Step 6: You can schedule your interview once you pay your visa fee.

You can follow these steps only when you have your I-20 form in hand from your US university where you'll be studying.

Sample MRV Receipt Number (Online)

This is what an MRV receipt fee would look like if you are paying the MRV fee online. This is a standard sample of an MRV fee receipt and may resemble the same once the payment is made. This is just for reference and a sample and must not be copied for official submission further. Check out the MRV fee receipt sample below: 

Those wishing to apply online can just ensure they pay their MRV Fee on the official website. The students paying the MRV fee online will also get a CGI reference number. All these details about MRV receipt, number and fee are essential as they will be required for US student visa interviews. Without these details, applications may not get processed; thus, applicants must ensure that all these formalities are completed beforehand and details are handy. 

How to Get MRV Fee Receipt?

If you did not download your MRV fee receipt upon stdent visa fee payment, you can still retrieve the receipt by following some simple steps. Here is how to get MRV fee receipt after you have made the payment:

• Log in to US Travel Docs or CGI visa appointment portal where you initiated and completed the US student visa fee payment.
• Locate the Receipt or Payment History option as soon as you log in.
• The MRV fee payment is processed as soon as the payment is made and the system will show a 12-digit receipt number.
• Click to download and print the MRV fee receipt, as it is required for a student visa interview.

Getting MRV fee receipt is simple. In case applicants forget to get their recipt initially, they can still access it later on as well for reference.

MRV Receipt Number Validity

Unlike others, the MRV receipt number also has an expiry date. The MRV receipt number or payment is valid for one year only. Thus, after paying the MRV fee, applicants can attend their US student visa interviews within one year. Also, applicants must note that they must pay on time since this receipt number is required during the visa interviews. After paying the MRV fee, they must wait two working days to generate their MRV receipt number.

So if the applicant submits the MRV fees submitted before October 1, 2025 will be valid up till September 30, 2026. After this, applicants will need to resubmit the MRV fee if their visa is rejected. There are two US student visa rejection reasons; check them out below:

• 221(g) Rejection
• 214(b) Rejection

If the applicant gets rejected in the interview, and if he/she wishes to re-appear, they will have to repay the MRV fee and then appear for the interview. The MRV fee receipt is valid for one visa interview only. 

Steps to Retrieve Your MRV Fee Receipt

In case you lose your MRV fee receipt, you can easily retrieve it by following some simple steps. Check out how to retrieve your MRV fee receipt below:

1. Log in where you paid the MRV fee - US Travel Docs website.
2. Go to your application and find the transaction details where a barcode is given.
3. Verify the details of reference number of transaction.
4. You will get the option to get your MRV fee receipt.

Ensure you keep the MRV fee receipt properly and not lose it. This is an essential document for OFC and visa interview. 

Things to Remember for MRV Receipt Number for US Visa

There are different rules and regulations around MRV fee receipt and applicants must follow them. Applicants in the process of their US student visa application must know these important things related to MRV fee receipt number for US:

• MRV fee is non-refundable and non-transferable. Once paid, the fee cannot be refunded or transferred to another person.
• Once MRV fee receipt is in hand, ensure your SEVIS fee is also paid and you have all your financial documents in hand.
• The MRV receipt is valid for one year (365 days) from the date of payment. You must schedule your visa interview within this timeframe, or the fee will expire and be forfeited.
• Activation is not always immediate. MRV fee can take 2-5 business days for the receipt number to become active in the system after payment, especially for NEFT or bank transfers.
• An MRV fee receipt is valid for only one visa interview attempt. If the visa is rejected, applicants must pay a new fee to reapply if they wish to.
• If an appointment is cancelled after the one year validity has passed, applicants will be required to pay the MRV fee again to book a new date.
• In case MRV fee receipt number was not automatically updated or if the physical copy is lost then applicants can check their email for transaction details. Or check on payment history portal of USVAC and if nothing works check bank tansfer details.

Applicants are advised to print a physical copy of their MRV receipt. It may be required at the US Embassy or Consulate on the day of their student interview. There will be several instructions and rules that you will have to follow before submitting your application and making MRV fee payment, ensure they are followed, to avoid rejection at any point. 

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