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MRV Fee: What It Is, What It Costs, and How the Receipt Works
MRV stands for machine-readable visa. The MRV fee is the non-refundable application processing fee that almost every nonimmigrant applicant pays before booking a US visa interview.
If you have been searching for it and finding nothing official, that is why: the State Department mostly calls it something else. Its own pages say "nonimmigrant visa application processing fee". Embassies and payment portals say "MRV fee". They are the same money.
The DS-160 itself is free
This causes real confusion, so it is worth being blunt about it. Submitting the DS-160 costs nothing. The MRV fee is separate, and you pay it through your own country's authorised service — not through CEAC, and not through any single global site.
What it costs
The amount is set in US dollars by visa category and collected in local currency at the consular exchange rate shown at checkout.
| Visa category | MRV fee |
|---|---|
| B (visitor), C, D, F and M (student), I (media), J (exchange), TD/TN, T, U | US$185 |
| H, L, O, P, Q, R (petition-based work) | US$205 |
| E-1, E-2, E-3 (treaty trader/investor) | US$315 |
| K (fiancé and spouse) | US$265 |
Most applicants are in the first row. A small number of countries have narrower exceptions — Mexico, for instance, has a US$15 B1/B2 rate for qualifying children under 15, with conditions and a trade-off; that is covered in the Mexico fee guide.
The receipt is the part that matters
You cannot book an interview without proof of payment, so the receipt — sometimes called the MRV receipt number, CGI reference number, or payment reference depending on your country's portal — is the thing to protect.
- It is normally valid for 365 days from the date of payment.
- What has to happen inside that year is booking the interview, not attending it. An appointment scheduled inside the window generally stands even when the date itself falls later.
- Once the year passes with nothing booked, the money is gone and you pay again.
- The receipt is tied to one applicant and one visa category. A receipt paid against the wrong class may not be usable.
The CGI reference number, and the three numbers people confuse
Search results for "CGI reference number" are a forum thread, a Facebook post and a Quora answer, and several of them expand MRV as "Miscellaneous Visa Fee". It is Machine-Readable Visa. Here is the actual arrangement.
CGI Federal is the contractor that runs the visa appointment and payment
service for the State Department in most countries — it is the name behind
ustraveldocs.com, and in some countries it is literally the payee on the bank
transfer. The CGI reference number is the payment reference that service
issues so it can match your money to your application. The format varies by
country; there is no single universal length.
Three different numbers get mixed up constantly, and only one of them is recoverable:
| Number | What it identifies | If you lose it |
|---|---|---|
DS-160 Application ID (AA + 8 characters) | Your form on CEAC | No lookup service — see retrieving a DS-160 |
| CGI reference number | Your payment in the appointment system | Cannot be reissued; it is on the receipt |
| Visa/case number | Your case after the interview | Shown on the CEAC status page |
The practical consequences follow from that table:
- The Application ID does not pay anything. Having it does not mean the fee is paid.
- The CGI reference does not open your form. It has nothing to do with CEAC.
- Neither can be looked up by name, passport or email. Both are issued once. Save the receipt as a file rather than relying on a printout.
Where to find the CGI reference number
On the payment receipt or confirmation your country's appointment service issued when you paid — in the payment history of your profile on that service, or on the bank slip if you paid in cash or by transfer. It is not on the DS-160, not on the confirmation page, and not in any CEAC screen, because CEAC does not handle money.
It does not activate instantly
The gap between paying and being able to schedule is where most people think something has gone wrong. It usually has not.
| Payment type | Typical wait before scheduling |
|---|---|
| Card or instant transfer (UPI, QR) | Often same day |
| Bank transfer | Commonly one business day |
| Cash at a bank | Commonly one to two business days |
Exact timings are set per country — the country guides have them. Do not pay a second time because the calendar has not opened yet. A duplicate MRV payment is not refunded.
What the MRV fee is not
It is not the SEVIS fee. F, M and J applicants owe a separate SEVIS fee paid on fmjfee.com. Paying one does not pay the other, and the receipts are not interchangeable at the interview.
It is not the visa issuance (reciprocity) fee. That is a different charge, paid only by some nationalities and only after a visa is approved. It depends on your country of nationality, not your visa category.
It is not refundable, and it is not transferable. Not if the visa is refused, not if you change your mind, and not to another person. It is also tied to the country where you applied — applying somewhere else means paying again in that country's system.
Frequently asked questions
What does MRV stand for?
Machine-readable visa. The name describes the printed visa itself, not the application, which is why searching for it on official pages so often turns up nothing — they call it the nonimmigrant visa application processing fee.
How long is the MRV fee receipt valid?
Normally 365 days from the date of payment, and the deadline applies to booking the appointment rather than attending it.
Is the MRV fee refundable if my visa is refused?
No. It pays for processing the application, not for the outcome. A 214(b) refusal does not entitle you to the money back.
Can I use one MRV payment for two applicants?
No. Each applicant needs their own payment, for the exact amount matching their visa category.
What is a CGI reference number?
The payment reference issued by your country's visa appointment service — CGI Federal runs it for the State Department — so it can match your fee to your application. It is not the DS-160 Application ID, and it cannot be reissued if lost.
Is the CGI reference number the same as the DS-160 Application ID?
No. The Application ID (AA + 8 characters) identifies your form on CEAC. The
CGI reference identifies your payment in the appointment system. Neither one
substitutes for the other, and CEAC never handles the money.
I paid but the system still will not let me schedule. What now?
Give it the activation time for your payment method first — often same day for cards, one to two business days for bank and cash. Then check that the receipt number, passport details and visa category match your appointment profile exactly; a mismatch is the usual cause. Only contact the authorised payment service if it is still missing after that.