Visiting Scholar Fees

UC Berkeley fees:

1. ISEEES Visiting Scholar administrative fee ($1000 per semester or portion thereof). This fee covers the administrative costs of processing your application and appointment as a visiting scholar at our Institute. For international visiting scholars, this fee must be paid together with the DS-2019 processing fee; for U.S. citizens or permanent residents, this fee must be paid prior to processing your visiting scholar appointment. It must be paid in U.S. dollars and can be in the form of an international money order, cashier's check, or personal check payable to "UC Regents", or can be paid by wire transfer. ISEEES cannot process your visiting scholar appointment until we have received this fee.
2. DS-2019 processing fee ($650* per visit). This fee is for the Berkeley International Office (BIO), which produces your DS-2019 form. This form is required when you go to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate to get your J-1 visa. This fee should be mailed to ISEEES only after you have been accepted as a visiting scholar. The fee must be paid in U.S. dollars and can be in the form of an international money order, cashier's check, or personal check payable to "UC Regents", or can be paid by wire transfer. ISEEES cannot process your visiting scholar appointment until we have received this fee.
   (This fee is not required for U.S. citizens or Permanent Residents)
3. VSPA University Services fee ($750 for visiting scholars, $1000 for visiting student researchers). This fee goes to the university’s Visiting Scholar and Postdoc Affairs office, which is in charge of all visiting scholar programs at Berkeley. Scholars can only receive their university ID card after paying this fee. This entitles you to use the library facilities of the nine-campus UC library system, to audit classes with professors' permission, to use the university's wireless internet service, and to establish an e-mail account.
   Scholars pay this fee when they arrive and check-in with the Institute. It is payable online by credit card or may be paid in the form of an international money order, cashier's check, or personal check in U.S. dollars payable to "UC Regents".

All fees, with the exception of the VSPA University Services fee, must be in U.S. dollars and can be in the form of an international money order, cashier's check, or personal check payable to “UC Regents”, or may be paid by wire transfer. The VSPA University Services fee can be paid by check or online by credit card. *$650 DS-2019 fee as of March 15, 2023. Please visit BIO website for the most up-to-date information on campus recharge fees.

U.S. Government fees*:

Department of Homeland Security SEVIS processing fee:  $220 (effective 6/24/2019)
U.S. Embassy/Consulate J-1 visa application fee:  $160

*U.S. Government fees are subject to change without notice. Please refer to the relevant websites http://www.ice.gov/sevis/i901/ and https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/study/exchange.html for the most up-to-date fee schedules.