The U.S. Department of State has announced it will increase non-immigrant visa processing fees in most categories starting from April 13.
“For a number of reasons, the current fees no longer cover the actual cost of processing nonimmigrant visas,” the State Department said in a statement on Thursday. “The nonimmigrant visa fee increase will support the addition and expansion of overseas facilities, as well as additional staffing required to meet increased visa demand.”
“Although most categories of nonimmigrant visa processing fees will increase, the fee for E visas (treaty-traders and treaty-investors) and K visas (for fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens) will decrease,” the statement said.
Under the new schedule of fees, applicants for all visas that are not petition-based, including tourist and business visitor (B1/B2) visas and all student and exchange visitor (F, M and J) visas, will pay a fee of $160 instead of $140.
Applicants for petition-based visas will now pay an application fee of $190 instead of $150. These visa categories include H (for temporary workers and trainees), L (for intra-company transferees), O (for aliens with extraordinary ability), P (for athletes, artists and entertainers), Q (for international cultural exchange visitors) and R (for religious occupations).
At the same time, the application fee for K visas (for fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens) will be reduced from $350 to $240.
All immigrant visa processing fees will decrease, the State Department said.
