US hikes tourist, student visa fees – Here’s how much applying for visa will cost now
The US state department has increased the application fee for some non-immigrant visa (NIV) categories. The move will make student and tourist visas more expensive
The application fee has gone up from $160 to $185 for visitor visas for business or tourism (B1/B2s), as well as other non-petition-based NIVs, including student and exchange visitor visas.
The fee for certain petition-based nonimmigrant visas for temporary workers (H, L, O, P, Q, and R categories) will increase from $190 to $205. The fee for a treaty trader, treaty investor, and treaty applicants in a specialty occupation (E category) will increase from $205 to $315.
Other consular fees are not impacted by this rule that includes the waiver of the two-year residency required fee for certain exchange visitors, according to the US Department of State’s release on increase to certain NIV processing fee.
“All fee payments for visa interviews made on or after October 1 of the previous year are valid for 365 days from the date of issue of the fee payment invoice. Fees paid by applicants before October 1, 2022, will continue to be valid until September 30 of this year. As a result, applicants must pre-schedule an interview or submit an interview waiver application before September 30, 2023,” the release said.
The US state department further said that it is “committed to facilitate legitimate travel” for both immigrants and non-immigrants. This fee increase is based on the cost acquired for providing the non-immigrant services.
The fee hike has been effected based on Activity-Based Costing (ABC) methodology to calculate the cost of providing consular services, including visa services.
“Visas for work and tourism is essential to President Biden foreign policy, and we recognise the critical role international travel play for US economy,” the statement said.
