US Nonimmigrant and Special Visa Fees to Increase

The US State Department has announced that it will increase the fees for non-immigrant visas and special visas from the last week of May. The final rule, which will be published in the Federal Register tomorrow, states that the fee for all non-immigrant visas, including visitor visas, will increase to $185.

This is an increase from the previous fee of $160 for  non-petition-based nonimmigrant visas (except E category), including visitor visas, student visas, transit visas, and media visas. The E category visa fee for businessmen, investors, and others will increase from $205 to $315, while the application processing fee for H, L, O, P, Q, and R category nonimmigrant visas will increase from $190 to $205.

The US government estimates that it will earn $274 million from the increase in various visa fees. This figure is lower than what was proposed in the initial rule, which proposed higher increases across all visa types. The government revised the fee schedule after evaluating public comments.

The new visa fees will take effect from the last week of May, so those who are planning to apply for a US non-immigrant visa should take note of these changes.

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