Increased Fees On The Horizon For Non-Immigrant Visas

The Department of State, in an effort to raise revenues and dig itself out of an economic hole, has decided to raise fees for many nonimmigrant visa applications. The actual purpose of a fee hike is to bolster administrative processing and to cover the high costs for certain processes that require in-depth consideration. But at the end of the day, it is still a hike in fees. All visa applications that are not petition based (B1/B2 for example) will see an increase of $9.00, raising the non immigrant visa application fee to $140.00. Fees for all petition based applications will be $150.00. The biggest fee increase is in the area of treaty (E) and fiancé (K) visas, which will be going up from $131.00 to $390.00 and $350.00 respectively. The proposed increases are just that proposals, the new fee schedule won’t come into effect for a while but make sure to contact your local U.S. embassy or your qualified attorney before filing any visa application. Submitting an application without the proper fee is basis for an outright rejection which will cause a delay in getting that interview and visa stamp.