Non-Immigrant Visas To Increase Jan. 1, 2008

[Inquiring Mind 0]

This may be old news to some of you, but I just ran across the information, so I wanted to share it.

Media Note

Office of the Spokesman

Washington, DC

December 13, 2007

Application Fees for Non-Immigrant Visas to Increase On January 1, 2008

Effective January 1, 2008, the application fee for a U.S. non-immigrant visa will increase from $100 to $131. This increase allows the Department to recover the costs of security and other enhancements to the non-immigrant visa application process. This increase applies both to non-immigrant visas issued on machine-readable foils in passports and to border crossing cards issued to certain applicants in Mexico.

Applicants who paid the prior $100 application fee before January 1 will be processed only if they are scheduled and appear for a visa interview on or before January 31. Applicants who paid the prior $100 application fee and appear for visa interviews after January 31, 2008 must pay the difference -- $31 -- before they will be interviewed.

The Department is required by law to attempt to recover the cost of processing non-immigrant visas through the collection of the Machine-Readable Visa application fee. Because of new security-related costs, new information technology systems, and inflation, the $100 Machine-Readable Visa fee is lower than the actual cost of processing non-immigrant visas. In fact, the $100 fee was already lower than the cost of processing non-immigrant visas when the fee was reviewed as a part of the cost of service study in 2004. The Department has been absorbing the additional cost. We are now collecting 10 fingerprints from each applicant, and the cost charged by the FBI to review those fingerprints no longer allows us to do this. The application fee has increased twice since September 11, 2001, the last time in 2002.

2007/1133

Released on December 13, 2007

[Queen Jenn 0]

Does that mean that K1 visa applicants will now have to pay $131?

[Zee Bee 61]

Does that mean that K1 visa applicants will now have to pay $131?

[Osakeme 0]

This may be old news to some of you, but I just ran across the information, so I wanted to share it.

Media Note

Office of the Spokesman

Washington, DC

December 13, 2007

Application Fees for Non-Immigrant Visas to Increase On January 1, 2008

Effective January 1, 2008, the application fee for a U.S. non-immigrant visa will increase from $100 to $131. This increase allows the Department to recover the costs of security and other enhancements to the non-immigrant visa application process. This increase applies both to non-immigrant visas issued on machine-readable foils in passports and to border crossing cards issued to certain applicants in Mexico.

Applicants who paid the prior $100 application fee before January 1 will be processed only if they are scheduled and appear for a visa interview on or before January 31. Applicants who paid the prior $100 application fee and appear for visa interviews after January 31, 2008 must pay the difference -- $31 -- before they will be interviewed.

The Department is required by law to attempt to recover the cost of processing non-immigrant visas through the collection of the Machine-Readable Visa application fee. Because of new security-related costs, new information technology systems, and inflation, the $100 Machine-Readable Visa fee is lower than the actual cost of processing non-immigrant visas. In fact, the $100 fee was already lower than the cost of processing non-immigrant visas when the fee was reviewed as a part of the cost of service study in 2004. The Department has been absorbing the additional cost. We are now collecting 10 fingerprints from each applicant, and the cost charged by the FBI to review those fingerprints no longer allows us to do this. The application fee has increased twice since September 11, 2001, the last time in 2002.

2007/1133

Released on December 13, 2007

What security and enhancement??????????

This people are stressing me......... Do they think we pluck money from trees.........

[Bassi and Zainab 1]

Thanks. I didn't know about this.

I guess my administrative processing at NVC could be part of the increased cost. They said it's a security check. It's ironic to think that, technically, I'm paying them for this agony.