St. John’s, Antigua: The US Department of State has announced it will increase non-immigrant visa processing fees in most categories starting from April 13, according to a report in the Antigua Observer.
“For a number of reasons, the current fees no longer cover the actual cost of processing non-immigrant visas,” the State Department said in a statement.
“The non-immigrant 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 non-immigrant visa processing fees will increase, the fee for E visas (treaty-traders and treaty-investors) and K visas (for fiancé(e)s of US citizens) will decrease,” the statement said.
The Observer reported that 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 US $160 instead of US $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 US citizens) will be reduced from US $350 to US $240.
According to the Observer report all immigrant visa processing fees will decrease, the State Department said.
You must be logged in to post a comment.