US Department of State to Increase Fees for Certain Non-Immigrant Visas from May 30, 2023

Highlights

---

• US Department of State to increase fees for certain non-immigrant visas from May 30, 2023
• Fee hike will affect visitor visas for business or tourism, student/exchange visitor visas, and certain petition-based non-immigrant visas for temporary workers
• Visitor visa and non-petition based non-immigrant visa fees will increase from $160 to $185
• Petition-based non-immigrant visa fees will increase from $190 to $205
• Treaty trader/investor/specialty occupation visa fees will increase from $205 to $315
• Fee increase may impact visitors, students, temporary workers, and treaty traders/investors
• Official notice published on March 28, 2023

---

If you are planning to visit or study in the US, you may have to pay more for your visa application. The US Department of State has announced that it will increase the fees for certain non-immigrant visa categories, effective from 30th May 2023. The fee hike will affect tourists, students, exchange visitors, temporary workers, treaty traders and investors.

According to the official notice published on March 28, 2023, the fee for visitor visas for business or tourism (B1/B2), and other non-petition based non-immigrant visas such as student and exchange visitor visas (F, M, J), will increase from $160 to $185. The fee for certain petition-based non-immigrant visas for temporary workers (H, L, O, P, Q, and R categories) will increase from $190 to $205. The fee for treaty traders, treaty investors, and treaty applicants in a specialty occupation (E category) will increase from $205 to $315.

The US Department of State said that the fee increase is based on the cost of providing consular services, including visa services. It said that it uses Activity-Based Costing (ABC) methodology to calculate the cost of each service. The fees for most non-petition based non-immigrant visas were last updated in 2012, and certain other non-immigrant visa fees were last updated in 2014.

The fee hike will not affect other consular fees, such as the waiver of the two-year residency required fee for certain exchange visitors. The notice also said that 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 US Department of State said that it is committed to facilitating legitimate travel for both immigrant and non-immigrant travelers. It said that visas for work and tourism are essential to President Biden's foreign policy, and that it recognizes the critical role international travel plays for the US economy.

The fee increase may affect the demand for US visas among foreign nationals, especially those from developing countries. According to the US Travel Association, international visitors spent $144 billion in the US in 2021, supporting 1.2 million American jobs. According to the Institute of International Education, there were over one million international students enrolled in US higher education institutions in 2020-21, contributing $38 billion to the US economy and supporting over 400,000 jobs.