Pretoria - The United States (US) Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs has announced changes to fees in some of their consular services.
The fees for most categories of immigrant visas will change, while fees for non-immigrant visas largely remain the same.
The Bureau of Consular Affairs, which operates on a fee-for-services basis, says the increase seeks to recover, as far as possible, the cost of providing consular services through the collection of consular fees.
Although most categories of non-immigrant visa processing fees will remain the same, the fee for E-visas (treaty-traders and treaty-investors) will decrease and the fee for K visas, for fiancé(e)s of US citizens, will increase.
The fee charged for Border Crossing Cards for Mexican citizen minor applicants under the age of 15 will increase by $1.
For immigrant visa processing, the fee for family-sponsored immigrant visas will increase, as will the fee for domestic review of an Affidavit of Support.
All other immigrant and special visa processing fees that are changing will decrease.
Documenting a US citizen's renunciation of citizenship is extremely costly, requiring US consular officers overseas to spend substantial amounts of time to accept, process, and adjudicate cases.
The fee for processing renunciation of citizenship, which had previously been subsidized, is now reflective of the true cost.
Non-immigrant Visa Processing Fees
|
Type of Visa |
Previous Fee |
New Fee |
|
Treaty Investor and Trader visas (E) |
$270 |
$205 |
|
Fiancé(e) visas (K) |
$240 |
$265 |
|
Border Crossing Card (under age 15) |
$15 |
$16 |
Immigrant Visa Processing Fees
|
Type of Visa |
Previous Fee |
New Fee |
|
Immediate Relative and Family Preference Applications |
$230 |
$325 |
|
Employment-Based Applications |
$405 |
$345 |
|
Other Immigrant Visa Applications |
$220 |
$205 |
|
Determining Returning Resident Status |
$275 |
$180 |
|
Waiver of Two-Year Residency Requirement |
$215 |
$120 |
|
Affidavit of Support Review (only when reviewed domestically) |
$88 |
$120 |
Citizens’ and Administrative Services
|
Type of Service |
Previous Fee |
New Fee |
|
Renunciation of Citizenship |
$450 |
$2,350 |
|
Charge for Consular Time (for fee services performed outside of normal business hours or away from the office) |
$231 |
$135 |
Comments will be accepted at www.regulations.gov until 60 days after publication.
The Department will consider the public comments, and the published final rule will include the Department’s response to any comments received.
Fee information may also be found on the Bureau of Consular Affairs website, travel.state.gov, and on the websites of US embassies and consulates. –SAnews.gov.za
