U.S. Increases Visa Application Fee For Students, Tourists

The United States Government has increased the the non-immigration (NIV) application fee effective from May 30.

VerseNews Nigeria reports that the U.S. Mission in Nigeria, in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, said the increases were published in the Federal Register on March 28.

It noted that the NIV fees are set based on the actual cost of providing NIV services and are determined after conducting a study of the cost of these services

The U.S. government explained that the changes is in line with the Department of State’s commitment to facilitating legitimate travel to the United States for both immigrant and nonimmigrant travelers.

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The statement reads; “The Department of State published a Final Rule regarding increases to certain non-immigrant visa application (NIV) processing fees and the Border Crossing Card (BCC) for Mexican citizens age 15 and over.

“These increases were published in the Federal Register on March 28, 2023 and will be effective on May 30, 2023.

“The fee for visitor visas for business or tourism (B1/B2s and BCCs), and other non-petition based NIVs such as student and exchange visitor visas, will increase from 160 dollars to 185 dollars.”

“The fee for a treaty trader, treaty investor, and treaty applicants in a specialty occupation (E category) will increase from 205 dollars to 315 dollars.

“NIV fees are set based on the actual cost of providing NIV services and are determined after conducting a study of the cost of these services.

“The Department uses an Activity-Based Costing (ABC) methodology to calculate, annually, the cost of providing consular services, including visa services.

“The fees for most non-petition based NIVs were last updated in 2012, and certain other NIV fees were last updated in 2014.”

 “The U.S. government also noted that Visas for work and tourism are essential to President Biden’s foreign policy, recognising the critical role international travel plays in the U.S. economy.

“Fee information can be found on the Bureau of Consular Affairs website, travel.state.gov, and on the websites of U.S. embassies and consulates.”