Press Releases

U.S Nonimmigrant Visa Application Fee Increased

December 14, 2007

Effective January 1, 2008, the U.S. Department of State is raising the worldwide nonimmigrant visa application fee from $100 to $131.  This adjustment will bring the fee into line with the actual costs of administering nonimmigrant visa services.

The State Department has congressional authorization to fund the Department’s Border Security Program with user fees.  These fees are adjusted periodically to reflect the actual cost of the program.  New security-related costs, new information technology systems, and inflation have added to the cost of visa processing.  The Department is facing a critical revenue shortfall because the current $100 fee does not recover the full cost of service.  The Machine-Readable Visa (MRV) fee was introduced in 1994 and is the program’s primary source of revenue.

Applicants who pay or have paid the prior $100 application fee before January 1, 2008, will be processed without further payment only if they are scheduled for a visa interview before January 31, 2008.  Applicants who paid the prior $100 application fee and are scheduled for visa interviews on or after February 1, 2008, must pay the difference of $31 before they will be interviewed.  Any payments made after January 1, 2008, regardless of the interview date, must be for the full $131 fee (or $31 additional charge).  For further information, please visit the U.S. Embassy website at http://seoul.usembassy.gov/non-immigrant_visas.html.