US Consular sections worldwide will introduce a two-tier fee structure for non-immigrant visas beginning June 4. This coincides with the global application fee increase, designed to balance the costs of recent enhancements to the visa application process.
All applications for business or tourism (B-1/B-2), crew member (C-1/D), student (F or M), or exchange (J) categories will now cost $140 and a white receipt will be issued. Applications for petition-based work visa categories (H, L, O, P, Q, and R) will now cost $150 and a green receipt will be issued. These two receipts can still be purchased at approved HDFC Bank branches. Applications for treaty trader (E) visas will now cost $390 and will continue to be paid at the Consulate General.
The previous application fee was $131 for all visas. Applicants who purchased their receipts before June 4 will pay the balance fee at the time of the interview.
The state department has adopted the new system as petition-based applications require more processing than other visa applications. The increase in fee is for improving the processing of visa applications and for fraud-detection efforts. The fee covers the cost of accepting, adjudicating and issuing non-immigrant visa applications.
In India alone, the US government had increased consulate staffing by 40 per cent over the last four years and invested over $100 million in updating and expanding consular facilities, a press release said.