Nonimmigrant Visa Application and Border Crossing Card Processing Fees (per person fee) to be increased as follows when filing at Consulates for these visas.
1. J-1 Waiver of Two-Year Residency Requirement.
The Department proposes to increase the J-1 Waiver fee from $120 to $510.
Certain categories of J-1 Exchange Students/visitors who come here for Work/Study to US – in some cases are required to return to their home country for 2 years and physically stay in their home country before applying for another US visa if their program in US was partially or fully funded by US government.
This two-year residency requirement upon request and approval may be waived in certain circumstances and the Department proposes increasing the associated fee for processing these waiver requests.
2. Non-petition-based nonimmigrant visa (except E category) from $160 to $245
This includes B1 and B2 visas for Visitors, C-1 and D for Transit and Crewmembers of airlines and ships, F-1 student visa, I visa for media and journalists, J visa for exchange visitors, M visa for vocational students, TN visa for Canada and Australia professionals, S Visa for Witnesses or Informants helping US law enforcement, T Visa for Victims of Human Trafficking, and U Visa for Victim informants of criminal activities that help law enforcement in US.
3. H, L, O, P, Q and R category nonimmigrant short term work visas from $190 to $310
4. E Treaty Trador/Investor visa from $205 to $485
5. Border crossing card for Mexican Citizens – age 15 and over (10 year validity) from $160 to $245
NOT GETTING INCREASED: K-1 FIANCE VISA and L-1 INTRA-COMPANY TRANSFER EMPLOYEE VISA.
Reasons for increases – they need more money, but officially because the “cost of issuing all these has increased for their agency”.
The public has until February 28, 2022 to submit written comments or objections to Department of State After the conclusion of the comment period, the Department will publish a Final Rule that will address relevant comments as expeditiously as possible.
You can comment by emailing to: fees@state.gov. You must include the RIN (1400–AF33) in the subject line of your message. All comments should include the commenter’s name, the organization the commenter represents (if applicable), and the commenter’s address. If the Department is unable to read your comment for any reason, and cannot contact you for clarification, the Department may not be able to consider your comment.
After 2/28/22 Dept of State will publish this as a final Federal Rule.
Our opinion is that these increases will increase the burden on the immigrants coming to US to study and work in US and therefore improve our country by being here. This will decrease the amount of people applying and make it unaffordable by most.
This is an unwelcome way of curbing immigration to US at a time when our nation needs more brains and hands here to help recover from Covid.
Contact the best Immigration Attorneys from the Law Offices of Marina Shepelsky while filing the Immigration Application.
Call us: 718-769-6352
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