March 30, 2012 Effective April 13, 2012, the Department of State will adjust visa processing fees. The fees for most nonimmigrant visa applications and Border Crossing Cards will increase, while all immigrant visa processing fees will decrease. The Department is required to recover, as far as possible, the cost of processing visas through the collection of application fees. For a number of reasons, the current fees no longer cover the actual cost of processing nonimmigrant visas. The nonimmigrant visa fee increase will support the addition and expansion of overseas facilities, as well as additional staffing required to meet increased visa demand. Although most categories of nonimmigrant visa processing fees will increase, the fee for E visas (treaty-traders and treaty-investors) and K visas (for fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens) will decrease. Nonimmigrant Visa Processing Fees Type of Visa Previous Fee New Fee Tourist, Business, Transit, Crew Member, Student, Exchange Visitor, and Journalist visas $140 $160 Petition-Based visas (H, L, O, P, Q, and R) $150 $190 Treaty Investor and Trader visas (E) $390 $270 Fiancé(e) visas (K) $350 $240 Border Crossing Cards (age 15 and older) $140 $160 Border Crossing Cards (under age 15) $14 $15 Because of a reallocation of costs associated with immigrant visas, all categories of immigrant visa processing fees will decrease. Immigrant Visa Processing Fees Type of Visa Previous Fee New Fee Immediate Relative and Family Preference Applications $330 $230 Employment-Based Applications $720 $405 Other Immigrant Visa Applications $305 $220 Diversity Visa Program Fee $440 $330 Determining Returning Resident Status $380 $275 The proposed fees will take effect in 15 days. Fee information may also be found on the Bureau of Consular Affairs website, travel.state.gov, and on the websites of U.S. embassies and consulates.

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