Wednesday, May 26, 2010

U.S. raises non-immigrant visa application fee

Taipei, May 26 (CNA) The United States is scheduled to increase its non-immigrant visa application processing fee, effective June 4, the Taipei office of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in aWednesday press release.

From that date, applicants for B1/B2, F and J visas must pay US$140, while those who apply for petition-based visas, including H, L, O, P, Q and R visas, must pay US$150. Applicants for K and E visas must pay US$350 and US$390, respectively.

The increase is to cover the increasing cost of visa processing, the de facto U.S. embassy said in the release, adding that the new tiered fee structure is to cover the higher unit costs for processing certain categories of visas.

Applicants who pay their application processing fee on or before June 3 and schedule their appointments on or after June 4 must pay the difference before the interview, it added.

The procedure for paying visa application processing fees has not changed, with all applicants required to pay the fees at Taiwan post offices, according to the press release. (By Chris Wang) ENDITEM/J