Black Immigrant Daily News
Barbadians can soon expect increased prices for non-immigrant visa applications to the United States.
Processing fees increase following a ruling published in the US Federal Register on March 28.
The US State Department announced effective May 30, the fee for visitor visas for business or tourism (B1/B2s and BCCs), and other non-petition based NIVs such as student and exchange visitor visas will increase from US$160 to US$185.
The fee for certain petition-based nonimmigrant visas for temporary workers (H, L, O, P, Q, and R categories) will increase from US$190 to US$205.
The fee for a treaty trader, treaty investor, and treaty applicants in a specialty occupation (E category) will increase from US$205 to US$315.
The US State Department said the NIV fees are set based on the actual cost of providing those services, which is determined after conducting a study on said costs.
Annually, an activity-based costing methodology is used to calculate the cost of providing consular services, including visa services.
Other consular fees are not affected by this rule, including the waiver of the two-year residency required fee for certain exchange visitors.
However, the increased fees also affects the Border Crossing Card (BCC) for Mexican citizens age 15 and over.
NewsAmericasNow.com
