US student, work visa fees rise by 15%

The United States government has increased its student, work visa fees by 15 percent with effect March 30, 2023 (today).

It announced the hike in the visa fees for certain non-immigrant visa applications (NIV) in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the US Department of State, the hike came after a review of the country’s costs of providing these services.
This also affects the Border Crossing Card (BCC) for Mexican citizens aged 15 and over.
The statement read, “These increases were published in the federal register on March 28, 2023, and will be effective on May 30, 2023.
“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 $160 to $185. The fee for certain petition-based non-immigrant visas for temporary workers (H, L, O, P, Q, and R categories) will increase from $190 to $205. The fee for a treaty trader, treaty investor, and treaty applicants in a specialty occupation (E category) will increase from $205 to $315.
“NIV fees are set based on the actual cost of providing NIV services and are determined after conducting a study of the cost of these services. “The department uses an activity-based costing (ABC) methodology to calculate, annually, the cost of providing consular services, including visa services.
“The fees for most non-petition based NIVs were last updated in 2012, and certain other NIV fees were last updated in 2014.”
Other consular fees are not affected by this rule, including the waiver of the two-year residency required fee for certain exchange visitors, the statement added.
The US department of state said the work and tourism visas are essential to President Biden’s foreign policy and have a critical impact on the country’s economy.