VISA FEES ARE CHANGING SOON

The following excerpt is from a U.S. State Department e-mail:
Visa Processing Fees to Change on April 13, 2012
Media Note Office of the Spokesperson Washington, DC
March 29, 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