2007 Press Releases
The U.S. Department of State is increasing the fee for nonimmigrant visa applications
December 26, 2007
Jerusalem
For Immediate Release
In order to ensure that sufficient resources are available to meet the costs of processing nonimmigrant visas, the Department of State is increasing the Consular Fee for Machine Readable Visas. Worldwide demand has grown steadily during the last several months and the U.S. Department of State, taking into account the fiscal requirements imposed by sustained high levels of demand, must plan for new security-related costs, new information technology systems and inflation.
The new fee will be 131 USD, effective January 1, 2008. Anyone who pays the visa fee after January 1 will be charged 131 USD. This fee is required from all visa applicants worldwide requesting nonimmigrant visas. The fee should be paid in Shekels according to the prevailing exchange rate and at either the Cairo Amman Bank or a branch of the Israeli post office.
Those with nonimmigrant visa interview appointments during the month of January will only be charged the old rate of 100USD if, and only if, they have paid their visa fee prior to January 1. Persons with visa appointments after January 31 must have paid the 131 USD. Persons holding unused receipts for the old amount of USD 100 will be required to pay the additional USD 31. Applicants will be able to pay the additional amount at the same place they paid the original fee, and will receive a separate receipt for the additional payment.
The U.S. Consulate General wishes to remind the public that all requests for visas must be made electronically by appointment on the webpage http://visainfo.us-visaservices.com. All forms must be filled out electronically either at the time of making the appointment on-line or via webpage http://evisaforms.state.gov. Handwritten or typed forms will not be accepted. Should an emergency request be necessary, the public may request an expedited appointment at webpage http://visainfo.us-visaservices.com/.Please plan ahead. Anyone planning to apply for a nonimmigrant visa is advised to visit the visa appointment website and make their appointment several months in advance of their planned travel. The Consular Section of the Consulate General is experiencing an appointment backlog and can only grant early appointments in cases of serious emergencies, such as urgent medical cases. Applicants are also reminded to beware visa fraud. Using false documents may make a person permanently ineligible for a visa to the United States.
Complete visa information is available at the Consulate General’s website: http://jerusalem.usconsulate.gov