Visa application fee increase for Nigerians to advance ‘legitimate travels’: US Government

*The United States Mission in Nigeria discloses the fee for certain petition-based non-immigrant visas for temporary workers (H, L, O, P, Q, and R categories) also will increase from $190 to $205

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

The United States (US) Government said the recent changes in visa application fee for Nigerian travellers are in line with the Department of State’s commitment to facilitating legitimate travels to the American country, for both immigrant and non-immigrant travellers.

The US Government had announced an increment for its non-migrant visa application fee effective from Friday, March 30, 2023.

The US Mission in Nigeria,  in a statement issued Wednesday, March 29, in Abuja, FCT, disclosed that the increases were published in the Federal Register March 28.

The statement noted the US Government’s are in line with the Department of State’s commitment to facilitating “legitimate travel” to the country for both immigrant and non-immigrant travellers.

It also stated: “The Department of State published a Final Rule regarding increases to certain non-immigrant visa application (NIV) processing fees and the Border Crossing Card (BCC) for Mexican citizens age 15 and over.

“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 Dollars to 185 Dollars.”

Similarly, the US Mission said that the fee for certain petition-based non-immigrant visas for temporary workers (H, L, O, P, Q, and R categories) would increase from 190 Dollars to 205 Dollars.

The Missions further stated: “The fee for a treaty trader, treaty investor, and treaty applicants in a specialty occupation (E category) will increase from 205 Dollars to 315 Dollars.

“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 US Government said: “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.”

However, the US Mission disclosed the other consular fees are not affected by this rule, including the waiver of the two-year residency required fee for certain exchange visitors.

It noted: “The US Government also noted that Visas for work and tourism are essential to President Biden’s foreign policy, recognising the critical role international travel plays in the U.S. economy.

“Fee information can be found on the Bureau of Consular Affairs Web site, travel.state.gov, and on the websites of U.S. embassies and consulates.”

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