US tourist, student visas to get costlier from May 30

New Delhi/ Washington: The fees of US tourist and student visas will rise from May 30, according to a release from the United States' administration. The US Department of State has updated the cost schedule for consular fees after a review of the costs associated with the provision of visa and other services around the world.

The fee for business or tourism visas (B1/B2s), and for other non-petition based nonimmigrant visas – such as student and exchange visitor visas – will increase from $160 to $185.

The fee for certain petition-based nonimmigrant visas for temporary workers (the H, L, O, P, Q, and R visa categories) will increase from $190 to $205. "Other consular fees are not affected by this rule, including the waiver of the two-year residency required fee for certain exchange visitors," the state department said.

Visitor visas are nonimmigrant visas for persons who want to enter the United States temporarily for business (visa category B-1), for tourism (visa category B-2), or for a combination of both purposes (B-1/B-2).

Earlier, a senior official said the wait time for a US visitor's visa interview in India has been reduced by 60 per cent this year. India was one of the very few countries where applications for US visas saw a major upswing after coronavirus-related travel restrictions were lifted.

There have been growing concerns in India over the long waiting period for first time visa applicants, especially for those applying under B1 (business) and B2 (tourist) categories. The waiting period of first time B1/B2 visa applicants in India was close to 1,000 days in October last year.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Services Julie Stufft said the goal of the State Department is to get to 1 million visas issued this year, which would be above the pre-pandemic number. "We have increased the number of officers going to India. We have set up arrangements, which is unprecedented, with other embassies in the world like Bangkok to take Indians who are seeking visas. We are opening a new consulate in Hyderabad… and we're just focused on making sure that we can bring the wait time down in India," she said.