U.S. Department of State Raises Visa Processing Fees Effective May 30

A new regulation from the U.S. Department of State (DOS) will raise key visa processing fees, effective May 30, 2023. For example, the Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fee for F-1, J-1, and other non-petition-based visas rises 15.6 percent, from $160 to $185, and the MRV fee for petition-based categories, such as H-1B and O visas, rises 7.9 percent, from $190 to $$205. The final rule, published on March 28, 2023, raised most visa and border crossing card fees, but not as much as in the proposed rule, and the rule does maintain the current INA 212(e) 2-year home residence waiver application fee at $120.