Press Releases 07
Non-Immigrant Visa Fees to Increase World-wide on January
1, 2008
Mexico City, December 13, 2007 – On January 1, 2008, the
fee to apply for any non-immigrant visa to enter the United
States, including tourist, business, student and other visas,
will increase to $131 dollars world-wide. This same fee increase
will also apply to Border Crossing Cards (commonly known as
“Laser Visas”) for applicants in Mexico. Mexican nationals
under the age of 15 applying in Mexico for a tourist visa
or border crossing card will continue to have the option to
pay an application fee of $13.00 for a visa that will not
extend past their 15th birthday. [More information on this option]
Application fees of $100 paid prior to January 1, 2008, will
be accepted until January 31, 2008. After January 31, all
applicants will be required to have paid the equivalent of
$131 dollars at the time of processing, regardless of the
date of original application.
Procedures for payment of visa fees in Mexico will not change:
all applicants for non-immigrant visas to visit the United
States, regardless of nationality, should pay the peso equivalent
of the visa application fee at any Banamex branch.
The Department of State must periodically adjust fees, whether
for visas or other services provided, to comply with U.S.
federal legislation requiring it to recuperate the costs of
services through fees charged directly to the users of those
services. Advances in security, information processing systems
and inflation have increased processing costs for both immigrant
and non-immigrant visas, as well as for certain services provided
to U.S. citizens.
Since 2004 the actual cost of processing non-immigrant visa
applications has exceeded the revenue from visa application
fees. The last fee increases for non-immigrant visas occurred
in 2002.
Additionally, the U.S. government is continually upgrading
its services and facilities throughout Mexico. In Ciudad Juarez
a facility is under construction that will become the world’s
largest processing center for immigrant visas. Consular sections
in Mexico City, Monterrey and Matamoros will also benefit
from major construction projects in the next two years, designed
to greatly increase their capacity to serve visa applicants.
A new building in Tijuana will provide a space to process
over 400,000 non-immigrant visas annually.
More information on visas |
