Visa Fee Schedule Now Available On-line
Posted Apr 28, 2000

As many readers of the MurthyBulletin may be aware, nonimmigrant visa issuance fees are set based upon reciprocity, meaning that nationals of a particular country may pay the same amount for a certain type of visa, as U.S. citizens would pay for such a visa to that country. This reciprocity fee is separate from the $45 application fee (formerly called the machine-readable visa fee) that is paid by all applicants regardless of country.

For example, in addition to the $45 fee above, an Indian national pays $100 for issuance of an H-1B visa. Reciprocity Tables listing the fees for each country are included in an appendix to the U.S. Department of State's Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM), which is the guidebook relied upon by U.S. Embassies and Consulates worldwide. In the past, when Reciprocity Tables needed to be updated, the Department of State would issue a  "transmittal letter " which would then have to be physically inserted into the manual. Those outside the government who used the version of the FAM that was included in a CD-ROM of research materials, could never be sure that they had the most up-to-date information on visa fees.

We are therefore pleased to announce that the Reciprocity Tables are now posted on the U.S. Department of State's website. They can be found at: http://travel.state.gov/reciprocity/index.htm.