US increases visa processing fees for Caribbean visitors

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(CMC) — The United States Department of State on Tuesday published a Final Rule regarding increases to certain non-immigrant visa application (NIV) processing fees for Caribbean and other visitors.

The increases, published Tuesday in the US Federal Register,  will become effective on May 30, 2023.

The State Department said 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 US$160 to US$185.

The fee for certain petition-based non-immigrant visas for temporary workers (H, L, O, P, Q, and R categories) will increase from US$190 to US$205, the State Department said, adding that the fee for a treaty trader, treaty investor and treaty applicants in a specialty occupation (E category) will increase from US$205 to US$315.

“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,” said the State Department, noting that it 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.

The State Department said other consular fees are not affected by this rule, including the waiver of the two-year residency required fee for certain exchange visitors.

“Visas for work and tourism are essential to President Biden’s foreign policy, and we recognize the critical role international travel plays in the US economy,” it said, adding “the  Department of State is committed to facilitating legitimate travel to the United States for both immigrant and non-immigrant travelers.”

The State Department also said that the increased fees affect the Border Crossing Card (BCC) for Mexican citizens age 15 and over.

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9 COMMENTS

  1. The headline says:

    “US increases visa processing fees for Caribbean visitors”

    But the first paragraph says:

    “The United States Department of State on Tuesday published a Final Rule regarding increases to certain non-immigrant visa application (NIV) processing fees for Caribbean and other visitors.”

    ……and other visitors.

    Why do newspapers do this? I swear I am going back to just reading books and not news because leave it to Media houses, we would all be in a state of panic.

  3. Here we go folks, and this is just the beginning.

    Don’t be surprised if the UK and the European Union follow suit. Look at what this administration and the Immigration Department are causing; and they still won’t come out and address the country.

    🎶”Get Rid ah Dem … Gaston, 🎵Get Rid ah Dem ABLP … Get Rid ah Dem”🎶

  4. Yet we continue to let these “tourists” through our borders..even giving them concessions while here so they can “spend more money”…what I see here are signs and symptoms of a failing US economy for which we who have nothing to do with it are being punished. Once the value of their dollar is reduced even further, prepare for an influx of many returning Caribbean nationals…this will worsen the economic crisis..organized chaos is the name of the game..same strategy for the past few hundreds years..

    • Tourists come into Antigua by Airplanes,Cruise Ships and Yachts. They do not stay beyond their given times. So protect your damn borders. Would you leave your home with all of its windows and doors wide open and go into Town? That is Antigua of today. The borders are wide opened like a garage door for all to enter unimpeded. Look at the bull chit that went down with Antigua “Disappearing” Airways. Now some of those Africans were Human Trafficked out of Antigua and ended up tragically.That is not good for Antigua’s name.

  5. Yet visitors can come to our shores as they like stay as long as they like no rules noting immigration system is as weak as can be. Antigua is just laughing stock fight now because of poor govenance wake up people smell the coffee.

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