DOS: Cost of non-immigrant Visa to Rise

The US Department of State issued a final rule amending the regulations regarding security measures for issuance of non-immigrant visas. Effective January 1, 2008, fingerprinting and name checks will be required for all visa applicants (with certain narrow exceptions not pertinent here). The cost of these additional security measures will be included in the fees for the visas. While not reflected in the Federal Register, the result of this amendment is that the application processing fee that a foreign mariner will be charged for a non-immigrant visa will rise from $100 to $131 on January 1. 72 Fed. Reg. 74174 (HK Law)