Corporate News
US Secretary of State John Kerry at a past meeting in 2013 with Russian
foreign and defence ministers in Washington DC, August 9, 2013. The
United States government has reviewed fees for visa applications and for
other consular services. AFP PHOTO | PAUL RICHARDS
By BMJ MURIITHI
In Summary
The United States government has reviewed fees for visa applications and for other consular services.
The Department of State will start charging the new fees from September 12, 2014.
A statement posted on the US Department of State
website stated: “We have found it necessary to adjust fees for some
consular services.”
Foreign nationals applying for visas to travel to the US will now pay $65 (Sh5,720) less.
The new charges are $205 (Sh18,040), down from $270 (Sh23,760)
All other immigrant and special visa processing fees will decrease.
These include Employment-Based Applications, Determining Returning Resident Status and Waiver of Two-Year Residency Requirement.
However, fiancées of US citizens will pay more, according to the new guidelines.
The new fee for the category is $265 (Sh23,320) up from $240 (Sh21,120).
The fee for family-sponsored immigrant visas will
also increase by $25 as well as that for domestic review of an Affidavit
of Support, which will go up by $32.
“The Department seeks to recover, as far as
possible, the cost of providing consular services through the collection
of consular fees,” said the statement.
Those wishing to renounce their US citizenship will
feel the pinch as the fee has been increased tremendously. Applying for
citizen renunciation will now cost $2,350 (Sh206,800) up from $450
(Sh39,600).
“Documenting a US citizen's renunciation of
citizenship is extremely costly, requiring US consular officers overseas
to spend substantial amounts of time to accept, process, and adjudicate
cases.
"The fee for processing renunciation of
citizenship, which had previously been subsidised, is now reflective of
the true cost,” said the statement.
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