Fees

Effective June 4th, 2010, the Department of State will increase the Machine-Readable Visa (MRV) fees. The new MRV fee for B-1/B-2, F, J, and adult Border Crossing Cards (BCCs), will increase to $140. The new MRV fee for H, L, O, P, Q and R visas will be $150.

Applicants, whose appointments are on or after June 4th, 2010, must pay the $140 fee before they can apply for a visa. Applicants who have already purchased a fee receipt from Citibank for $131 may pay the difference ($9) in U.S. dollars at the U.S. Consulate on the interview date. Note the U.S. Consulate only accept U.S. dollars. Applicants whose appointments are on June 7th, 2010 or after and have not yet purchased a fee receipt from Citibank should wait until June 4th, 2010 or later to pay the new fee. Further information regarding these new fees, please review the State Department’s website at: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/types/types_1263.html

• Nonimmigrant Visa Application Fee

The non-refundable NIV application fee is payable at the Citibank office located at Sun Wah Tower, Ground floor, 115 Nguyen Hue Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City. Citibank is open from 8:30 – 11:30 in the morning and 1:00 – 3:30 in the afternoon, Monday through Friday. A valid passport must also be presented at the time of payment. Only U.S. dollars are accepted for payment of the fee. Under the new schedule of fees, applicants for all nonimmigrant visas, including those applying for B1/B2 business & tourist visas and all student & exchange (F, M and J) visas, will pay a fee of $140. Applicants for petition based visas must pay an additional fee. Please see below.

Petition based visas

Applicants for petition-based visas will pay an additional application fee of $10, for a total of $150. The additional fee is payable at the U.S. Consulate General on the day of the interview. Note that the cashier at the U.S. Consulate General only accepts U.S. dollars and major credit cards. Petition-based visa categories include:

• H visa for temporary workers and trainees

• L visa for intracompany transferees

• O visa for aliens with extraordinary ability

• P visa for athletes, artists and entertainers

• Q visa for international cultural exchange visitors

• R visa for religious occupations

The fee for E visas for treaty-traders and treaty-investors will be $390.

Upon payment of the application fee, Citibank will provide a receipt to the applicant which must be presented at the consulate at the time of the interview. Each applicant, including children traveling on a parent's passport, must pay the fee and have a separate fee receipt. The application fee is a one-time, non-refundable fee; if you wish to transfer the fee, please contact Citibank directly.

• SEVIS Fee (Additional Fee For All F, J and M Visa Visitors)

The SEVIS (Student Exchange Visitor Information System) I-901 fee is mandated by Congress to support the automated system that keeps track of students and exchange visitors to ensure that they maintain their lawful status in the United States. Each student or exchange scholar issued an initial Form I-20 or DS-2019 on or after September 1, 2004, is responsible for paying this fee before applying for a visa. Also, the visa officer must be able to verify that the relevant electronic record exists in the SEVIS database before an F-, J-, or M-class visa can be issued. SEVIS forms and electronic verification are also required for family member visas, i.e., F-2, M-2 or J-2 visas. Persons sponsored by the United States Government are exempt from payment of the SEVIS fee if their program code begins with the letter G. Most continuing students and exchange visitors will also not be required to pay the SEVIS fee.

The SEVIS fee is $200 for students (F/M) and $180 for exchange visitors (J1). Applicants required to pay the SEVIS fee will also have to complete Form I-901. Applicants should bring their SEVIS fee receipt to their visa interview. For instructions on how to pay the SEVIS fee, click here. For general information regarding the SEVIS fee, please refer to the SEVIS website.