US passport and visa fees going up

Tue, Jul 13, 2010

Effective from today, there will be an increase in most United States passport and visa fees charged by its consulates in the Caribbean and elsewhere.{{more}}

While the passport and visa fees are being hiked, US officials have disclosed that some consular services are also becoming cheaper. The fee for processing adult passport books has been increased from US$100 to US$135.

Processing a passport book for minors goes from US$85 to US$105 and passport book renewals for adults now cost US$110, up from US$75.The changes will take place in 27 fees.

“The revised fees will cover actual operating expenses for the 301 overseas consular posts, 23 domestic passport agencies and other centres that provide these consular services to US and foreign citizens,” said a statement from the US Embassy in Barbados.

Processing family-based immigrant visas now costs US$330, down from US$355. Determining Returning Resident status has gone from US$400 to US$380.

On the other hand, applicants will have to pay more for the security surcharge, the visa lottery surcharge and the “domestic review of affidavit of support”.

The fees for swearing in witnesses, supervising telephone depositions and shipping the remains of non-U.S. citizens are going down. However, it will cost more to get non-immigrant visas as well as certification of true copies of documents and arranging depositions in the judicial services.

The adjusted fees are based on a cost of service study completed by the Bureau of Consular Affairs in June, 2009. The study established the true cost of providing these consular services, which by law must be recovered through collection of fees, according to the embassy.