Moulin Rouge
Registered Users (C)
from immigration-law.com
The U.S. Department of State released this morning a "proposed" regulation to increase the consular service and processing fees, including nonimmigrant and immigrant visa application fees and passport application fees. This is a proposed regulation and people can send in comments by April 29, 2002.
Any changes in the fees will not go into effect until the DOS publishes either an Interim regulation or Final regulation after completing comment periods.
Immigrant Visa Services
The proposed Schedule sets one immigrant visa application
processing fee of $335 to replace the current Schedule\'s two separate
fees for immigrant visa application processing ($260) and immigrant
visa issuance ($65). The Department determined that charging one fee
would simplify fee collection and enhance both administrative
efficiency and convenience to the applicant. Some of the costs of
related services (e.g., Affidavit of Support review, returning resident
status determinations) have also been allocated to the immigrant visa
application fee to keep the fees for those services at lower levels.
Because a single processing fee will be charged, the Department has
also reviewed and is proposing changes in its regulation regarding the
circumstances in which a refund will be allowed (22 CFR 42.71). Since
there will be no issuance fee, refunds will no longer be related to
whether or not an immigrant visa is issued. Given that the actual work
involved in processing an immigrant visa application has already
commenced by the time the application fee is paid, the fee will be non-
refundable unless the application is not or cannot be adjudicated as a
result of action by the U.S. Government. The proposed revision is
included in this proposed rule.
The current $75 Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery surcharge for the
immigrant visa application will increase to $100. The Department has
legal authority to establish the surcharge, which is paid only by
persons who ``win\'\' the lottery and apply for a DV visa, at a level
sufficient to cover the entire cost of running the lottery. The full
exercise of this authority would lead to a much higher surcharge
because the number of winning applicants (roughly 55,000) is much
smaller than the total number of
[[Page 14898]]
lottery entrants (recently about 10 million). The surcharge has been
kept below the legally authorized amount. The Department notes that DV
applicants must also pay the immigrant visa application processing fee;
that the $100 surcharge will represent an increase in this surcharge of
33 percent; and that the $100 surcharge will cover the Department\'s
direct (but not indirect) costs of running the lottery. The Department
believes that a $100 surcharge is therefore reasonable. Costs not
recovered by the surcharge have been allocated to appropriations.
The proposed Schedule raises to $65 the Affidavit of Support Review
Fee, currently $50. This fee is charged domestically for all Affidavits
of Support reviewed at the National Visa Center to ensure that they are
properly completed before they are forwarded to a consular post for
adjudication. The fee has been held below the cost of service; costs
not recovered through the fee have been allocated to the immigrant visa
application.
The U.S. Department of State released this morning a "proposed" regulation to increase the consular service and processing fees, including nonimmigrant and immigrant visa application fees and passport application fees. This is a proposed regulation and people can send in comments by April 29, 2002.
Any changes in the fees will not go into effect until the DOS publishes either an Interim regulation or Final regulation after completing comment periods.
Immigrant Visa Services
The proposed Schedule sets one immigrant visa application
processing fee of $335 to replace the current Schedule\'s two separate
fees for immigrant visa application processing ($260) and immigrant
visa issuance ($65). The Department determined that charging one fee
would simplify fee collection and enhance both administrative
efficiency and convenience to the applicant. Some of the costs of
related services (e.g., Affidavit of Support review, returning resident
status determinations) have also been allocated to the immigrant visa
application fee to keep the fees for those services at lower levels.
Because a single processing fee will be charged, the Department has
also reviewed and is proposing changes in its regulation regarding the
circumstances in which a refund will be allowed (22 CFR 42.71). Since
there will be no issuance fee, refunds will no longer be related to
whether or not an immigrant visa is issued. Given that the actual work
involved in processing an immigrant visa application has already
commenced by the time the application fee is paid, the fee will be non-
refundable unless the application is not or cannot be adjudicated as a
result of action by the U.S. Government. The proposed revision is
included in this proposed rule.
The current $75 Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery surcharge for the
immigrant visa application will increase to $100. The Department has
legal authority to establish the surcharge, which is paid only by
persons who ``win\'\' the lottery and apply for a DV visa, at a level
sufficient to cover the entire cost of running the lottery. The full
exercise of this authority would lead to a much higher surcharge
because the number of winning applicants (roughly 55,000) is much
smaller than the total number of
[[Page 14898]]
lottery entrants (recently about 10 million). The surcharge has been
kept below the legally authorized amount. The Department notes that DV
applicants must also pay the immigrant visa application processing fee;
that the $100 surcharge will represent an increase in this surcharge of
33 percent; and that the $100 surcharge will cover the Department\'s
direct (but not indirect) costs of running the lottery. The Department
believes that a $100 surcharge is therefore reasonable. Costs not
recovered by the surcharge have been allocated to appropriations.
The proposed Schedule raises to $65 the Affidavit of Support Review
Fee, currently $50. This fee is charged domestically for all Affidavits
of Support reviewed at the National Visa Center to ensure that they are
properly completed before they are forwarded to a consular post for
adjudication. The fee has been held below the cost of service; costs
not recovered through the fee have been allocated to the immigrant visa
application.