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Archive for March 2010

K-1 Visa Fees to Increase to $350

26. March 2010 by admin.

On December 14, 2009, the Department of State published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to increase the nonimmigrant visa application processing fees, also called the Machine-Readable Visa (MRV) fee. 

The proposed rule also establishes a tiered structure with separate fees for different visa categories.  

The Department is required by law to recover the cost of processing nonimmigrant visas through the collection of the MRV fee.  Periodically, independent contractors conduct a Cost of Service Study to determine direct and indirect costs to the U.S. Government of providing consular services, such as nonimmigrant visas.  Such a study was completed in June 2009. 

The Study determined that the cost of accepting, adjudicating, and issuing nonimmigrant visas will be greater than $131 in Fiscal Year 2010, which began October 1, 2009.  Also, since the last fee increase in January 1, 2008, there have been new security-related costs, new IT systems have been put in place, and there is a new mandate from Congress to charge nonimmigrant visa applicants $1 to support programs to combat trafficking in persons.

The new tiered fee structure was created to cover the higher unit costs for processing certain categories of nonimmigrant visas that are more complicated and require more in-depth consideration than most other categories of nonimmigrant visas  U.S. law requires the Department to attempt to recover the cost of processing non-immigrant visas through the collection of the application fees. 

The new application fee for K visas for fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens would be $350.  

When will the new fee be in effect?The Department is proposing these new fees in a Federal Register notice, but will not implement them until it reviews and considers any comments received from the public and publishes a final rule.  Applicants must start paying the new processing fees once the Department publishes that second, final rule.

When the new fees go into affect, we will inform our clients.

To speak with an immigration attorney, call us at 626-771-1078.

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Where do my K-1 Visa Fees Go?

26. March 2010 by admin.

K-1 petitioners and their beloved beneficiaries face a number of hurdles to bring the foreign fiance(e) to the U.S. A significant one is financial given the expense incurred of travelling to a foreign country to meet one another. Add in phone bills, English classes, obtaining documents and translations, and the amount can be substantial.Having to pay the USCIS filing fee of $455 along with the Department of State visa fee of about $100 just adds to the hardship. While the $455 paid to the USCIS goes to the effort required to adjudicate the I-129f at the Vermont or California Service Center, what do the visa fees paid to the U.S. Consulate apply to?

A recent study authorized by the Dept. of State identified one hundred and three activities required to process an application for a K1-category fiance(e) nonimmigrant visa. 103! Most K-1 couples think that the K-1 petition submission to the USCIS is the crucial stage of the K-1 process where the USCIS determines the couple’s eligibility for the visa. Who knew that the receipt and preparation for the K-1 interview overseas could be so complicated?

A closer look identifies the key activities and events that take place to process a K-1 visa stamp. They include but are not limited to the following:

–Pre-processing of the case at the National Visa Center, where the petition is received from the Department of Homeland Security, packaged and assigned to the appropriate embassy or consulate; and

–Intake and review of materials required for a K visa that are not required for other nonimmigrant visas, such as the I-134 affidavit of support and the DS-2054 medical examination report;

–Conducting an interview of the K visa applicant;

–Collecting biometrics from the K visa applicant;

–Actual adjudication of the application;

–Requesting legal opinions from headquarters as necessary;

–Investigating possible fraud in those applications; and

–Producing the physical visa, affixing it to the applicant’s passport, and returning that product to the applicant.

As the number of fraudulent K-1 fiance(e) petitions increase, the amount of time and energy required by consular officders to review and process these will undoubtedly increase. While K-1 visa fees have held steady since January 1, 2008, the Dept. of State proposed increasing visa fees. In our next newsletter, we’ll discuss the new fees and when they will take place.If you are interested in applying for a K-1 fiance(e) or K-3 spousal visa, contact our law office to see how our firm can prepare the best petition to maxmimize your chances for success.  Visit us at www.myfianceevisa.com

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