Visa Fees

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Overview

Most visa applicants, including children, are required to pay a non-refundable, non-transferable visa application fee, sometimes referred to as the MRV fee, before applying for a nonimmigrant visa. The visa application fee must be paid whether a visa is issued or not. The type of visa for which you apply determines the fee amount. Depending on your citizenship and the type of visa you are applying for, you may also have to pay a visa issuance or "reciprocity" fee. This webpage lists visa application fees associated with each nonimmigrant visa type.

Please note that only the application fees for nonimmigrant visas are listed here.

If you are Diplomats, Foreign Government Officials or their Immediate Family Members, Personal/Domestic Employees of Diplomats applying for visa categories A-1, A-2, A-3, C-3, G-1 through G-5, or certain government-sponsored exchange visitor programs (J-1/J-2), you may be exempt from visa application fee. Please refer to this link for more information before you pay the fee.

Payment Information

Although fees are listed in U.S. dollars, payment must be made using local currency. You can pay your fee at any Vietnam Post location. More information about payment options is here. To find a Vietnam Post click here.

Restrictions

Your visa application fee is non-refundable and you cannot transfer it to another person. You will receive a receipt after paying the application fee. This receipt is valid for one year from the date of payment and allows you to schedule your interview at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate. You must schedule your interview while the receipt is valid, which means your interview must be booked within one year of paying your fee. If you do not schedule an interview within a year of payment then your receipt will expire, you will not be able to schedule an interview, and you must pay the fee again and begin the process a new.

Please be reminded that even though nonimmigrant visa fees are valid for one year from the date of payment, the number of times an applicant can schedule an appointment with a single fee receipt is limited. Applicants are only allowed to reschedule twice (not including the initial appointment) without penalty. After the second rescheduling, if you cancel or fail to attend your appointment, you will only be allowed to reschedule a new appointment after a waiting period of 90 days. Please plan your visa application accordingly to avoid problems securing an interview appointment.

Visa Types and Application Fee Amounts

The application fees are listed below and apply to one visa application. The application fee for the most common nonimmigrant visa types is US$160. This includes tourist, business, student, and exchange visas. Most petition-based visas, such as work and religious visas, are US$190. K visas cost US$265 and the fee amount for E visas is US$205 The tables below have a more comprehensive list of visa types and fee amounts.

Visa Types and Application Fee Amounts - Sorted by Fee Class
Fee Amount (USD) Fee Amount (VND) Visa Type Description
$160 N/A B Business/Tourist
$160 N/A C-1 Transit
$160 N/A D Ship/Airline Crew
$160 N/A F Student (academic)
$160 N/A I Journalist and Media
$160 N/A J Exchange Visitors
$160 N/A M Student (vocational)
$160 N/A T Victim of Human Trafficking
$160 N/A TN/TD NAFTA Professionals
$160 N/A U Victim of Criminal Activity
$190 N/A CW Transitional Workers CNMI
$190 N/A H Temporary/Seasonal Workers and Employment, Trainees
$190 N/A L Intracompany Transferees
$190 N/A O Persons with Extraordinary Ability
$190 N/A P Athletes. Artists & Entertainers
$190 N/A Q International Cultural Exchange
$190 N/A R Religious Worker
$265 N/A K Fiancé(e) or Spouse of U.S. Citizen
$205 N/A E Treaty Trader/Investor, Australian Professional Specialty
Visa Types and Application Fee Amounts - Sorted by Visa Type
Visa Type Description Fee Amount (USD$) Fee Amount (VND)
B Business/Tourist $160 N/A
C-1 Transit $160 N/A
CW Transitional Worker CNMI $190 N/A
D Ship/Airline Crew $160 N/A
E Treaty Trader/Investor, Australian Professional Specialty $205 N/A
F Student (academic) $160 N/A
H Temporary/Seasonal Workers and Employment, Trainees $190 N/A
I Journalist and Media $160 N/A
J Exchange Visitor $160 N/A
K Fiancé(e) or Spouse of U.S. Citizen $265 N/A
L Intracompany Transferees $190 N/A
M Student (vocational) $160 N/A
O Persons with Extraordinary Ability $190 N/A
P Athletes. Artists & Entertainers $190 N/A
Q International Cultural Exchange $190 N/A
R Religious Worker $190 N/A
T Victim of Human Trafficking $160 N/A
U Victim of Criminal Activity $160 N/A
TN/TD NAFTA Professionals $160 N/A

Visa Types and Conditions with No Fee Required

  • Applicants for A, G, C-2, C-3, NATO, and diplomatic visas (as defined in 22 CFR 41.26);
  • Applicants holding J visas and who are participating in certain official U.S. Government-sponsored educational and cultural exchanges;
  • Replacement of a machine-readable visa within one year of visa issuance, when the original visa was not properly affixed or the visa needs to be reissued through no fault of the applicant;
  • Applicants exempted by international agreement, including members and staff of an observer mission to United Nations Headquarters recognized by the UN General Assembly, and their immediate families;
  • Applicants traveling to provide certain charitable services;
  • U.S. Government employees traveling on official business; and,
  • A parent, sibling, spouse or child of a U.S. Government employee killed in the line of duty who is traveling to attend the employee's funeral and/or burial; or a parent, sibling, spouse, son or daughter of a U.S. Government employee critically injured in the line of duty for visitation during urgent treatment and convalescence.

Other Fees

In some cases, additional visa fees are paid directly to the National Visa Center, to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate or to the Department of Homeland Security.

Nonimmigrant Visa Issuance ("Reciprocity") Fees

Applicants from certain countries may be required to pay a visa issuance fee after their application is approved. These fees are based on "reciprocity" (what another country charges a U.S. citizen for a similar-type of visa). The United States strives to eliminate visa issuance fees whenever possible, however, when a foreign government imposes these fees on U.S. citizens for certain types of visas, the United States will impose a "reciprocal" fee on citizens of that country for similar types of visas. The Department of State's website has more information about visa issuance fees and can help you determine if an issuance fee applies to your nationality.

SEVIS Fees

The Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) is an Internet-based system that tracks F, M, and J visa participants (and their family members) from the time they receive their initial documentation (either an I-20 or a DS-2019) until they graduate/leave school or conclude/leave program.

F, M and J visa principal applicants: Check with your U.S. school to make sure your information has been entered into SEVIS. You will need to pay a separate SEVIS fee in addition to the visa application fee. For nonimmigrant students with Form I-20, the SEVIS fee is US$200. For most exchange visitors with Form DS-2019, the SEVIS fee is US$180. Proof of payment is required before your student or exchange visitor visa will be issued. Payment cannot be made at the U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Instructions for paying the SEVIS fee can be found here.

SEVIS Fee Exception

Applicants participating in a U.S. Government sponsored program (programs whose codes begin with G-1, G-2, G-3, G-7) are not required to pay the SEVIS fee.

Blanket L Fee (Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee) 

First-time principal applicants who are covered under a blanket petition for L status must pay a Fraud Prevention and Detection fee of $500. This fee should be paid by cash in either U.S. dollars or Vietnamese dong or by credit card to the cashier at the Consular Section on the day of the interview. If a subsequent L-1 visa application is based on a new Form I-129S, the Fraud Prevention and Detection fee must be collected again.

Blanket L-1 applications for petitioners with more than 50 employees in the United States and with more than 50 percent of those employees in H-1B or L status are subject to an additional $4,500 Consolidated Appropriations Act fee.  Applicants will need to pay the additional fee at the time of interview by cash in either U.S. dollars or Vietnamese dong or by credit card.

These fees are non-refundable. L-2 derivative applicants are not subject to the fees.