The Hindu Business Line : US slashes visa issuance fee for Indian visitors by $50

In a step that is bound to bring some relief to Indians who aspire to set foot on the land of the Big Apple, the US embassy in New Delhi announced on Thursday a reduction of 33 per cent in the issuance fee for all non-immigrant visas.

"I am pleased to announce the reduction of $50 in charges for visa issuance, effective immediately," said the US Ambassador to India, Mr David C. Mulford. Visa applicants will still be required to pay an application fee of $100 at a designated HDFC Bank branch prior to the scheduling of a visa interview.

What it technically means is that the US embassy has decided to slash the extra $50 that visa applicants in India were paying on an average to set foot in the US, and bring it in parity with what their American counterparts are paying at the Indian Embassy in the US, to visit India.

According to Embassy sources, "This step is a reciprocal gesture. Though both the embassies charged a fee of $150 to issue non-immigrant visas, when calculated, the average charged by the Indian embassy in US was about $100. So we decided to cut down the extra $50 that we were charging as visa issuance fee to Indians here."

Easier process

This step by the US Embassy follows a slew of initiatives undertaken by it to make easier visa applications to the US. It recently implemented procedures eliminating the visa appointment backlogs for Indians who planned to travel to US.

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