U.S. announces imminent non- immigrant visa fee increases

  The U.S. State Department has increased non-immigrant visa fees worldwide to absorb costs related to new security measures put into place since 2001.   

Visa applicants who have already paid the $100 USD application fee before January 1, 2008 will be processed if they schedule and appear for a visa interview before January 31, 2008. Those who schedule appointments after January 31 but have paid $100 will have to pay an additional $31 before being processed.  The $31 fee can be paid at the US Embassy on the day of the interview.

Any payments made after January 1, 2008, regardless of the interview date, must be for the full $131 fee.  The adjustments to the processing fee are being made to bring visa fees into line with the actual costs of providing the services. United States law requires the Department of State to recover the costs of most consular services through user fees. Consular fees are adjusted periodically to comply with this requirement. The last major revision of the U.S. nonimmigrant visa application fee was in 2002. Consular service fees, including the nonimmigrant visa application fee, are established worldwide and are not specific to Zimbabwe

More information about the visa application process, and a list of Standard Chartered Bank locations where fees can be paid, can be found on the U.S. Embassy web site, http://harare.usembassy.gov/