Changes in consular service fees include:
* An increase in the fee for immigrant visas obtained through the diversity visa lottery from $100 to $375.
* An increase in the fee for verifying archival data of passport files from $45 to $60.
* A decrease in the fee for issuing a transportation letter for a US permanent resident (LPRA) to enter the United States, from $300 to $165.
Additional changes to the list of consular service fees, resulting from the adoption of the federal budget for 2005, include:
* An increase in the existing passport processing fee by $12.
* An increase in the existing immigrant visa processing fee by $45.
* Imposition of a $500 fee (for document fraud prevention review) for applicants applying for L-1 visas under a blanket petition.
The federal budget for 2005 also approved a fee for document fraud prevention review, which is paid by principal applicants applying for H-1B and L-1 visas, when submitting corresponding petitions and changing employers. Information about this type of fee will not be found in the list of consular service fees, as these fees will be collected by the Department of Homeland Security.
According to law and relevant regulations, the State Department must cover current costs of providing most consular services through fees paid by users themselves. Accordingly, consular service fees are periodically reviewed and changed after cost studies. It should be recalled that the last fee change occurred in 2002.
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