US consulate denies H-1B visa fee hike

CHENNAI: The US Consulate said it had no plans to raise application fees for visas. "News reports that the fees for submitting H-1B petitions have increased are untrue. The fees are the same as they were last year.There are no plans to change those fees," said chief of consular services in Chennai Nicholas Manring. He was referring to reports that visa application rates were likely to increase by $250 (12,500). He said that by law, the US consulate in every country is required to charge enough to recover the expenses incurred in processing. The department charges $140 (around 7,000) for tourist visas. Consul officials also said that Chennai was not rejecting more H-1B visa applications. Though the number of applications has dropped marginally compared to last year, it did not signify a change in trend. "This year, we received 57,218 applications, about 4% less than the number we got last year, but the difference is too small to assume that fewer Indians are travelling," said Manring.