American visa fee becomes more expensive at the end of May – 04/12/2023 – Tourism

The issuance of the American tourist visa (category B1/B2) will become more expensive from May 30th. According to a statement from the US government, the rate that is currently US$ 160 will rise to US$ 185, or about R$ 925 at the exchange rate on Wednesday (12).

According to the document, this proposal is still lower than the initial idea of ​​an increase of 24.5% —in this scenario, the value would rise to US$ 245, or R$ 1,208.

According to the US government, the readjustment seeks to balance revenues with the costs of care, whose demand “is recovering significantly faster than previously forecast”.

Other categories will also increase: temporary work documents (categories H, L, O, P, Q and R) will increase from US$ 190 to US$ 205, and investor visas (category E), from US$ 205 to $315.

The increase occurs amid the accumulation of queues for the first issue of the document, which is currently 571 days in São Paulo. At American consulates in other cities, the queue is slightly shorter: 479 days in Brasilia, 458 days in Rio de Janeiro and 381 days in Recife. Those who only need to renew a visa that has already been granted take a shorter queue, of about 50 days.

Wait times can be consulted on the official website of the US Department of State.

Scheduling time began to increase more sharply as a direct effect of Covid-19, which impacted the functioning of diplomatic missions. In the period of more severe restrictions, the US stopped issuing non-emergency entry permits to foreigners.

Despite the waiting time, the entity says that these numbers are dynamic and that many tourists manage to advance the date of the interviews, at no additional cost, due to cancellations by other applicants and the opening of new opening hours.

In addition, it is possible to request an anticipation of the interview in emergency cases, such as the death of immediate relatives and medical treatment.