The U.S. Department of State has announced an increase in application processing fees for certain types of nonimmigrant visas (NIV). Effective May 30, 2023, the cost of U.S. tourism and business visitor visas (B1, B2, and BCC) and certain other non-immigrant visas that do not require a petition, such as student and exchange visitor visas, will increase from $160 to $185. In addition, the fee for issuing a Border Crossing Card (BCC) will increase for Mexican citizens aged 15 years and older. This is the first increase in visa fees in almost a decade.
Visa fees for other nonimmigrant petition-based visas for temporary workers (Categories H, L, O, P, Q and R) will increase from $190 to $205, and visa fees for traders and investors (Category E) will increase from $205 to $315. For some exchange visitors, the visa fee will not change.
In its statement, the State Department explained that fees for issuing nonimmigrant visas are determined based on the costs of consular services. The visa fee for most visas was last updated in 2012-2014.
In November 2022, the State Department announced that it had reduced wait times for Mexico visitor visa interviews by 32%. Restrictions on in-person interviews caused by the coronavirus epidemic have caused long lines at U.S. consulates in Mexico. The tracking page shows that the wait time for a tourist visa interview at most consulates in Mexico is over 500 days. In fact, this line began to move quite quickly, and with regular monitoring, a free window for a visit can be caught in 3-5 months. Often consular officials themselves suggest rescheduling the interview to a closer date.
As part of the U.S. effort to clear the visa processing backlog, the U.S. Embassy in Mexico announced in February 2023 the availability of more than 320,000 additional B1/B2 visitor visas at consular offices. Other measures included increased staffing and remote processing by the State Department of interview waiver cases for applicants with previous U.S. visas.
In 2022, the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Mexico issued more than 1,800,000 nonimmigrant visas, including a record number of student and work visas, according to official data.
In Mexico, visas are issued by the consular section of the US Embassy in Mexico City, and in addition 9 consulates: in Guadalajara, Ciudad Juarez, Hermosillo, Metamoros, Merida, Mazatlan, Tijuana, Nogales and Nuevo Laredo. The issuance of travel visas is limited to Mexican citizens and residents.