How much does a US visa cost - fees by visa type

A US tourist visa costs $185 - that's the consular fee, and it's the same for citizens of every country. Everything else depends on the visa type. Students add the SEVIS fee on top. A work visa is mostly paid for by the employer, and a family-based or lottery green card runs $566-1,355 in government fees per person. Below are the fees for each visa type as of September 2026, who pays what, and how visa validity varies by nationality.

What makes up the cost of a US visa

The government collects money in two places.

• The consular fee (MRV fee) - everyone getting a visa at the embassy pays it, children included. There's no separate fee for the DS-160 or DS-260 application itself.
• USCIS fees - for petitions filed inside the US. Whoever files the petition pays - the employer, a US citizen relative, or the applicant if filing for themselves.

On top of that there's the SEVIS fee for students, employer fees for work visas, a medical exam for immigrant visas, and paid expedited processing. The reciprocity fee itself - a separate charge some countries pay for visa issuance - is $0 for most nationalities on the main visa categories; the State Department publishes the exact figure for each country.

The consular fee is non-refundable, even if the visa gets denied. Payment stays valid for 365 days to schedule the interview, though the interview itself can happen later. Scheduling outside your country of citizenship or residence doesn't get the fee refunded or transferred either. All the amounts are on the State Department fees page and in USCIS fee schedule G-1055.

Tourist visa B1/B2 - $185

The fee for a visitor, tourist, or business visa B1/B2 is $185 per person. The government doesn't charge anything else for it.

Two exceptions apply to a small number of nationalities:

• A bond. For some applicants the consular officer can require a visa bond of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000. It isn't a fee - the money comes back if the person sticks to the terms of the visa.
• A paid expedited appointment for $750. This exists only for applicants in Canada, Mexico, and four countries in Latin America - most other embassies don't offer it.

Citizens of Visa Waiver Program countries, Poland included, don't need this visa for stays under 90 days - they use the electronic ESTA authorization instead, which costs $40.27.

A $250 fee for "visa integrity" is written into the 2025 law, but as of September 2026 the State Department and DHS aren't collecting it - the last official word is that it will roll out in a separate publication.

We help with the DS-160 application and interview prep as part of the B1/B2 tourist visa service.

Student visas F-1 and J-1

F-1 - $185 in consular fees plus $350 for SEVIS, the system that tracks foreign students. That's $535 total. SEVIS gets paid before the visa is issued, and F-2 family members don't pay it.

J-1 (exchange, internships, au pair) - the same $185 plus SEVIS at $220. For au pairs, camp counselors, and Summer Work and Travel participants SEVIS is $35, and government-funded programs pay nothing. If the two-year home residency rule applies to a J-1 visa, a waiver costs $120 (form DS-3035), and requesting it on exceptional hardship grounds adds another $1,100 for I-612.

If a student is already in the US and switches to F-1 status, form I-539 costs $470 on paper or $420 online, and expedited processing is $2,075.

Work visas H-1B, L-1, and O-1 - who pays what

The main thing to know about work visas - the worker pays very little. The consular fee for H-1B, L-1, and O-1 is $205 - everything else is the employer's.

H-1B. Lottery registration is $215, the I-129 petition is $780 ($730 online, $460 for small business and nonprofit employers), the asylum program fee is $600 or $300, the anti-fraud fee is $500, and the ACWIA fee for training American workers is $1,500 or $750. The law bars passing the ACWIA fee on to the worker, and doing so triggers a penalty. Since September 9, 2026, employers with 50 or more staff and more than half of them on H-1B or L status pay an extra $4,000 per petition, including extensions.

The $100,000 payment for a new H-1B under the 2025 presidential proclamation isn't being collected as of September 2026 - a court struck down how it was being charged, and USCIS is following that ruling. Separately, DHS proposed a $103,265 fee in August 2026 for H-1B petitions filed under the lottery, but that's still just a proposal.

L-1. The petition is $1,385 ($695 for small businesses), the asylum fee is $600 or $300, and a first-time petition adds $500. Large employers where H-1B and L staff dominate pay another $4,500. More detail is in the article on L-1 and L-2 visas.

O-1. The petition is $1,055 ($530 for small businesses and nonprofits) plus the asylum fee of $600 or $300 - O-1 has no other employer fees.

Expedited processing for any of these petitions is $2,965, with a decision in 15 business days. It isn't available for spouses and children on H-4 or L-2 status.

Investor visas E-2 and EB-5

E-2 - the consular fee is $315. If the investor is already in the US and changes status or extends their stay, the I-129 petition costs $1,015 ($965 online) plus $600 for the asylum program. E-2 is only open to citizens of treaty countries - not every country has one with the US. How eligibility and the investment amount work is covered in the article on the E-2 visa.

EB-5 - a green card through investment. The I-526E petition is $3,675 plus $1,000 for the EB-5 Integrity Fund, then $345 for the immigrant visa and $235 in USCIS fees. That's $5,255 in total government fees per investor, on top of the investment itself, which starts at $800,000. Removing conditions through I-829 in the last 90 days before the second green card anniversary costs another $3,750.

Family visas and the K-1 fiancé visa

A US citizen's spouse, parent, or child gets an immigrant visa. The relative in the US pays $675 ($625 online) for the I-130 petition, and the applicant pays $325 for the visa, $120 to review the sponsor's financial documents, and $235 in USCIS fees before entry. That's $1,305-1,355 per person. The whole spouse process is covered in the article on CR-1 and IR-1 visas.

The K-1 fiancé visa - the I-129F petition is $675 plus a $265 consular fee, so $940 before entry. After the wedding in the US, the couple applies for a green card, and I-485 costs $1,440 on paper or $1,390 online. There's no USCIS fee for issuing the green card itself under K-1.

Green card through work and through the lottery

EB-1A and EB-2 NIW. The applicant files the I-140 petition for themselves - $715 on paper or $665 online, plus $300 for the asylum program. Applying for the green card inside the US replaces the visa and USCIS fee with I-485 at $1,440 or $1,390. Expedited processing is $2,965, with a decision in 15 business days for EB-1A and 45 for NIW. How NIW works is covered in the article on the EB-2 NIW green card.

EB-2 and EB-3 through PERM. There's no government fee for PERM labor certification, and the employer isn't allowed to charge the worker for it, including their own attorney's fees. The employer pays for the I-140 petition.

The lottery. Registration costs $1 (a fee introduced with the DV-2027 program), and the winner pays $330 for the visa and $235 in USCIS fees.

How much a US visa costs by nationality

The fee itself is the same for everyone - what varies by nationality is how long the visa stays valid and how many entries it allows. The US sets that under the reciprocity principle, and the State Department's reciprocity tables list the exact terms for every country.

Interviews happen in the applicant's country of citizenship or residence - at a US embassy or consulate there.

What government fees don't cover

The consular fee and USCIS fees are only part of the cost. Separately, applicants pay for:

• a medical exam with an embassy-listed doctor for immigrant visas, the lottery, and K-1 (the clinic sets the price, and tests and vaccines are billed separately);
• translations and apostilles for documents, and police clearance certificates;
• travel to the interview if the embassy is in another country;
• expedited processing of the petition, if needed;
• legal help.

If you're pricing out the whole move rather than just the visa, rent, insurance, and the first few months of living costs are covered in the article on how much money you need to move to the USA.