The United States Embassy in Accra on Tuesday announced that, effective January 1, 2008, the worldwide application fee for a U.S. Non-immigrant Visa will increase from USD $100 to USD $131 (or Ghanaian Cedi equivalent). The worldwide application fee for a U.S. Immigrant Visa will also increase, from $335 to $355, it said. A statement released by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S Embassy said; “These fee increases, which are being applied throughout the world, reflect the rising costs of processing visa applications, including the cost of enhanced biometric security features, information technology systems, and inflation.” It said non-immigrant visa applicants who paid the prior $100 application fee before January 1, 2008, would not be required to pay additional fees if they appeared for a visa interview before January 31, 2008. Applicants who paid the prior $100 fee and appear for visa interviews after January 31, 2008, must pay the difference of $31 before their interview. It asked applicants to pay at Standard Chartered Bank and obtain a new receipt before appearing for their interview. “All applicants paying after January 1, 2008, regardless of their interview date, must pay the full $131 fee.” The Embassy said all immigrant visa applicants who paid the prior $335 application fee before January 1, 2008, would be processed without further payment, regardless of their interview date. All applicants paying their fee on or after January 1, 2008, must pay the new $355 fee, regardless of their interview date. Most applicants pay their fees through the Department of State's National Visa Centre (NVC) in the United States. “Fee bills sent by NVC will reflect the change effective January 1, 2008. Applicants who make their payment after this date will be required to pay $355 even if their original bill displays the previous fee. “This fee increase will also effect Diversity Visa applicants, who pay the immigrant visa application process fee at the time of their interview.” Source: GNA