Visas
Almost all non-US citizens, including all Saudi Arabian, Pakistani, Indian, and Filipino citizens require visas to travel to the United States. All posts in Saudi Arabia require the online application (DS-160) for all student, tourist, and other nonimmigrant visas.
Important Note:
Effective April 13, 2012, the Department of State will adjust visa processing fees. While the fees for most nonimmigrant visa applications and Border Crossing Cards will increase, all immigrant visa processing fees will decrease.
The Department is required by law to recover, as far as possible, the cost of processing visas through the collection of application fees, also called Machine Readable Visa (MRV) fees. A cost-of-service model is updated annually to determine direct and indirect costs to the U.S. government when providing all consular services, such as nonimmigrant visa processing. This update was completed in December 2011 and shows that certain categories of nonimmigrant visas cost more to process than other categories of visas. The new fees reflect the costs of each visa service.
The nonimmigrant visa fee increase will support the addition and expansion of overseas facilities, as well as additional staffing required to meet increased visa demand. The last increase in MRV fees was June 5, 2010.
Although most categories of nonimmigrant visa processing fees will increase, the fee for E visas (treaty-traders and treaty-investors) and K visas (for fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens) will decrease.
Nonimmigrant Visa Processing Fees
|
Type of Visa |
Previous Fee |
New Fee |
|
Tourist, Business, Transit, Crew Member, Student, Exchange Visitor, and Journalist visas |
$140 |
$160 |
|
Petition-Based visas (H, L, O, P, Q, and R) |
$150 |
$190 |
|
Treaty Investor and Trader visas (E) |
$390 |
$270 |
|
Fiancé(e) visas (K) |
$350 |
$240 |
|
Border Crossing Cards (age 15 and older) |
$140 |
$160 |
|
Border Crossing Cards (under age 15) |
$14 |
$15 |
Because of a reallocation of costs associated with immigrant visas, all categories of immigrant visa processing fees will decrease.
Immigrant Visa Processing Fees
|
Type of Visa |
Previous Fee |
New Fee |
|
Immediate Relative and Family Preference Applications |
$330 |
$230 |
|
Employment-Based Applications |
$720 |
$405 |
|
Other Immigrant Visa Applications |
$305 |
$220 |
|
Diversity Visa Program Fee |
$440 |
$330 |
|
Determining Returning Resident Status |
$380 |
$275 |
Applicants will be charged the fee in effect on the day of payment. For fees that are increasing, receipts for payments made prior to the fee changes will be accepted for 90 days after the fee takes effect, or through July 12, 2012. In categories where fees are declining, no refunds will be available for those who paid prior to the effective date; however, these receipts are valid for the usual one year from the date of issuance.
For application instructions, please select your purpose of travel:
If you have completed the DS-160 and would like to schedule an appointment, for Visapoint scheduling site.
Our Locations
The U.S. Consulate General in Dhahran provides non-immigrant visa services in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. Consulate General in Jeddah serves the Western region, from Tabuk to Najran.
We hope to see you soon and wish you an enjoyable stay in the United States!
