US hikes visa fees for various categories of non-immigrant visas like H-1B, EB-5 among others

Washington: The US has announced a steep increase in fees for various categories of non-immigrant visas like the H-1B, L-1 and EB-5, the most popular among Indians.

The fee hike, first after 2016, will come into force from April 1.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China.

The EB-5 programme, launched by the US government in 1990, enables high-net-worth foreign investors to obtain a US visa

for themselves and

their families by investing a minimum of $5,00,000 in a US business that helps create 10 jobs for

American workers.

To come into force from April 1, the new H-1B application visa fee, which is form I-129, has been increased from $460 to $780.