How much a US visa costs in 2026: every fee

US visa cost in 2026: the application fee is $185 for visitor and student visas, $205 for work visas. Issuance fee, the $250 fee, a family total, refunds.

Key answer

A US visa in 2026 costs $185 for a B1/B2 visitor visa, an F student visa or a J exchange visa, and $205 for a petition-based work visa: H, L, O, P, Q or R. An E visa costs $315 and a K fiance(e) visa $265. This is the State Department's application fee (the MRV fee). Every applicant pays it before the interview, children included, and it is not refunded after a refusal.

Found your answer?

The amounts and rules were checked against the State Department site, the statute and the Federal Register on Nov 11, 2026; links are at the end.

The US visa application fee by visa type

The State Department calls it the nonimmigrant visa application processing fee. The amount depends on the visa type, not on the country or the applicant's age.

Visa	Purpose	Application fee
B1/B2	tourism, business trips, medical treatment	$185
F, M	study	$185
J	exchange programs	$185
C-1, D, I	transit, crew, media	$185
H, L, O, P, Q, R	work on an approved petition	$205
E	treaty trade and investment	$315
K	fiance(e) of a US citizen	$265

Three points from the State Department page:

Everyone pays. Each family member needs a separate application and a separate fee, a child too.
Family members pay for their own category. A spouse and children in O-3, H-4 or L-2 pay the same $205 as the principal applicant.
People on US government-sponsored exchanges pay no fee for a J visa.

The visa issuance fee: Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ukraine

Besides the application fee there can be a second payment, the visa issuance fee (the reciprocity fee). It is charged only after approval and only to nationals of countries that charge Americans a similar fee. The amount is in the State Department reciprocity table for your country.

Nationality	B1/B2	F-1	H-1B, L-1, O-1
Russia	none	none	none
Kazakhstan	none	none	none
Belarus	none	none	none
Ukraine	none	none	none

The tables for these four countries show None in the fee column for the visas above. The exceptions are rare categories: $75 for N-8 and N-9 visas for Russia, and $15 for a multiple-entry C-1/D crew visa for Kazakhstan.

The same tables say how many years a visa is issued for. That has its own page: how long a US visa is issued for to Russians.

The $250 visa integrity fee

H.R. 1 (Public Law 119-21, section 100007) of Jul 4, 2025 created a new fee. What the law says:

everyone issued a nonimmigrant visa pays it at the time of issuance;
the amount is at least $250 and then rises with inflation each year;
it cannot be waived or reduced for an individual;
it may be reimbursed after the visa expires if the person kept the visa conditions and left no later than 5 days after the authorized stay ended, or got an extension or a green card.

What happens in practice. In the Federal Register of Jul 22, 2025 DHS said the fee needs cross-agency coordination and will be implemented in a future publication. As of Nov 11, 2026 there is no such publication: a Federal Register search finds only that notice and one mention in a rule about students. The State Department fee page does not list the fee either. Reports that some posts already collect it could not be confirmed on an official page.

The plain takeaway: budget $250 a person as possible, and pay it only if the fee appears in your embassy's instructions.

The cost for one person and for a family of three

The numbers are for citizens of Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine: they have no issuance fee, so the total equals the application fee.

Case	One person	Family of three	If the $250 fee starts
B1/B2 visitor	$185	$555	$1,305 for three
F-1 student, F-2 spouse and child	$185	$555	$1,305 for three
O-1, O-3 spouse and child	$205	$615	$1,365 for three
H-1B or L-1 with family	$205	$615	$1,365 for three
K-1 with one K-2 child	$265	$530 for two	$1,030 for two

These are payments to the consulate only. They do not include travel to the country of the interview, housing, translations or photos.

What the application fee does not cover

USCIS petition fees. For O-1, H-1B and L-1 an I-129 petition is approved first, and those are separate, much larger amounts. They are on the page about what an O-1 or EB-1 talent visa costs.
An immigrant visa. That is a different fee: $345 a person on an I-140 employment petition, $325 on a family petition, $330 for DV lottery selectees.
The I-901 SEVIS student fee. It is $350 for F and M visas. It funds the student tracking program and is paid separately from the application fee.

How to pay the fee from Russia and Kazakhstan

You pay a specific embassy: the one where you apply and have the interview.

Russian citizens. The US Embassy in Russia says on its site that routine visas are not processed in Russia and that Russian nationals should book interviews at the embassy in Warsaw or in Astana. The fee is paid under the rules of the country you choose.
In Kazakhstan. The embassy in Astana sends applicants to the official appointment site ais.usvisa-info.com for scheduling and payment.
In Poland. For Warsaw the US Embassy in Russia links to the appointment site ustraveldocs.com.

Which cards and banks each site accepts we could not check on an official page on Nov 11, 2026: the payment pages did not open for us. So no payment methods are named here. See them in your profile on the appointment site. Community experience with declined cards is on the page about paying the visa fee.

The State Department asks people to apply in their country of nationality or residence. For Russian nationals the designated posts are Warsaw and Astana.

Is the fee refunded after a refusal

No. The State Department fee page calls the application fee non-refundable. The US Embassy in Russia says the same and adds that the fee cannot be transferred to another person.

What that means in practice:

a 214(b) refusal or any other refusal: no money back;
applying again after a refusal takes a new application and a new fee, as the State Department page on denials says;
the exception is a 221(g) refusal for missing documents: you can send them within a year with no new fee.

How to prepare for the interview so you do not pay twice is on the page about the B1/B2 visitor visa.

Takeaways

The 2026 application fee: $185 for B, F and J, $205 for H, L, O, P, Q and R, $315 for E, $265 for K.
Every applicant pays, children included. A family of three: $555 for visitor visas, $615 for O-1 with O-3.
Citizens of Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine pay no issuance fee for these visas.
The $250 fee under H.R. 1 is not officially implemented as of Nov 11, 2026.
The fee is not refunded after a refusal.

FAQ

How much does a US visa cost in 2026?

The application fee is $185 for a B1/B2 visitor visa, an F student visa and a J exchange visa. It is $205 for petition-based work visas (H, L, O, P, Q, R), $315 for an E visa and $265 for a K fiance(e) visa. Every applicant pays, children included. These are the amounts on the State Department fee page as read on Nov 11, 2026.

Is the visa fee refunded after a refusal?

No. The State Department fee page calls the fee non-refundable, and the US Embassy in Russia adds that it is non-transferable. If you apply again after a refusal, you pay again.

Do Russian citizens pay a visa issuance fee?

Not for the common visas. The State Department reciprocity table for Russia shows None in the fee column for B, F, J, H, L and O visas. The same is true for Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine. The issuance fee is not the application fee: everyone pays the application fee.

Is the $250 visa integrity fee collected yet?

As of Nov 11, 2026 it is not on any official page. H.R. 1 created a fee of at least $250 on the issuance of every nonimmigrant visa, but DHS said it would implement it in a future publication. There is no such publication in the Federal Register, and the State Department fee list does not include the fee.

How much is a US visa for a family of three?

B1/B2 visitor visas cost $555: three fees of $185. An O-1 with a spouse and a child in O-3 costs $615: three fees of $205. If the $250 fee starts being collected, add $250 for each visa issued.

Where do Russian citizens pay the visa fee?

Where you apply. The US Embassy in Russia says routine visas are not processed in Russia and that Russian nationals should book interviews in Warsaw or Astana. The fee is paid on that country's official appointment site, under its instructions.

B1/B2 visitor visa: how to get it

What a talent visa costs: USCIS fees

Paying the visa fee: cards and errors

How long a US visa is issued for to Russians

Budget for an O-1 or EB-1 petition

Official sources

State Department: Fees for Visa Services - application fees by visa type, immigrant visa fees
State Department: reciprocity table, Russia - issuance fee and visa validity
State Department: reciprocity table, Kazakhstan
State Department: reciprocity table, Belarus
State Department: reciprocity table, Ukraine
Public Law 119-21 (H.R. 1), section 100007 - the visa integrity fee text
Federal Register, Jul 22, 2025: USCIS Immigration Fees Required by HR-1 - the fee will be implemented in a future publication
State Department: Visa Denials - reapplying and the fee after a refusal
ICE: I-901 SEVIS Fee - the $350 student fee
US Embassy in Russia: visas - where Russian nationals apply, the fee is non-refundable
US Embassy in Kazakhstan: visas - link to the official appointment and payment site

Checked against the primary sources on Nov 11, 2026.

Not legal advice

This is general information. It is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Fees and rules change - check travel.state.gov and the site of the embassy where you apply.

Related materials - Choose your route

All articles in «Choose your route»

From community discussions

«I'm not arguing here that he apparently checked it poorly, but when you buy a package service and not just a lawyer, you expect more. And why was he told to go for EB-2 NIW when he already came with a pretty good package for EB-1 (over 20 years working as a research scientist with a bunch of patents, awards) - he only needed to add media.»
Kate · from public community chats
«Everything will be fine. Everyone has their PhDs and candidates of science thrown out and simplified. You need to close three criteria: academic articles - one, patents - two, judging - three. A PhD 100% has a critical or lead role. I think you also have media articles about you. There won't even be an RFE.»
Alexander · from public community chats
«I received recommendation letters from my former managers, who are no longer with the same company. They confirmed in their letters that we had worked together at Company X. The logo on the letterhead, though, represented Company Y, which is their current place of employment.»
community member · from public community chats

Personal opinions of community members from public discussions, not legal advice.

Open database - you can improve it

Found something off, or know what to add? Select text and hit "Suggest an edit", or propose an article/topic below.