According to the U.S. Department of State's website, visa fees for agricultural guest workers, under the Federal H2-A program, have risen from $190 to $205 as of June 17th.
The new fees represent a 7.9 percent increase, a much lower increase than the state had originally proposed as part of their larger fee increase for nonimmigrant visa (NIV) applications.
“NIV fees are set based on the actual cost of providing NIV services and are determined after conducting a study of the cost of these services,” the department says. “The Department uses an Activity-Based Costing (ABC) methodology to calculate, annually, the cost of providing consular services, including visa services. The fees for most non-petition based NIVs were last updated in 2012, and certain other visa fees were last updated in 2014.”
According to the website, NIV fees paid before June 17, 2023, will remain valid through the expiration date of the fee receipt.