Business Immigration Insights

Beginning January 10, 2011, applicants for nonimmigrant visas at the U.S. embassy and consulates in Mexico must visit an Applicant Service Center (ASC) for biometrics (digital photos and fingerprints) before their visa interviews.  Applicants will no longer pay separate fees to schedule an appointment, apply for a visa, and have a courier service deliver their passports.  Instead, one fee will cover everything:  USD140 for tourist visas, USD150 for petition-based visas (H, L, O and P), and USD390 for E treaty/trader visas.  An applicant with a Mexican passport who is renewing a visa in the same category that is still valid or that expired less than one year ago will not have to attend a visa interview as long as he/she has no history of criminal or immigration problems and does not hold a passport from another country that is not a Visa Waiver country.  For additional information, see the US embassy's press release.