Immigrant visa fees: what the State Department and USCIS charge, per person

Which fees this page covers

This page covers the consular stage of a green card: applying for an immigrant visa at a US embassy or consulate, then entering the United States as a permanent resident. People who adjust status inside the United States pay USCIS filing fees instead, and the State Department fees below do not apply to them.

The amounts come from the fee table in 22 CFR 22.1, the State Department’s fee schedule, as published in the eCFR issue of 21 October 2026, and from 8 CFR 106.2, USCIS’s fee rule, in the eCFR issue of 14 October 2026. Fees change. Check the State Department and USCIS fee pages before paying.

Sources: 22 CFR 22.1, items 31 to 35; 8 CFR 106.2(c)(3)

State Department immigrant visa fees, per person

Item 32 of 22 CFR 22.1, the immigrant visa application processing fee, is charged per person. A principal applicant, a spouse and two children immigrating together pay it four times.

• Immediate relative and family preference applications: $325.
• Employment-based applications, including EB-1A and the EB-2 National Interest Waiver: $345.
• Other immigrant visa applications, including Form I-360 self-petitioners and special immigrant visa applicants: $205.
• Certain Iraqi and Afghan special immigrants, certain adoptees needing replacement visas and certain applicants previously refused under Proclamations 9645 or 9983: no fee.

Sources: 22 CFR 22.1, items 31 to 35

Other State Department items that can apply

• Affidavit of support review: $120, “only when reviewed domestically” (item 34). 9 FAM 504.4-3(A)(1) says NVC bills the petitioner for this fee in some visa classifications. The schedule does not say whether it is per person or per case.
• A relative petition filed at a consulate abroad: the fee is collected for USCIS at the USCIS amount (item 31).
• A waiver of immigrant visa ineligibility: collected for USCIS at the USCIS amount (item 35(c)).
• Determining returning resident status: $180 (item 35(a)).

Sources: 22 CFR 22.1, items 31 to 35; 9 FAM 504.4-3(A)(1)e

When and how the visa fee is paid

9 FAM 504.6 says one fee covers both processing and issuing the visa. It is due when the applicant is told a visa is expected to become available soon and asked to gather documents. For cases handled by the National Visa Center (NVC), NVC usually collects it at the start; the embassy collects it only if it has not been paid.

NVC sends a fee bill for each applicant, payable online in the Consular Electronic Application Center (CEAC). Cases in NVC’s newer PIVOT system are directed to pay.gov. Under 22 CFR 42.67, the fee is collected before the application is formally executed at the interview, and a receipt is issued.

Sources: 9 FAM 504.6-3 and 504.6-4(B); 22 CFR 42.67(a)(1)

If the visa is refused

Under 22 CFR 42.81(e), if an applicant presents further evidence within one year of a refusal to overcome the ground for it, the case is reconsidered and no new application fee is charged.

Sources: 22 CFR 42.81(e)

The USCIS Immigrant Fee

8 CFR 106.2(c)(3) sets the USCIS Immigrant Fee at $235. It pays for USCIS’s processing after the State Department issues the visa and for producing the green card. USCIS says it is separate from the State Department’s visa fees.

• Who pays: each person immigrating as a permanent resident, unless exempt. A family member, friend, employer, attorney or accredited representative can pay, using the immigrant’s A-Number and State Department case ID.
• When: USCIS encourages paying online after receiving the visa packet and before travelling. It can be paid after arrival, but no card is sent until it is paid.
• Family members: those who will live with you can be paid for in one transaction.
• Exempt: children entering through the orphan or Hague adoption programs, Iraqi and Afghan special immigrants, returning residents (SB-1s) and K nonimmigrants.

Sources: 8 CFR 106.2(c)(3); USCIS: USCIS Immigrant Fee; USCIS: Consular Processing, steps 7 and 8

What happens if the Immigrant Fee is not paid

USCIS says not paying does not affect permanent resident status, but no green card is mailed. The temporary I-551 stamp that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) places in the passport is evidence of status for only one year from admission.

Sources: USCIS: USCIS Immigrant Fee

Costs before the visa stage: the petition

The petition fee is paid earlier, to USCIS, and once per petition rather than per person. As of Form G-1055 edition 10/16/26, Form I-140 (used for EB-1A and the National Interest Waiver) costs $715 on paper or $665 online, plus an Asylum Program Fee of $300 for a self-petitioner or small employer, $600 for other petitioners and $0 for nonprofits. As of the same edition, Form I-130 costs $675 on paper or $625 online, per petition.

Sources: USCIS: Form G-1055, Fee Schedule, edition 10/16/26 (I-140 and I-130)

Medical exam and vaccinations

The medical exam is paid to the panel physician, not to a government. 9 FAM 302.2 says the embassy and the physician set the exam, X-ray, vaccination and blood test fees based on prevailing local medical fees. Some physicians add vaccinations to the exam price, but vaccinations should not cost more than the physician charges the public. These official sources give no amount.

Sources: 9 FAM 302.2-3(F)(1) and 302.2-6(B)(6)

Costs that are not government fees

Keep these apart from the government fees above. None of them is set by the State Department or USCIS, and this page does not estimate them:

• Lawyer or accredited representative fees, if you use one.
• Translations of foreign-language documents.
• Police certificates, birth and marriage certificates, and passports, charged by the issuing authorities.
• Photographs, travel to the interview and to the United States, and any courier costs.

Sources: 22 CFR 22.1, items 31 to 35

Timing

The visa fee is paid near the start of NVC processing, when a visa is expected to become available soon. The USCIS Immigrant Fee is paid after the visa is issued, and USCIS encourages paying it before travel. If the card has not arrived within 90 days of paying the fee, or of arriving if it was paid before travel, USCIS says to contact it. These official sources give no processing times for either payment.

Sources: 9 FAM 504.6-3 and 504.6-4(B); USCIS: Consular Processing, steps 7 and 8; USCIS: USCIS Immigrant Fee

Common mistakes

• Paying one visa fee for a family. The fee is per person.
• Confusing the USCIS Immigrant Fee with the State Department fee. Both are needed.
• Skipping the Immigrant Fee. Status is unaffected, but there is no card, and the passport stamp lasts one year.
• Counting the I-140 or I-130 fee as per person. It is per petition.

Sources: 22 CFR 22.1, items 31 to 35; USCIS: USCIS Immigrant Fee; USCIS: Form G-1055, Fee Schedule, edition 10/16/26 (I-140 and I-130)

How Visa Trouble can help

Free route discovery at Visa Trouble covers EB-1A and the National Interest Waiver alongside other green card paths. We’re building application preparation for both; it is planned, not open yet. We can point you to official information, but we don’t assess or prepare family-based green card applications. Visa Trouble is not a law firm and does not give legal advice.

Free route discovery is at visatrouble.com.