[Tango-L] Visa Reciprocity Fees

[Lisa Battan]

The fee for a U.S. visa application will soon increase to $140.  I expect
that Argentina will also increase the fees that people from the U.S. will
pay to enter Argentina because such fees are reciprocal.

In addition to the $131 visa fee, Argentines also pay about $20-$50 (USD) in
miscellaneous fees to schedule their appointments (they have to buy a PIN
card to call the call center who schedules the interview), and they often
pay a fee to have their passport and visa couriered back to them after the
appointment.  Argentines also have to take the time to schedule the
appointment, go to a bank to pay the fee and go to the embassy for the visa
interview.  A visa interview can take almost an entire day.  If the visa
applicant does not reside in Buenos Aires, they have to add the cost of
traveling to Buenos Aires for the appointment.  Further, there is no
guarantee that the visa application will be approved.

As Alberto points out the visa interview process can be quite cumbersome and
inhumane.

So, our process of paying a fee at the airport is much simpler than the
process an Argentine uses to apply for a visa to come to the U.S.

Visa reciprocity fees are normal and used by most countries around the
world.  If you are interested, you can read the Reciprocity Tables at the
U.S. Department of State website.  There are separate tables for each
country of the world and a complete listing of all the visa reciprocity
issues and fee schedules.
-- 
Lisa E. Battan
Lisa E. Battan, P.C.
1909 26th Street, Suite 1F, Boulder, CO 80302
303-444-8668
fax: 303-444-4847
toll free: 1-866-614-8668
www.battanlaw.com

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