U.S. Visa Reciprocity Fee: How to Look It Up and Pay Online

The U.S. visa reciprocity fee is an extra charge some nonimmigrant visa applicants owe on top of the standard application (MRV) fee. The U.S. charges it only to nationals of countries that impose similar fees on Americans applying for comparable visas abroad. Not every nationality owes one, and the amount ranges from zero to nearly $2,000 depending on your passport country and visa category. You pay it only after a consular officer approves your visa, so a denial doesn’t cost you this money.

Look Up What You Owe

The U.S. Department of State publishes a searchable reciprocity schedule. Open the “Visa Reciprocity and Civil Documents by Country” page, select your nationality, then choose your visa classification. The tool shows the fee amount, the number of entries allowed, and the validity period.¹

The spread is wide. Indian nationals pay no reciprocity fee for any nonimmigrant visa category.² Brazilian nationals also owe nothing for B-1/B-2 visitor visas. Saudi Arabian nationals, by contrast, face reciprocity fees as high as $1,900 for H-1B, L-1, and R-1 work visas, while their B-1/B-2 visitor visa carries no fee at all.³ Check the schedule before your interview so you know the exact amount.

How the Reciprocity Fee Differs From the MRV Fee

These two fees are commonly confused. The MRV fee is the standard nonimmigrant visa application fee that virtually every applicant pays upfront, before scheduling an interview. It runs $185 for non-petition categories like B-1/B-2 visitor visas and $205 for petition-based categories like H and L work visas.⁴

The reciprocity fee is separate. It comes later, only after the consular officer approves your visa, and only if your nationality and visa class carry one. If you owe it, it’s in addition to the MRV fee.¹

When You Pay

The reciprocity fee is charged only to an approved nonimmigrant visa applicant, after the interview.¹ If the officer denies your application, you owe nothing beyond the MRV fee you already paid. That’s the reverse of how most government fees work, and it catches people out. Do not pay in advance unless the embassy or consulate specifically instructs you to.

The Pay.gov portal states this plainly: don’t pay unless the embassy or consulate has instructed you to do so after you submitted a visa application.⁵ Paying early wastes money, because the fee is non-refundable.

How to Pay Online Through Pay.gov

Many embassies and consulates direct approved applicants to Pay.gov, the U.S. government’s official payment portal. The form is titled “U.S. Visa Reciprocity and Fraud Prevention Fee for Certain Nonimmigrant Visas.” Before starting, have the exact fee amount from the reciprocity schedule ready for your nationality and visa class.⁵

The form asks for your name, nationality, passport number, DS-160 confirmation number, visa class, phone number, email address, and the country where you applied. You select the payment type: the reciprocity fee, the L-1 Fraud Prevention and Detection Fee, or both. You enter the dollar amount yourself, so verify it against the schedule before submitting. Pay.gov accepts debit cards, credit cards, PayPal, and Venmo. After submitting payment, print or save the on-screen confirmation immediately.

Paying at the Embassy or Consulate

Not every post uses Pay.gov. Some collect the reciprocity fee in person on interview day, and accepted payment methods vary. Certain posts take cash in U.S. dollars or local currency; others take only credit cards and refuse cash outright. The U.S. Embassy in the Netherlands, for instance, accepts major credit cards and U.S. debit cards with a Visa logo but does not accept dollars, euros, checks, or PIN cards.⁶

Because rules change from one post to another, check the website of the specific embassy or consulate where your interview is scheduled well in advance. Showing up with the wrong form of payment can delay issuance.

The Fee Is Non-Refundable and Non-Transferable

Once you pay a reciprocity fee, you cannot get the money back for any reason. The payment cannot be transferred to a different applicant or a different visa category. Pay.gov puts it in capital letters: all payments are non-refundable, even if you paid by mistake.⁵

So wait for the embassy’s instruction, and verify the amount before submitting. If you overpay, enter the wrong visa class, or pay for someone else’s application, that money is gone. At the higher end of the schedule, a single payment can exceed $1,000.

Who Is Exempt

Some applicants owe nothing regardless of nationality. Participants in exchange programs sponsored by the U.S. government who hold J-1 visas are exempt from the reciprocity fee for that visa.² Holders of diplomatic passports applying for A or G visas in an official capacity are also typically exempt from visa processing fees.

The exemption follows the role, not the person. A diplomat or government official applying for a B-1/B-2 visitor visa on a personal passport for personal travel follows the standard process, including all applicable fees.

Keep Your Payment Confirmation

However you pay, hold onto the receipt. Consular staff may ask for it while processing the final stages of your visa or when you pick up your passport. If you paid through Pay.gov, save the confirmation page and the confirmation email. If you paid in person, keep the physical receipt until you have your passport back with the visa inside.

1
U.S. Department of State. U.S. Visa – Reciprocity and Civil Documents by Country
2
U.S. Department of State. U.S. Visa – Reciprocity and Civil Documents by Country – India
3
U.S. Department of State. U.S. Visa – Reciprocity and Civil Documents by Country – Saudi Arabia
4
U.S. Department of State. Fees – Visa Services
5
Pay.gov. U.S. Visa Reciprocity and Fraud Prevention Fee for Certain Nonimmigrant Visas
6
U.S. Embassy and Consulate General in the Netherlands. Immigrant Visa Fees