Fee Changes - American Citizen Services and Immigrant Visas

New consular fees will take effect July 13, 2010 at all U.S. embassies
and consulates worldwide, including the US Embassy in Bangkok and the
Consulate in Chiang Mai. The fee changes include higher fees for U.S.
passports, Consular Reports of Birth Abroad, and notarial services, as
well as a new fee for adding additional pages to a U.S. passport. More
information can be found at http://travel.state.gov/news/news_5078.html
and on the Embassy website at http://bangkok.usembassy.gov.

The following is a partial list of services and the fee changes:

The application processing fee for adult passport applications will
change from $55 to $70.

The passport book security surcharge will change from $20 to $40.

The application fee for passport cards will increase, from $20 to $30
for adults, and from $10 to $15 for minors.

A new fee of $82 for additional passport pages will be imposed.

The fee for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad will change from $65 to
$100.

Notarial and authentication services, which now range from $20 to $30,
will all be $50.

The immigrant visa (IV) application fee - which must be collected from
all IV applicants who are not fee-exempt - will now be tiered. The new
fees will be $330 for immediate relative and family preference cases
(processed on the basis of an I-130, I-600 or I-800 petition), $720 for
employment-based cases (processed on the basis of an I-140 petition),
and $305 for other cases (special IVs, Diversity Visas (DVs),
self-petitioned cases, and all other IVs).

The IV security surcharge - which must be collected from all IV
applicants who are not fee-exempt - will increase from $45 to $74.

The DV fee (which is charged in addition to the application processing
fee and security surcharge) will change from $375to $440.

The American Citizen Services section of the U.S. Embassy Bangkok
<http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/> is located at 95 Wireless Road, Bangkok
10330, Thailand. The American Citizen Services Unit of the U.S. Embassy
can be reached by calling 66-2-205-4049 and by e-mail at
acsbkk@state.gov. The emergency after-hours telephone number is
66-2-205-4000.

The U.S. Consulate General in Chiang Mai
<http://chiangmai.usconsulate.gov/> is located at 387 Wichayanond Road
in Chiang Mai. The American Citizen Services Unit of the Consulate
General can be reached by calling 66-53-107-777 and by e-mail at
acschn@state.gov. The after-hours emergency telephone number is
66-81-881-1878.

For what good it'll do.

Shado wrote:A new fee of $82 for additional passport pages will be imposed.


My goodness! That's a big jump from previously being free.

I guess you guys think someone other than you should pay for these services, perhaps the government (taxpayers)? Oh, but then that would be socialism wouldn't it?

cookie wrote:

Shado wrote:A new fee of $82 for additional passport pages will be imposed.


My goodness! That's a big jump from previously being free.

indeed

UdonExpat wrote:I guess you guys think someone other than you should pay for these services, perhaps the government (taxpayers)? Oh, but then that would be socialism wouldn't it?

I was always surprised that passport pages were free. Now that they have to send the passport away to do it, I guess they're trying to recoup their cost.

Q: Why is the Government charging me such a high fee to add
passport pages, something previously provided for free?

A: The cost of service study found that adding visa pages to
an existing passport book requires nearly the same resources
as producing a new passport book. The study found that the
cost of producing the pages, placing them in the book in a
secure manner by trained personnel, and completing the
required security checks costs the U.S. Government $82.48.
The Department will charge $82 for this service. Please note
that frequent travelers can request a 52-page passport book at
no additional cost when they renew, potentially saving them
from the additional cost of visa pages.