On December 23, 2019, without prior notice, the U.S. Department of State (“DOS”) published significant changes to the Visa Reciprocity schedule for Australia, impacting both the validity period of certain visas as well as additional fees that are now required of applicants upon approval of their visa applications at the U.S. Embassies abroad. According to the DOS, “The United States strives to eliminate visa issuance fees whenever possible, however, when a foreign government imposes these fees on U.S. citizens for certain types of visas, the United States will impose a “reciprocal” fee on citizens of that country for similar types of visas.” This reciprocity arrangement also serves to shorten the validity periods of various nonimmigrant visas. Read full details here.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Anthony F. Siliato or Scott R. Malyk.