US Embassy in Nairobi, on Friday, June 2, postponed the plans for increasing visa processing fees for non-immigrants applicants.
In a notice, the embassy announced that the new charges would start on Saturday, June 17.
President Joe Biden's administration extended the commencement date by 18 days. Initially, the new charges for specific non-immigrants were supposed to take effect on Tuesday, May 30.
"Kindly be advised that the planned worldwide increase in U.S. visitor fees has been postponed until June 17, 2023," the embassy noted.
The embassy did not immediately publish the reasons for postponing visa processing fees.
Among those affected by the changes published on Wednesday, May 3, included, temporary workers, students, tourists and investors.
In line with President Biden's foreign policy, the US hiked visa processing fees for students and tourists from Ksh21,800 to Ksh25,206 (USD160 to USD185).
From Saturday, June 17, temporary workers will start paying Ksh27,931 from Ksh25,887 to acquire their travelling visas.
Investors were the most hit as the US government hiked the visa processing fees by Ksh15,000. To get that critical travelling document, they must part with Ksh42,918 in the changes. Initially, treaty investors were paying Ksh27,931 to get their visas.
"Individuals who already paid the existing, lower (Non-Immigrant Visa) NIV fee will not have to pay the difference once the fee increases on May 30, 2023. All NIV fee payments made on or after October 1, 2022, are valid for 365 days," US Embassy indicated.
"Receipts for NIV fees paid prior to October 1, 2022, will continue to be valid until September 30, 2023," it further elaborated.
The fee increase was attributed to the hiked production cost caused by global inflation. The embassy, however, vowed to expedite visa processing time.
