Last reviewed: September 15, 2026

U.S. Visa Fee Payment After DS-160

There is no fee to complete or submit the DS-160 itself. What you pay is a separate, non-refundable visa application processing fee — the MRV fee — and for most applicants it is $185: B visitor visas and F, M and J student and exchange visas. Petition-based work categories (H, L, O, P, Q, R) are $205, E treaty trader and investor visas $315, and K fiancé(e) visas $265. It must be paid before an interview can be scheduled.

Which site will you use? Many posts use USTravelDocs, others use AIS at ais.usvisa-info.com, and 14 countries — Nigeria, France and Belgium among them — use AVITS at usvisaappt.com, which most guides omit. See which appointment site applies to your country.

Start with official instructions: verify the visa-class amount on the Department of State fee schedule, then use only the payment service linked by the embassy or consulate where the interview will take place. The country guides below cite the exact local service reviewed for each payment method.

How much does a U.S. visa cost in total?

This page covers how to pay. For the full cost picture — the SEVIS fee students owe on top, reciprocity fees, the $250 Visa Integrity Fee created in 2025, and charges that are not the visa fee at all — see How much does a U.S. visa cost?

Current nonimmigrant visa application fees

$185 — B visitor visas; F, M, and J student or exchange visas; and other non-petition-based categories
$205 — petition-based temporary worker categories, including H, L, O, P, Q, and R
$315 — E treaty trader and treaty investor visas
$265 — K fiancé(e) visas

Fees can change. Confirm the amount on the Department of State fee schedule before paying.

How to pay the visa fee

Payment websites and accepted methods vary by country. Do not send payment through a link from an email, advertisement, or unofficial agent.

Submit your DS-160 and save the barcode confirmation page.
Open the website of the U.S. embassy or consulate where you will apply.
Follow its Visas or Nonimmigrant visas instructions to reach the authorized appointment and payment service for that country.
Create your applicant profile, enter the DS-160 confirmation number, and choose the correct visa class.
Pay using one of the methods offered for that location and save the receipt or payment reference.
Wait for the payment to be activated, then schedule the appointment when the system allows it.

Can you pay the DS-160 fee online?

In most countries, yes — and online card payment is usually the fastest route to an appointment. But there is no single global payment website, and this is where most confusion starts.

Method	Typical activation	Where it is offered
Card online (Visa/Mastercard)	Often same day, sometimes minutes	Most countries
Bank transfer / online banking	1–2 business days	Widely offered
Cash at a bank counter	1–2 business days after the bank reports it	Common in South Asia, Africa, parts of Latin America
Local wallet or instant rail (UPI in India, Pix in Brazil)	Usually same day	Country-specific
Convenience store cash	1–2 business days	Offered in some countries — check your own profile

Activation is the part that matters. You cannot see or book an interview slot until the payment posts to the appointment system. Choosing a slower method can cost you one or two days, and in a busy season the slots released in that window will be gone. If you are choosing between methods and speed matters, take the card or instant option.

Exact methods and activation times differ by country — the country guides below cite the authorized service and the reported timing for each one.

Important payment rules

The fee is generally non-refundable and non-transferable, even if the visa is refused.
Payment does not guarantee an appointment or visa approval.
Processing time and receipt validity depend on the country and payment method; follow the local appointment service's instructions.
Each applicant normally needs a separate fee, including children, unless an official exemption applies.
Some nationalities and visa classes may owe an additional reciprocity fee after approval.

If you are refused, reapplying costs another fee

There are two different facts here and only the first is widely known.

The fee is not refunded if the visa is refused. Everyone says this, and it is true.

The fee also covers one application only. The appointment service's terms state it directly: the fee may be used to complete a single application, and if the visa is refused a new fee must be paid to apply again. It is stated most explicitly on the AIS service used across Latin America — we read the wording in Spanish and Portuguese on 9 September 2026.

So a 214(b) refusal is not only a lost application. Reapplying means a new DS-160 and a new fee, not a resubmission of the one you already paid for. That is worth knowing before you reapply on the assumption that the paid receipt still has life in it.

The one-year validity does not change this. A receipt is valid for 365 days for scheduling — but for that application. It is not a credit you can spend twice.

If you have been refused, read what a 214(b) refusal means before paying again: reapplying with nothing materially changed rarely changes the outcome, and the second fee is as non-refundable as the first.

If you are paying cash: the deposit slip, and the fact that it expires

Cash payment is not "turn up at the bank with the money". In every country we have reviewed that offers a cash route — Germany, Morocco, Algeria, Kuwait, Qatar, Cambodia, Lebanon, Georgia, Bahrain and Serbia among them — the same mechanism applies, and it is the part most likely to send someone home from the counter empty-handed.

You must print a deposit slip from your profile and take it with you. The slip carries your CGI reference number, which is what ties the money to your application. Georgia's page states it outright: the bank will not accept the payment without the web-generated slip. You cannot quote a number at the counter.

The slip has an expiration date, and an expired slip is refused. Not queried, not accepted-with-a-note — refused. Every country page that describes the slip says the same thing.

The fix costs nothing: log back in and generate a new one. But that only helps if you know to look. So print the slip on the day you are actually going, not in advance to be organised. Printing early is precisely what creates the problem.

Four more rules that recur across those countries:

Pay the exact amount on the slip. Not rounded, not converted yourself, not last week's figure.
Do not print multiple copies of the same slip. Cambodia and Lebanon say this explicitly.
Bring photo identification. Several posts require a passport or government-issued ID alongside the slip.
Keep the receipt — it usually cannot be replaced. It carries the number you need to schedule, and page after page says a lost receipt is not reissued. Photograph it before you leave the counter.

Your own country's guide is the authority on which of these apply where you are paying. This is the shape of the thing, not a substitute for it.

Paying against the wrong visa class

The fee is not a single amount — it is attached to a visa class, and the class is chosen by you, in your profile, before the payment slip is generated. Nothing checks that it matches the visa you are actually applying for.

The consequence varies by country, and at its worst it is not recoverable:

On every payment page we have read: paying an amount that does not match your visa type can stop you from scheduling an interview at all. The USTravelDocs pages put it in those words — "applicants who do not pay the correct fee for their visa type may be restricted from scheduling".
Some countries state outright that the money is lost. Georgia's payment page is explicit — an incorrectly declared visa class produces an incorrect fee slip, the fee paid is forfeited, the correct fee must be paid again, and no refund is processed except where the bank made the error. See the Georgia guide.

Because the fee is non-refundable and non-transferable by design, there is no mechanism to move a payment from one class to another after the fact. It is not a correction; it is a second payment.

So spend the minute. Before you generate a slip or press pay, confirm the class: B-1/B-2 visitor, F or M student, J exchange visitor, or a petition-based work class such as H, L, O, P, Q or R. If you are unsure which applies to your trip, B-1 or B-2 and how much a U.S. visa costs set out the categories and their amounts before any money moves.

If a payment is not recognized

Check that you used the authorized service linked by your embassy or consulate.
Confirm that the receipt number, passport details, and visa category match your profile.
Allow the processing time stated for the payment method; bank and cash payments may take longer than card payments.
Do not pay a second time unless the authorized support service tells you to do so.
Contact the payment or appointment support channel listed by your embassy or consulate and keep proof of payment.
Do not ask your bank to reverse the charge. The India and Bangladesh payment pages both carry the same sentence: "Disputing this transaction may delay your ability to schedule an appointment." A chargeback raised over a payment that looks stuck can cost you the booking as well as the money, since the fee is non-refundable either way.

Those last two points are the same instinct in two forms. Money has left your account, the profile shows nothing, and the obvious moves — pay again, or call the bank — are both the wrong ones. The fee is non-refundable whichever you choose, so the only move that helps is contacting the support address for your country and waiting.

How long the fee stays valid

The fee has a formal name most official pages avoid — see what the MRV fee is if you have been searching for that term and finding nothing.

The MRV fee is non-refundable and non-transferable. It is not attached to a date — it is attached to you, and to a window.

In most countries the receipt is valid for one year from the date of payment, and what has to happen inside that year is booking the interview, not attending it. An appointment scheduled inside the window generally stands even when the date itself falls later. Once the year passes with nothing booked, the money is gone and you pay again.

Both the length of that window and the number of times you may reschedule are set by the appointment service for your country, not centrally — confirm both there. The country guides below cite the local service for each one.

Country-specific payment guides

Payment methods, currency, receipt timing, and even some fee rules change by interview country. Use the guide for the country where you will schedule the consular appointment:

Frequently asked questions

How do I pay my DS-160 visa fee online?

Through your own country's authorised payment service, not through CEAC and not through any single global site — that is the step most people get stuck on. Create a profile on the service your embassy links, choose the card option if speed matters, and keep the receipt number. Which service applies to you is in the country guides above. Card payments often post the same day; bank and cash payments usually take one to two business days before the appointment system will show you a slot.

I paid, but the appointment system still does not show the payment. What now?

Give it the activation time for the method you used before assuming anything is wrong — card is often same day, bank and cash commonly one to two business days. Then check that the receipt number, passport details and visa category on the payment match your appointment profile exactly; a mismatch is the usual cause. Do not pay a second time unless the authorised support service tells you to. The full checklist is in if a payment is not recognized.

What if I paid on the wrong website?

The appointment system only recognises payments made through your country's authorised service, so a payment made anywhere else will not appear against your profile no matter how long you wait. Confirm which service is authorised for your country in the country guides above, and take a payment made elsewhere up with whoever took the money rather than with the consulate, which has no record of it.

Is the DS-160 fee the same as the visa fee?

No. The DS-160 is free to submit. The MRV fee pays for processing the visa application.

Can I pay the fee on CEAC?

Usually not. CEAC hosts the DS-160 form. Visa fee payment and interview scheduling use the authorized service specified by the embassy or consulate where you apply.

Can I pay before submitting the DS-160?

The sequence varies by location, but most appointment systems require the DS-160 confirmation number. Following the local embassy's instructions avoids a payment being linked to the wrong profile.

How much is the DS-160 fee?

The DS-160 form itself is free. What people mean by "the DS-160 fee" is the visa application (MRV) fee that comes after it: $185 for B, F, M and J categories, $205 for petition-based work visas, $315 for E, and $265 for K.

Where do I pay the DS-160 visa fee?

Never on the DS-160 site itself. Each country has one authorized appointment-and-payment service, reached from your embassy or consulate's own website. Paying anywhere else does not register against your application.

How long after paying can I book the interview?

Until the payment activates in the appointment system — same day for most card and instant payments, one to two business days for bank and cash. Slots cannot be seen or held before that.

Can I pay the fee for someone else?

Yes. The payment is matched to the applicant's details, not the payer's, so a parent, employer or agent can pay on your behalf as long as the applicant's information on the profile is correct.

What if I paid the wrong visa category?

Contact the authorized payment service before booking. Fees are matched to a visa class, and a receipt paid against the wrong class may not be usable for your appointment. Do not simply pay again first.

Is the visa fee refundable?

No. The MRV fee is non-refundable and non-transferable, and that holds whether the visa is issued, refused, or you simply never attend. It cannot be moved to another applicant, and it cannot be moved to a different country's account.

How long do I have to use a fee I have already paid?

In most countries, one year from the date of payment — and the thing that has to happen inside that year is booking the interview, not sitting it. The window is set by your own appointment service rather than centrally, so confirm it there.

Do I have to pay again if I reschedule my interview?

Not if you reschedule inside the validity window; the receipt stays attached to you. Posts do cap how many times an appointment can be moved, and going past that cap can mean paying again.

Does every family member pay their own fee?

Yes. The fee is per applicant, not per family or per application group. Four people filing four DS-160s pay four fees, each with its own receipt number.

What should I keep after paying?

Save the receipt or payment reference and any appointment confirmation until your case is finished.

Not sure which post you will attend?

The fee is tied to the country you apply in, so choose the post first. See the embassy and consulate locator.

New to the form itself?

The fee and the form are separate steps. For what the form is, who has to file one, and what it costs, see what the DS-160 form is.

Paid already?

The fee has to activate before any slot appears. See how to book the visa interview appointment.

Students and exchange visitors

The visa fee does not cover SEVIS. See the SEVIS fee explained.

Is your country under the 2026 entry suspension?

Nationals of the 39 countries designated by Proclamation 10998 may still submit a DS-160 and pay the fee, but may be refused the visa on that basis — and the fee is not refunded. Check the designated list and who is exempt before paying.