Last reviewed: September 9, 2026

How to Pay the U.S. Visa Fee in Ukraine

Ukraine works differently from almost every other country, and the difference is the whole point of this page.

Applicants attending a visa interview in Kyiv pay the MRV fee in person, to the Embassy cashier, at the time of the interview. Online payment is not available.

That is the current instruction on the USTravelDocs payment page for Ukraine. If you have been searching for a Ukrainian payment portal, a bank deposit slip, or a way to pay before booking, you have been looking for something that does not exist right now.

Why the usual advice does not apply

Nearly every guide to the U.S. visa fee — including our own general fee page — describes the same sequence: pay first, wait for the receipt to activate, then book an interview. In Ukraine that sequence is inverted. There is no receipt to activate, because the payment happens at the interview.

Two consequences follow, and both are the opposite of the normal rule:

You do not need a paid receipt in order to be scheduled. Advice telling you to pay before you can see appointment slots is describing other countries.
There is nothing to keep valid. The one-year receipt validity that matters everywhere else has nothing to attach to here.

Raiffeisen Bank Aval no longer takes the fee

The old route was cash at Raiffeisen Bank Aval branches. That ended:

From 2 March 2022, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv stopped accepting nonimmigrant visa application fees at all Raiffeisen Bank Aval locations.
Fees bought on or before that date expired on 30 September 2023.

So an unused pre-2022 receipt is worth nothing now, and any page still directing you to a Raiffeisen branch is out of date. This is worth knowing before you travel to a bank on the strength of an old guide.

If you are interviewing outside Ukraine

Many Ukrainian applicants interview at a U.S. post in another country. If you do, that country's payment rules apply, not these — the fee is tied to the country where you apply, and a payment made for one post cannot be moved to another.

Work from the guide for wherever your interview actually is:

Check the post you are booking at before paying anything anywhere. A fee paid into the wrong country's system is generally not recoverable.

What does not change

The DS-160 itself is unaffected. It is still free, still filed at CEAC, and still needed before your interview:

Complete and submit the DS-160 at CEAC.
Keep the confirmation page with the barcode — that is the page the consulate scans.
Bring it, your passport, and the fee to the interview.

Fee amounts are set in dollars and are the same everywhere: $185 for B visitor, F and M student, J exchange, C transit, D crew and I media; $205 for H, L, O, P, Q and R petition-based work visas; $315 for E treaty trader and investor; $265 for K fiancé(e).

Questions commonly searched in Ukraine

Can I pay the U.S. visa fee online in Ukraine?

No. Online payment is currently unavailable for applicants interviewing in Kyiv — the fee is paid in person to the Embassy cashier at the interview.

Can I still pay at Raiffeisen Bank Aval?

No. The Embassy stopped accepting the fee at Raiffeisen Bank Aval branches on 2 March 2022, and fees purchased on or before that date expired on 30 September 2023.

Do I need to pay before booking my interview?

Not for an interview in Kyiv, because payment happens at the interview itself. If you are interviewing in another country, that country's normal pay-then-book sequence applies.

Is the DS-160 free in Ukraine?

Yes. The DS-160 is free everywhere. The MRV application fee is separate, and in Ukraine it is collected at the interview.