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ISO Visa Request Fees Decreasing Effective 08/01

Effective August 1, 2025, the following visa-related fee changes will apply:

  •       Visa request fees for J-1s, H-1Bs, TNs, and E-3s will decrease to $519 (from $580)
  •       Amendment fees for J-1 documents (DS-2019s) will decrease to $99 (from $107)
  •       O-1 and EB-1B hourly visa case management fees will decrease to $102 (from $117) 

Visa requests that are conditionally approved on or after August 1, 2025 will be charged at the new rate. These decreases will appear on invoices issued on or after August 2.

Please note that all fees associated with H-1B, E-3, TN, and O-1/EB-1B petitions, including the $519 visa request fee, are paid by the host department and cannot be passed on to the international scholar.

For J-1 scholars who are not members of the UAW Postdoctoral Scholars Local 4121, as well as all J-2 dependents, reimbursement may be requested by the department from scholars for the $519 visa request fee and $99 J-1 amendment fee. The UAW 4121 2023-25 contract prevents units from requesting reimbursement for J-1 visa fees from postdoctoral scholars.

These fees will apply through June 30, 2026; units should expect that fees will change again effective on or after July 1, 2026. For more information on visa processing fees and U.S. government visa fees, see the Visa Fees page. Please contact ISO with questions you have regarding this announcement.

Upcoming changes to Lux visa request forms

On Monday, July 28th, APF will update our visa request tool. No downtime is expected for this update. You may notice the following changes:

  • Enhanced navigation menus
  • Clearer prompts for prior immigration statuses
  • A new question to capture upcoming international travel plans
  • Reduced blank space on conditional approval PDFs

Updated visa intake forms are now available for use in gathering information for the visa request forms:

Please use these updated intake forms for any visa requests you submit on or after July 28th. Contact acadvisa@uw.edu with any questions you have about this announcement.

Department of State resumes F-1, M-1, and J-1 visa scheduling, with expanded social media screening

As of June 18, the Department of State has announced that it will resume appointment scheduling for student visas, including J-1 exchange visitor visas, and that these visa applicants will now undergo expanded social media screening. Please see the announcement for more details. 

It has also been reported that these changes will result in initial “refusal” decisions at the visa interview for all F, M, and J visa applicants, to allow additional time for social media screening. These are not final denials of the visa application. Upon receiving these initial refusals, J-1 visa applicants should wait for further contact from the consulate. The consulate may request additional information or documentation as part of the application process.

ISO expects that these changes will result in longer processing times for J-1 visa applications. We encourage UW units, and incoming and returning J-1 exchange visitors, to consider this processing time when planning their arrival in or return to the United States.