US Tourist Visa Fee For Bangladeshi Nationals: How To Pay?

US tourist visas are non-immigrant visas for touristic activities. Categorically they are called Non-immigrant B1/B2 visas, where B1 is issued for business purposes, including attending any conference, joining a company meeting, or negotiating a contract.

B2 Visas, on the other hand, are issued for sightseeing, seeing friends and family, and seeking medical help in US hospitals, or accompanying/meeting someone who is critically ill.

Both of these category visas allow you to visit the US for 6 months each time, and the visa is issued for 5 years for Bangladeshi passport holders. It also comes with a host of benefits, including allowing you to travel to 21 additional countries.

How Much is A US Visit Visa Fee?

The US Non-immigrant visa fee is $185 from Bangladesh and around the world (it was $160 before, and the fee was increased from June 17, 2023). The amount must be paid in local currency, and the final BDT amount is about BDT 21500 BDT at the time of writing this guideline.

However, this amount changes from time to time, depending on the dollar conversion rate.

Everyone must pay this visa fee separately, from the elderly to the children. Unlike the Schengen visa application, the US doesn’t have an age-based visa fee structure. So, the US visa fee is the same for everyone, including your kids.

The visa fees are non-refundable.

Apart from paying on bank, you can also pay the visa fee online using BEFTN. While paying online, please ignore paying twice if you encounter any problem with the first application. All visa fees are non-refundable even if you pay twice by mistake.

The visa fee is non-transferrable as well.

Also read: US Visa Approval Rate in Bangladesh

How To Pay US Visa Fees in Bangladesh?

The official bank to process the US visa fees in Bangladesh is Eastern Bank Limited (EBL). You must visit any branch of EBL or pay them online if you are an existing EBL account holder. You can transfer the funds from your bank account. However, currently, they don’t accept any Debit or Credit card payments.

Step 1: Create a CGI Federal profile with your personal details.

Step 2: Generate an Invoice with the appropriate visa category and passport information. If you have dependent applications or want to apply together as a family, you must add them to your profile one by one. Once everyone is added, continue to generate the invoice.

Step 3: Now you have 2 options to pay the visa fee:

1. Visit any EBL branch with the invoice printed and a copy of your passport (and the passport of all dependent applications.
2. If you are an existing EBL account holder, use their Sky Banking app to pay the visa fee.

How To Pay Visa Fees on EBL Branches?

Please have your visa fee receipt printed if you decide to pay the visa fee from your nearest EBL branch. Please refer to the official website for the branch list.

Print only one deposit slip when applying for multiple visas for your family or group. Only one payment is necessary. Bring the printed deposit slip to make your payment and ensure the exact fee amount is paid.

When visiting the EBL branch, you must fill out a special deposit slip for US Visa Fee payments. Make sure to include all necessary information from your CGI collection slip on the EBL slip. The EBL deposit slip will be a 2-ply carbon copy. The branch will stamp one copy with a “receipt” seal and give it to you as proof of payment while keeping the other copy for their records.

Keep in mind: The “Source of Funds” field should indicate “personal funds” unless otherwise specified.

How To Pay US Visa Fee with EBL Sky Banking App?

Step-by-Step Process for Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Payment for Eastern Bank Account holders:

• Log into the EBL Skybanking application on your electronic device (smartphone/ desktop/ laptop/ tablet) using your unique login ID and password.
• Select the “Bills Pay” option from the menu and then select “U.S. VISA Fee” as the bill type.
• Enter the CGI reference number as mentioned on your EFT deposit slip, which will automatically populate the visa fee amount.
• Select your bank account for the payment.
• Enter the expiry date as mentioned on your deposit slip. (Narration is an optional field)
• A confirmation screen will pop up with relevant information.
• After confirming, the payment will be processed, and a successful message will appear. Take a screenshot of this screen for your records.
• You will receive an email with transaction details to the email address registered with your bank account at EBL, upon successful payment.

How To Update Payment Information To CGI Profile?

Once you deposit the visa fee, it takes 1 working day to receive a formal receipt confirmation from the US Embassy Dhaka. You will receive an email from them, as well as you will see an existing receipt on your CGI Federal website. You can ‘Accept’ and continue to book an interview.

If you have any issues using the receipt on your account, you can contact the US Embassy team, and they will resolve it. If you don’t receive the receipt or confirmation after 3 working days, you are advised to send them an email.

How Much Is The US Visa Courier Passport Delivery Cost?

Once your visa is approved, you can collect your passport from the VFS Global Dhaka office after 2 weeks of the approval. You will get an email from the embassy when the passport is ready.

However, you can opt for a courier delivery service to deliver the passport to your home. This service costs 900 BDT per passport.

How Long Is My Visa Fee Valid?

A visa fee is valid for 365 days from the day you make the payment. You need to schedule an appointment with the consulate by this time. Your final interview date can be 2 years later, but the schedule needs to be confirmed within 365 days.

How Much Does A US Visit Visa Consultant Cost?

A US visit visa comes with additional costs if you seek professional help.

If you are tech-savvy and know about US visa regulations, you can apply all yourself. The whole visa procedure is self-explanatory with the guidelines from the US Embassy Dhaka.

However, if you are not confident, it’s always better to seek professional help from qualified agencies and consultants. As US visa approval is solely based on visa form and interview, you should prepare well in advance for the interview day. If you are refused – future applications become way more complicated.

Professional consultancy fees depend on the organization, background, credibility, skills, and reputation. It starts from 15,000 BDT for most consultancy companies and goes up to 100,000 BDT.

At the Visa Processing Center, our service charge starts from 15,000 BDT for US visa processing.

Please always stay vigilant if any company or person asks you for a shady contract with ‘no visa, no fees’ or a ‘guaranteed visa scheme’. There is no scope for a guaranteed US visa. A professional company can help you fill out the forms and provide professional guidance and interview preparation help. None can give you any sort of guarantee regarding the final outcome.

Final Thoughts

If you have any queries regarding US visa fees and the procedure of the payment, please feel free to contact us, we will get back to as soon possible with your answer.