US Releases 7 Categories of People Who Can Apply for Visa Without Paying Fee
- The US Department of State published the categories of visa applicants who are exempt from paying the nonimmigrant visa application processing fee in 2026
- The exemptions cover diplomatic visa holders, certain J visa applicants, and US government employees travelling on official business
- Family members of US government employees killed or critically injured in the line of duty are also among those who qualify for a fee waiver
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The United States government has released a list of people who do not need to pay the nonimmigrant visa application processing fee, covering seven distinct categories of applicants.
The information is published on the US Department of State's official visa fees page, which sets out who qualifies for a full fee waiver when applying for a US visa in 2026.
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Who qualifies for US visa fee waiver
The following categories of applicants are not required to pay the visa application fee:
1. Applicants for A, G, C-2, C-3, NATO, and diplomatic visas, as defined in 22 CFR 41.26.
2. Applicants for J visas who are participating in official US Government-sponsored educational and cultural exchange programmes.
3. Applicants whose machine-readable visa needs to be replaced because the original was not properly affixed or must be reissued through no fault of the applicant.
4. Applicants exempted under international agreements as determined by Visa Services, including members and staff of an observer mission to United Nations Headquarters recognised by the UN General Assembly, and their immediate families.
5. Applicants travelling to provide charitable services, as determined by Visa Services.
6. US government employees travelling on official business.
7. A parent, sibling, spouse, or child of a US government employee killed in the line of duty who is travelling to attend that employee's funeral or burial; or a parent, sibling, spouse, son, or daughter of a US government employee critically injured in the line of duty who is travelling for visitation during emergency treatment and convalescence.
US visa: What applicants should know before applying
The fee waiver does not apply automatically to all visa categories. Applicants must confirm that their specific visa type or travel purpose falls within one of the recognised exemption categories before proceeding with their application.
For J visa applicants in particular, the State Department advises checking its dedicated Exchange Visitor Visas page for further details on fee eligibility, as the exemption only covers those on official US Government-sponsored programmes.
The exemptions are separate from the standard nonimmigrant visa application processing fee, which applies to the majority of visa types including tourist, student, and work visas.
Travellers who do not fall within the listed categories are expected to pay the applicable fee before their application is processed.
In a related story, Legit.ng reported that the US had listed eight conditions that foreign professionals with bachelor's degrees must meet to qualify for permanent residence.
US expands mandatory social media vetting
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the US had expanded its mandatory social media vetting to three visa categories.
The Department of State announced the change in an updated statement issued via its website on Friday, September 18, 2026.
As part of the expanded vetting, all applicants in the I, TN, and TD categories must set the privacy settings on every social media account they hold to "public" or "open."
Source: Legit.ng
