Sebastian Hughes
The State Department will waive fees for immigrants seeking visas to come to the U.S. if they were previously denied one because of the Trump administration’s travel ban, according to a Wednesday announcement.
“An IV applicant who is the beneficiary of a valid immigration petition may submit another visa application after being refused and in most circumstances they are required to pay again the relevant application fees,” according to a Federal Register rule published Wednesday. “The Department exempts from such fees only those IV applicants who are applying again after being refused” a visa under the travel ban.
The ban prevented immigration from Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. President Joe Biden issued an executive order repealing the ban on his first day in office in January 2021.
As part of the executive order, Biden “directed the State Department to develop a proposal for individuals whose immigrant visa applications were denied,” a spokesperson for the department told the Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement.
The goal of the change was to create “a proposal to ensure that individuals whose immigrant visa applications were denied on the basis of the suspension and restriction on entry … may have their applications reconsidered,” according to the final rule.
The rule, which went into immediate effect on Wednesday, is a “one-time exemption” and is not retroactive, as there will be no refunds as a result of the policy change, the spokesperson said. The fees for those who were denied due to “additional refusal grounds” while the travel ban was in effect will not be waived, according to the rule.
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