Visa Reciprocity Schedules: Validity, Entries, and Issuance Fees by Country

Two people approved for the same visa class at the same consulate can walk out with visas that expire years apart. That is not favoritism or a mistake. It is the reciprocity schedule, a published table that sets, for each nationality and each visa classification, how long the visa may be valid, how many entries it allows, and what issuance fee applies.

The schedule reflects a simple principle: the United States generally treats nationals of another country the way that country treats U.S. citizens applying for the equivalent visa. Because those foreign policies differ, the resulting American visas differ too — even though the eligibility rules for the visa class itself are identical for everyone.

The three things the table controls

The reciprocity schedule is published by the Department of State and is organized by country. Within each country page, the visa classifications are listed with three columns that matter.

The current tables sit on the Department of State's reciprocity pages. This article does not reproduce any figures from them, because they are revised whenever the other country changes its own policy — sometimes without any announcement.

Two different fees, paid at two different moments

The confusion here is worth spelling out, because applicants regularly budget for one payment and encounter two.

1. The application fee comes first. It is charged for processing a nonimmigrant visa application, is set by visa classification rather than nationality, and is paid before the interview. It is not refunded if the visa is refused.
2. The issuance fee comes last. It is the reciprocity fee, is set by nationality, and is charged only if the visa is approved. Applicants from many countries owe nothing at this stage.
3. Neither is a legal fee. Both go to the government, and neither buys advice or representation.

Note: Because issuance fees are set by nationality, a change of nationality changes the fee. Dual nationals should check the schedule for the nationality shown in the passport they are using to apply.

Validity is not permission to stay

This is the single most costly misunderstanding in the whole area. A visa is permission to travel to a port of entry and request admission. It says nothing about how long you may remain once admitted.

The period of authorized stay is decided by a Customs and Border Protection officer at the port of entry and recorded on the electronic arrival record. That record, not the visa, is what tells you when you must depart or take some other action. A visa valid for years can accompany an admission of a few months, and overstaying that admission has consequences even though the visa page still looks current.

Some classifications are admitted for "duration of status" instead of a fixed date, which is its own category of complication. Students are the main example, and the mechanics are set out by DHS through Study in the States. Our guide to traveling with a pending case covers what happens when a visa expires while someone is lawfully inside the country — which is common, permitted, and frequently misread as a violation.

Watch out: A visa that expires while you are in the United States does not make your stay unlawful. It only means you cannot use it to return after a departure. The two questions — may I stay, and may I re-enter — have different answers and different documents.

Reading your own country page

Country pages carry more than the fee tables, and the extra material is often what an applicant actually needs. Each page describes the civil documents available in that country: how birth records are issued, what a police certificate looks like and who can obtain one, whether marriage and divorce records exist in usable form, and what to do where a document simply is not available.

• Find your country of nationality, not your country of residence.
• Locate the exact visa classification, including the subclass letter and number.
• Read the footnotes — many entries carry conditions attached to a specific note.
• Check the document sections if you are also assembling records for an immigrant visa case.
• Note the availability statements for police certificates, which frequently differ from what applicants expect.

For immigrant visa applicants, those document sections are the practical center of the page. They determine which records the National Visa Center will accept and which alternatives are recognized where a record does not exist, a process covered in our guide to National Visa Center processing and documentary completeness. Applicants working through an unfamiliar country's record system sometimes engage immigration services for individuals at this stage rather than guessing which substitute document a post will accept.

When the schedule changes, and what that means for you

Reciprocity is dynamic. If a foreign government shortens the validity it grants to American travelers, or introduces a new fee, the United States can adjust its schedule in response. Those adjustments have been used as instruments of policy as well as bookkeeping.

A visa already issued keeps the terms printed on it. A change to the schedule applies to visas issued afterwards, so a person renewing may receive a shorter or longer validity than the one they held before, with no change in their own circumstances. Nothing about that indicates a problem with the applicant.

Because of this, the only reliable time to read the schedule is shortly before applying. General visa information for all classifications is published through the Department of State's visa pages, and status questions after arrival are handled by USCIS rather than by the consulate.

Common questions

My visa says it is valid for five years. Can I stay five years?

No. Validity is the window in which you may travel to a port of entry and ask to be admitted. The length of stay is set separately by the officer who admits you and appears on your arrival record, not on the visa. Many travelers with multi-year visas are admitted for months at a time. Always check the arrival record after each entry rather than assuming the visa governs.

I hold two passports. Which country's schedule applies to me?

The one matching the nationality of the passport you apply with and that the visa is placed in. Validity, entries, and the issuance fee all follow that nationality. Where the two options differ meaningfully, it is worth comparing the schedules before choosing which passport to use — though other consequences, including travel history and prior refusals, may point the other way.

Why did someone from another country get a longer visa than I did for the same category?

Because their government treats American applicants differently from yours. The eligibility standards for the visa classification are the same for both of you; the duration and number of entries are set by the reciprocity table for each nationality. It is not a reflection of how your application was assessed and it is not something a consular officer can adjust on request.

Do I pay the issuance fee at the interview?

Generally after approval rather than at the interview itself, and only if one applies to your nationality and classification. Consulates differ in how they collect it, so the instructions from your specific post govern. Many applicants owe no issuance fee at all. Nobody should pay a reciprocity fee to a third party or an agent — it is collected by the consulate through its own channel.

What to check before you apply

Five minutes with the schedule before an application answers most of the questions people ask afterwards, and it sets realistic expectations about a document they will rely on for years.

1. Open your nationality's page and find your classification. Read the footnote attached to it.
2. Note the validity and entry count. If it is single-entry, plan your travel around that constraint from the start.
3. Budget for both payments. The application fee now, the issuance fee later if one applies.
4. Read the civil documents section if any family or immigrant case may follow.
5. Re-check shortly before applying. The table can change between planning and filing.

If you are renewing rather than applying for the first time, the process may look different from what you remember, and our guide to interview waivers and dropbox renewals explains when a personal appearance may not be required and what that changes about timing.