§22.1. Schedule of fees. — Inbound Citations

(b) Every officer of the Foreign Service responsible for the performance of services as enumerated in the Schedule of Fees for Consular Services, Department of State and Foreign Service (§ 22.1), shall give receipts for fees collected for the official services rendered, specifying the nature of the service and numbered to correspond with entries in a register maintained for the purpose (22 U.S.C. 1192, 1193, and 1194). The register serves as a record of official acts performed by officers of the Foreign Service in a governmental or notarial capacity, corresponding in this regard with the record which notaries are usually expected or required to keep of their official acts. See § 92.2 of this chapter.

No fees other than those prescribed in the Schedule of Fees, § 22.1, or by or pursuant to an act of Congress, shall be charged or collected by officers of the Foreign Service for official services performed abroad (22 U.S.C. 1201). All fees received by any officer of the Foreign Service for services rendered in connection with the duties of office or as a consular officer shall be accounted for and paid into the Treasury of the United States (22 U.S.C. 99 and 812). For receipt, registry, and numbering provisions, see § 22.5(b). Collections for transportation and other expenses necessary for performance of services or for Interested Party toll telephone calls shall be refunded to post allotment accounts and made available for meeting such expenses.

(b) Any alien seeking an immigrant visa under INA 201(b)(2), 203(a), or 203(b), based upon a petition filed by a relative of the alien (or in the case of a petition filed under INA 203(b) by an entity in which a relative has a significant ownership interest), shall be required to present to the consular officer an affidavit of support (AOS) on a form that complies with terms and conditions established by the Secretary of Homeland Security. Petitioners for applicants at a post designated by the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Visa Services for initial review of and assistance with such an AOS will be charged a fee for such review and assistance pursuant to the Schedule of Fees for Consular Services (22 CFR 22.1).

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (e)(1) of this section, a consular officer shall collect or insure the collection of a processing fee for a machine-readable combined border crossing card and nonimmigrant visa in an amount determined by the Secretary and set forth in 22 CFR 22.1 to be sufficient only to cover the cost for manufacturing the combined card and visa if:

(i) The alien is a Mexican citizen under the age of 15;

(ii) The alien is applying in Mexico; and

(iii) The alien has at least one parent or guardian who has a visa or is applying for a machine-readable combined border crossing card and visa.

(2) The Department will not maintain the names of visa recipients in connection with this information and the information will be compiled and maintained in such form that the identity of visa recipients cannot be determined therefrom.

(2) The alien pays anew the application processing fees prescribed in the Schedule of Fees (22 CFR 22.1); and

(a) Except as provided in § 51.28, to assist in establishing identity, a minor, a person who has never been issued a passport in his or her own name, a person who has not been issued a passport for the full validity period of 10 years in his or her own name within 15 years of the date of a new application, or a person who is otherwise not eligible to apply for a passport by mail under paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, must apply for a passport by appearing in person before a passport agent or passport acceptance agent (see § 51.22). The applicant must verify the application by oath or affirmation before the passport agent or passport acceptance agent, sign the completed application, provide photographs as prescribed by the Department, provide any other information or documents requested and pay the applicable fees prescribed in the Schedule of Fees for Consular Services (see 22 CFR 22.1).

The Department collects the following passport fees in the amounts prescribed in the Schedule of Fees for Consular Services (22 CFR 22.1):

(2) The legal representative pays any fees prescribed for consular services provided in connection with the disposition of remains or protection of the estate (see 22 CFR 22.1);

(a) Fees for consular death and estates services are prescribed in the Schedule of Fees, 22 CFR 22.1.

(b) A notarizing officer should not usually prepare for private persons legal documents for signature and notarization. (However, see the provisions in § 92.24 regarding the preparation of affidavits.) When asked to perform such a service, the notarizing officer should explain that the preparation of legal forms is normally the task of an attorney, that the forms used and the purposes for which they are used vary widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and that he could not guarantee the legal effectiveness of any document which he might prepare. The person desiring the preparation of a legal document should be referred to such publications as Jones Legal Forms and The Lawyers Directory with the suggestion that he select or adapt the form which appears best suited to his needs. The notarizing officer may, in his discretion, arrange to have a member of his office staff type the document. If the document is typed in the Foreign Service office, the fee for copying shall be collected as prescribed under the caption “Copying and Recording” of the Tariff of Fees, Foreign Service of the United States of America (§ 22.1 of this chapter).

The fees for administering an oath or affirmation and making a certificate thereof, for the taking of an acknowledgment of the execution of a document and executing a certificate thereof, for certifying to the correctness of a copy of or an extract from a document, official or private, for authenticating a foreign document, or for the noting of a bill of exchange, certifying to protest, etc., are as prescribed under the caption Documentary services in the Schedule of Fees (§ 22.1 of this chapter), unless the service is performed under a “no fee” item of the same caption of the Schedule. If an oath or affirmation is administered concurrently to several persons and only one consular certificate (jurat) is executed, only one fee is collectible. If more than one person joins in making an acknowledgment but only one certificate is executed, only one fee shall be charged.

(b) The original completed depositions should not be sent to any of the parties to the action or to their counsel. However, the notarizing officer may furnish a copy of a deposition to the deponent or to any party to the action upon the payment of the copying fee and if certification is desired under official seal that the copy is a true copy, the certification fee prescribed in the Tariff of Fees, Foreign Service of the United States of America (§ 22.1 of this chapter).

(3) Charges should be made for executing either of the certificates mentioned in paragraphs (c) (1) and (2) of this section, as prescribed by item 67 of the Tariff of Fees, Foreign Service of the United States of America (§ 22.1 of this chapter), unless the service is classifiable in a no-fee category under the exemption for Federal agencies and corporations (item 83 of the same Tariff).

The fees for the taking of evidence by officers of the Foreign Service are as prescribed by the Tariff or Fees, Foreign Service of the United States of America (§ 22.1 of this chapter), under the caption “Services Relating to the Taking of Evidence,” unless the service is performed for official use, which comes under the caption “Exemption for Federal Agencies and Corporations” of the same Tariff. See § 22.6 of this chapter concerning the requirement for advance deposit of estimated fees. When the party on whose behalf the evidence is sought or his local representative is not present to effect direct payment of such incidental costs as postage or travel of witnesses, the advance deposit required by the officer shall be in an amount estimated as sufficient to cover these in addition to the fees proper. The same rule shall apply to charges for interpreting or for the taking and transcribing of a stenographic record when performed commercially rather than by staff members at Tariff of Fee rates.

(f) The fee for administering an oath, taking an acknowledgment, or supplying an authentication, in connection with patent applications is as prescribed in item 49 of the Tariff of Fees, Foreign Service of the United States of America (§ 22.1 of this chapter).

(b) The fee for administering an oath, taking an acknowledgment, or supplying an authentication, in connection with an application for registration of a trademark, or with the assignment or transfer of rights thereunder, is as prescribed in item 49 of the Tariff of Fees, Foreign Service of the United States of America (§ 22.1 of this chapter).

(b) Officers of the Foreign Service should charge no fees for notarial services they perform in connection with the execution of documents, including the certification or authentication of documents where necessary, which affect United States securities or securities for which the Treasury Department acts as transfer agent, or which may be required in the collection of interest thereon. Item 58(b) of the Tariff of Fees, Foreign Service of the United States of America (§ 22.1 of this chapter) applies in cases of this nature.

(b) No charge under the caption “Notarial Services and Authentications” should be made for services performed in connection with the execution of tax returns for filing with the Federal or State Governments or political subdivisions thereof. When requested, see item 58(d) of the Tariff of Fees, Foreign Service of the United States of America (§ 22.1 of this chapter).

(b) The charges for making copies of documents are as prescribed by the Tariff of Fees, Foreign Service of the United States of America (§ 22.1 of this chapter), under the caption “Copying and Recording,” unless the service is Performed for official use, which comes under the caption Exemption for Federal Agencies and Corporations of the same Tariff.

(d) The fee for recording unofficial documents at a Foreign Service post is as prescribed under the caption “Copying and Recording” of the Tariff of Fees, Foreign Service of the United States of America (§ 22.1 of this chapter). For purposes of assessment of fees, the issuance of certificates of recording, when requested, shall be regarded as part of the consular service of recording unofficial documents, and no separate fee shall be charged for the certificate.

Officers of the Foreign Service are not authorized to translate documents or to certify to the correctness of translations. (However, see § 92.56 with regard to interpreting and translating services which may be performed in connection with depositions.) They are authorized to administer to a translator an oath as to the correctness of a translation; to take an acknowledgment of the preparation of a translation; and to authenticate the seal and signature of a local official affixed to a translation. Separate fees should be charged for each of these services, as indicated under the caption “Notarial Services and Authentications” of the Tariff of Fees, Foreign Service of the United States of America (§ 22.1 of this chapter).

(3) Should State, county, municipal or other authorities in the United States besides the Federal Government request the consular officer to obtain foreign documents, and express willingness to supply documents gratis in analogous circumstances, the consular officer may endeavor on that basis to obtain the desired foreign documents gratis. Otherwise, such authorities should be informed that they must pay the charges of the foreign officials, as well as any fees which it may be necessary for the consular officer to collect under the provisions of the Tariff of Fees, Foreign Service of the United States of America (§ 22.1 of this chapter).

(e) No fee should be charged for any legal services which may be performed under these regulations, beyond the fees or charges for specific services enumerated in the Tariff of Fees, Foreign Service of the United States of America (§ 22.1 of this chapter).

No charge should be made for serving a subpoena or order to show cause issuing out of Federal court under the procedures set forth in §§ 92.86 and 92.87. The taking of the affidavit of the officer effecting the service, or the performance of any other notarial act which may be involved in making the return, should be without charge, under the caption “Exemption for Federal Agencies and Corporations” of the Tariff of Fees, Foreign Service of the United States of America (§ 22.1 of this chapter).

An officer of the Foreign Service may administer an oath to a person making an affidavit to the effect that legal process has ben served. When an affidavit stating that legal process has been served is executed before a foreign notary or other official, an officer of the Foreign Service may authenticate the official character of the person administering the oath. The fee for administering an oath to a person making an affidavit or for an authentication, as the case may be, is as prescribed under the caption “Notarial Services and Authentications” in the Tariff of Fees, Foreign Service of the United States of America (§ 22.1 of this chapter), unless the case is of such nature as to fall under the caption, “Exemption for Federal Agencies and Corporations” of the same Tariff.

(a) Where required by the circumstances of a particular case and subject to the reasonableness of the request notarial acts may be performed elsewhere within the limits of the consulate subject to the assessment of the applicable fees under subheading “Services Rendered Outside of Office” of the Tariff of Fees (§ 22.1(a) of this chapter), as well as to payment by the interested party of the officer's expenses in going to the place where the service is performed and returning to his office (§ 22.1(b) of this chapter).

(a) Where required by the circumstances of a particular case and subject to the reasonableness of the request notarial acts may be performed elsewhere within the limits of the consulate subject to the assessment of the applicable fees under subheading “Services Rendered Outside of Office” of the Tariff of Fees (§ 22.1(a) of this chapter), as well as to payment by the interested party of the officer's expenses in going to the place where the service is performed and returning to his office (§ 22.1(b) of this chapter).