reciprocity fee - must pay online

[GeorgeAus]

Fee for Aussies remains the same I take it? I entered back into the Country from Cuba one day before mine expired and they kept mumbling ¨Que Suerte¨

 

[hillbilly]

I spend time on two travel sites-- Trip Advisor and Cruise Critic. There are numerous complaints on these sites and several posters who have changed destinations due to hassles. To your point re communication.....the EZE airport site correctly mentions the current entry/reciprocity fee of usd 160. The Argentina consulate in Washington incorrectly states the fee is USD 140. Several cruise lines fail to mention the fee at all, to the chagrin of passengers arriving by air in advance of their cruise. There is, in short, confusion and conflicting information.

Sorry, but you're wrong. I am looking at the website for the consulate in Washington right now and the reciprocity fee is correctly stated as $160.

Entry Reciprocity Fee for American Nationals

When entering Argentine Territory, the American nationals must pay a "reciprocity fee" of U$D 160.- or its equivalent in Argentinean pesos.

The payment of this reciprocity fee is NOT a visa, since Argentina does not require visa to American nationals when travelling for tourism or business purposes. The Argentine Government set this entry fee on equal amounts Argentine citizens must pay when requesting a Visa to travel to the U.S.

Forms of payment: Argentine Pesos, United States Dollars, credit cards, Traveller's Checks. Information Desk: +54 (11) 4317-0234/5/6/7/8. Av. Antártida Argentina 1355, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires.


Source: http://www.embassyofargentina.us/v2011/en/consularsection/news.htm#entry

 

[PaulZ]

The fees the US charges are not exorbitant, they are in order to recoup the cost of procesing visas, there is zero profit in this for the US.

Do you really think that an ESTA does really cost $14? It used to be a piece of paper that had to be checked (time) by an CBP officer. Now it is an online system which has not much human intervention for each application... The cost went down, the computer systems has to be in place if it is for 1 million applicants or 100 million applicants, and the printed form was not free to print, but at the same time it went from free to $14...?
About the regular visa application;
The person performing the interview is paid the same if the person does 10 applicants or 25 applicants a day. Still the same salary, costs etc... I cannot imagine that the interviewers need to hit a target to be cost effective...

And you tell me that CBP doesn't make any profit on visa's etc? Wake up... They do, but it is something they don't want to admit to...

 

[dr__dawggy]

I am looking at the Visit Argentina page on the same website. It clealy says $140. Looks like it says $140 in one section of the site and $160 in another. This underscores my point about garbled messaging.

http://www.embassyofargentina.us/v2011/en/visitargentina/main.htm

Sorry, but you're wrong. I am looking at the website for the consulate in Washington right now and the reciprocity fee is correctly stated as $160.

Entry Reciprocity Fee for American Nationals

When entering Argentine Territory, the American nationals must pay a "reciprocity fee" of U$D 160.- or its equivalent in Argentinean pesos.

The payment of this reciprocity fee is NOT a visa, since Argentina does not require visa to American nationals when travelling for tourism or business purposes. The Argentine Government set this entry fee on equal amounts Argentine citizens must pay when requesting a Visa to travel to the U.S.

Forms of payment: Argentine Pesos, United States Dollars, credit cards, Traveller's Checks. Information Desk: +54 (11) 4317-0234/5/6/7/8. Av. Antártida Argentina 1355, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires.


Source: http://www.embassyofargentina.us/v2011/en/consularsection/news.htm#entry

 

[AndrewWoodward]

Do you really think that an ESTA does really cost $14? It used to be a piece of paper that had to be checked (time) by an CBP officer. Now it is an online system which has not much human intervention for each application... The cost went down, the computer systems has to be in place if it is for 1 million applicants or 100 million applicants, and the printed form was not free to print, but at the same time it went from free to $14...?
About the regular visa application;
The person performing the interview is paid the same if the person does 10 applicants or 25 applicants a day. Still the same salary, costs etc... I cannot imagine that the interviewers need to hit a target to be cost effective...

And you tell me that CBP doesn't make any profit on visa's etc? Wake up... They do, but it is something they don't want to admit to...

I believe they raised the price to pay for "promoting tourism".

This is such a silly thing to complain about. This happens all over the place. Chile and Brazil will probably get VWP status soon(ish), and that'll put more pressure on Argentina than anything else. But to pretend one government has pure motives while the other is out for money - it's insane.

 

[Greg2231]

Argentina does have an immigration department, it has desks at the airport which check passports. I dont immagine the fees received from tourists cover the whole cost of the immigration department. (just a guess).

I wouldnt think so either, but Argentina does also charge a "Imigration Tax" of us$10 that is in your airfare ticket taxes, which may cover that 1 minute it takes the imigration officer to stamp my passport.

 

[Greg2231]

Double post

 

[Greg2231]

Do you really think that an ESTA does really cost $14? It used to be a piece of paper that had to be checked (time) by an CBP officer. Now it is an online system which has not much human intervention for each application... The cost went down, the computer systems has to be in place if it is for 1 million applicants or 100 million applicants, and the printed form was not free to print, but at the same time it went from free to $14...?
About the regular visa application;
The person performing the interview is paid the same if the person does 10 applicants or 25 applicants a day. Still the same salary, costs etc... I cannot imagine that the interviewers need to hit a target to be cost effective...

And you tell me that CBP doesn't make any profit on visa's etc? Wake up... They do, but it is something they don't want to admit to...

The ESTA fee is a whole different thing $4 of it goes to CBP to cover costs and $10 goes towards promoting tourism

The interview is just one part, there are things that the applicant doesnt see including pre interview background research that can take place, and one would suspect that someone who is denied may have have had a flag pop up in there application that caused additional time to be spent on that case prior to the interview.

 

[cuore]

If you consider $160 for a 10 year visa for the US as exorbitant, then how the hell are you going to affford a plane ticket and hotels? China charges me the same, and only will grant me a six month or 1 year visa, and I pay it every year without complaint.

Well, if you are lucky (and responsible) you'll have a 10 year visa. The 1st time I did it I had it for 1 year, the second time for 2 years and the 3rd for 10. In fact, I know a Dominican student who was invited to attend a seminar in NYU who only got it for 1 month, and it expired the day after the seminar ended.