U.S. to raise visa application fees to $131

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will raise application fees for non-immigrant visas to $131 from the current $100 starting on January 1, the State Department said on Thursday.

The fee hike helps cover the costs of security changes and other modifications to the visa application process, the department said in a statement.

The new fee applies to visas inserted in passports and to border crossing cards issued to certain categories of visitors from Mexico, the statement said.

(Reporting by Paul Eckert; Editing by Xavier Briand)