A good friend applied for his visa a few days ago. So it seems the new express lane fees are not as it seems. If you dont want to pay them you submit your passport etc then come back in 3 days to pay then after a few more days you can collect your passport. If you decide to pay the express lane fees your passport will be ready a few hrs later. Curruption at its best.
I guess I have another way of looking at it: If you are late in applying for your visa and need it right away, you pay more. If you plan ahead, you can wait and don’t need to pay the fee. Many things operate this way. One can save money with proper planning when the world doesn’t have to stop turning for them. Fortunately there is a way to recover if one does fail to plan. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I prefer it being optional as well. If everyone is forcibly charged an Express lane fee and there is no actual express lane then it really isn't an Express lane at all, it's just what it f'n costs to renew your visa. I think they should have an even more expensive express lane fee that puts you at the front of every person in line and gets the entire process done in less than 15 minutes.
That's fantastic. Those who are in a hurry can pay more to get immediate service and those who can afford to wait will pay less. It does not get any better than that. Where does the opening poster find corruption in that?
I guess it depends on the view you take. One could argue the "regular service" should be "ready while you wait" or at least "same day" (like was the case when everyone paid the express lane fee, which proves that making people wait for days is unnecessary) and come to the conclusion that asking for extra payment to get it done within a few hours is not how it should be. Others might argue like some did above. I do agree that if there is to be an express lane fee, better to have it mean something.