Federal · Title 22 — Foreign Relations and Intercourse

22 U.S.C. § 4209: Exaction of excessive fees generally; penalty of treble amount

Civil

What this law says, in plain English

Consular officers who collect excessive fees must refund the amount and pay the person three times the overcharge as a penalty, recoverable in court or deducted from the officer's compensation.

Read the full statutory text

Whenever any consular officer collects, or knowingly allows to be collected for any service, any other or greater fees than are allowed by law for such service, he shall, besides his liability to refund the same, be liable to pay to the person by whom or in whose behalf the same are paid, treble the amount of the unlawful charge so collected, as a penalty, to be recovered with costs, in any proper form of action, by such person for his own use. And in any such case the Secretary of the Treasury may retain, out of the compensation of such officer, the amount of such overcharge and of such penalty, and charge the same to such officer in account, and may thereupon refund such unlawful charge, and pay such penalty to the person entitled to the same if he shall think proper so to do.

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This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.