Travelers To US To Pay New $250 ‘Visa Integrity Fee’ – What To Know

Authored by Arjun Singh via The Epoch Times,

The United States will begin charging a new “visa integrity fee” when issuing visas to foreign nationals for admission to the country.

The refundable fee was created by a new budget bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, that was signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4. It specifies that a minimum fee of $250 must be charged to all foreigners seeking a nonimmigrant visa to enter the United States. The Secretary of Homeland Security has the authority to increase the fee and it is adjustable for inflation.

The fee will not come into effect immediately. The government will have to initiate a rulemaking process to issue a regulation regarding the fee, which will entail a public comment period per the Administrative Procedure Act, a process that can take more than a year and is subject to legal challenges.

The fee will raise the cost for visiting the United States but may be refunded subject to certain conditions.

More than 10.9 million nonimmigrant visas were issued by the United States in 2024, which means the fee could affect millions of people and generate billions of dollars in revenue.

Who Is Subject to the Fee?

The law specifies that all foreign nationals requesting a nonimmigrant visa must pay the fee. Nonimmigrant visas are a type of visa issued to most foreign nationals who visit the United States for temporary periods; the other type are immigrant visas, which eventually allow foreign nationals to permanently reside in the country.

Business travelers and tourists, who are usually admitted to the United States on B-1/B-2 status, will be required to pay the fee, in addition to the existing non-petition visa fee of $185. The new fee is likely to be payable during the application process—made at a U.S. diplomatic or consular mission abroad—before the visa foil sticker is placed in an applicant’s passport. The statute specifies that the fee must be paid “at the time of … issuance” of the visa, which occurs before travel to the country.

The same process may apply to nonimmigrant workers, who are usually admitted to the United States on a variety of statuses, including H-1B, H-2A, O-1, L-1, P-1, and others, in addition to the existing fee of $205. Likewise, international students who receive an F-1 or M-1 status, or exchange visitors and trainees admitted on J-1 status, will be required to pay the fee.

Just as the principal applicants for these statuses may be charged a fee, so will any dependents who accompany them on dependent statuses, such as H-3, O-3, or L-3. Each person visiting the United States must receive their own visa, which means that each applicant will need to pay the fee.

Who May Be Exempt From the Fee?

Though the fee will be required by almost all nonimmigrants to the United States, there are some notable exemptions. These are either foreigners who normally do not require nonimmigrant visas, or those who are special visitors.

The biggest exemption will be for Canadian citizens, who normally do not require nonimmigrant visas to enter the United States even as they are admitted on various nonimmigrant statuses. Unlike the nationals of all other countries, Canadians may seek admission as nonimmigrant with no visa in their passport—either without any prior approval entirely (in the case of B-1/B-2 visitors), or with USCIS paperwork such as notices of approval of status petitions for H-1B workers, F-1 students, and J-1 physicians, and more.

Additionally, most visitors to the United States from Europe and a few other countries that are part of the Visa Waiver Program will not be required to pay the fee. The Visa Waiver Program is a program that waives the requirement of a B-1/B-2 visa to visit the United States for certain non-Canadian foreign nationals, who may visit the United States for up to 90 days after obtaining an “Electronic System for Travel Authorization” approval of their waiver online, paying a $21 fee to do so.

Citizens of the United Kingdom, most countries in the European Union—except Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Romania—Switzerland, San Marino, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Brunei, Qatar, and Singapore who are eligible for the Visa Waiver Program will be exempt from the fee.

Furthermore, visitors who are admitted for official purposes—such as diplomats and consular officials on A-status, international organization officials on G-status, and NATO military officials on NATO-status—may not be required to pay the fee.

Though the statute specifies that no waivers or reductions are permitted, diplomatic considerations may lead to their personal exemption from the fee. For such visitors, the foreign government or organization that sends them to the United States endorses their presence, meaning they are unlikely to overstay their status in the country and violate U.S. law.

Separately, all immigrants to the United States will be exempt from the fee. Those who receive immigrant visas are authorized to enter the United States to live and work. An immigrant visa is not necessarily a “green card” (or Lawful Permanent Resident status) but all typically lead to a green card.

Fiancées (and their dependents) of U.S. citizens who enter on K-status are may not be charged the fee, even though they receive a K-status nonimmigrant visa. This is because they are considered intending immigrants who will adjust status to permanent residency within the United States, an intention that is normally prohibited when a nonimmigrant seeks admission.

It is unclear whether asylum seekers or refugees will be subject to the fee. These people are considered nonimmigrant, but they do not ordinarily receive visas to enter the United States after being granted lawful status in the country.

When May the Fee Be Refunded?

The law specifies that the Visa Integrity Fee may be refunded under certain conditions. The word “may” indicates that the government is not required to refund the fee, though it is permitted to do so.

Two conditions are outlined for a refund: The first is that the foreigner must have “complied with all conditions of such nonimmigrant visa, including the condition that an alien shall not accept unauthorized employment.”

In order words, they must obey all the laws of the United States while in the country and cannot work for income without approval from USCIS. B-1/B-2 visa holders are prohibited from employment in the United States, while other nonimmigrant may be employed with restrictions.

The second condition is that a foreign national must depart from the United States within five days after their period of admission expires. A “period of admission” is different from the length of validity of a nonimmigrant visa, as some statuses only permit the foreigner to remain in the country for short periods of time—for example, 10-year B-1/B-2 visa holders may only remain in the United States for a maximum of 180 days on any given visit.

Hence, any foreign national who remains for five days after such a period expires will be ineligible for a refund of the fee, which acts as an incentive to leave the U.S. in a timely manner.

However, the law specifies an exemption for certain foreigners who change their nonimmigrant status—for example, F-1 students who receive H-1B status—or who adjust their status to that of permanent residents—such as O-1 workers receiving “green cards”—usually by petition to USCIS. Even though these people may remain in the United States beyond the duration of their admission period, such as when waiting for a petition’s approval, they may receive a refund of the fee.

There is no current timeline on when the fee will come into effect. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told The Epoch Times that “the visa integrity fee requires cross-agency coordination before implementation.”