In the coming weeks, the United States is adding a new $250 “visa integrity fee” for visitors who require visas. We first learned about this several weeks back, as it was buried in President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill Act,” but we now have more details of the implementation.
In this post:
Millions of US visitors face hefty “visa integrity fee”
As of October 1, 2025, the United States will introduce a new $250 “visa integrity fee,” which is supposed to apply to all visitors who come to the United States on non-immigrant visas, so that includes tourists, international students, and business travelers. In 2023, the United States issued more than 10 million of these visas, just for context.
Let me emphasize that this is specifically for those visiting on visas, so those coming from visa waiver countries wouldn’t have to pay this. This would apply to those requesting tourist visas from countries like Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Mexico, etc.
This new “visa integrity fee” is in addition to all the other types of fees that already exist when applying for visas. With this, the total cost of applying for a visa will be $424, among the highest in the world.
So, what is this new “visa integrity fee?” The idea is that the fee is essentially a “deposit,” of sorts, to make sure you behave while you’re in the United States. Visa holders who are subject to the fee may later be reimbursed, as long as they comply with their visa’s restrictions, like leaving the United States before the visa expires, and not working without authorization.
The United States hasn’t yet finalized how travelers will be refunded. Furthermore, keep in mind that some visas are valid for up to 10 years (and multiple entries), and travelers wouldn’t be eligible for a refund until their visa expires.
The United States is also raising the Form I-94 fee from $6 to $24, and adding a new $100 fee for asylum seekers. My goodness, the United States sure is turning into an ultra low cost carrier!
What impact will this fee have on tourism to the US?
Essentially, the United States will be holding a $250 deposit from roughly 10 million visitors annually. If the goal is to make sure people follow the rules while in the United States (which I can understand), then it doesn’t seem like potentially paying a $250 penalty will be a sufficient deterrent to not violate the rules. Like, that’s less than the fee you could face if your car is towed.
If someone wants to overstay their visa or work while in the United States, I don’t think the $250 fee will do much to impact their behavior. Is the intent here simply to try to deter non-rich tourists from visiting?
That says nothing of the logistics of this. So far, the United States has explained how the fee will be collected, but hasn’t yet published how the fee will be refunded, for those who don’t violate any rules. That’s obviously a major question, and I can’t imagine that handling refunds for 10 million people per year is going to be a terribly seamless process.
This new fee comes amid a larger tourism slump in the United States. Initially, 2025 was supposed to be the year where the United States broke its pre-pandemic record of 79.4 million inbound visitors. However, that’s not how the situation has played out.
For example, in July 2025, we saw a 3.1% decrease in year-over-year visitors, making it the fifth month of the year where we saw a decline in visitors. The World Travel & Tourism Council has projected that international visitor spending in the United States will fall to $169 billion this year, down from $181 billion last year.
This new “visa integrity fee” is expected to hit countries from Central and South America the hardest, which have actually been countries where we’ve seen an increase in tourism year-over-year. For example, visits from Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, have all been up considerably this year, but I suspect these new fees may act as a deterrent.
Bottom line
As of October 2025, the United States is adding a new $250 “visa integrity fee” for foreign visitors who require a visa for the United States. The intent is that if you follow all the rules in the country, you’ll get a refund when your visa expires (some are valid for up to a decade). While we now have all the details of how this is being implemented, we don’t yet know how the refund process will work.
Tourism in the United States is already declining considerably, with a year-over-year reduction in spending of over $10 billion. I imagine that this new fee will put even more of a damper on tourism to the United States, especially from countries that actually have seen tourism growth in recent times.
What do you make of this new “visa integrity fee?”
This is a good policy, if you cannot afford it then you shouldn’t really be coming anyway. Simple.
To my very special new friend Jack. Please be aware that trolling new members, etc, is certainly not cricket Jack. Doing so puts you into the same box as other bullying trolls like Eskimo, Plain Jane, etc, etc. By continuing with the practice will undoubtedly bring your trolling posts to the attention of the troll-baiter. Thereafter, you may not be so willing to be rude, crude and repulsive to others.
Americans, get ready to start paying a whole lot of recipcrocal visa integrity fees.
US citizens who are adversely affected as a result of this have a choice: vote. Then, there is already approved hurricane relief from 2024 that FEMA now won't release -- vote. Then, there are the cuts at the National Weather Service, Storm Warning Center, National Hurricane Center -- vote. Then, Medicare treatment now requires pre-authorization and decisions are outsourced to a private company -- vote. (Who got that contract?) Etc., etc.
What is your favourite response Jack …. “Looser”?
How much will this program cost to implement in the end? The accountability and refunding seems to be missing here. Much like everything else this administration has done.
I’m a German citizen and planning to apply for a B1/B2 visa since I might need to fly with a carrier that isn’t part of the Visa Waiver program. While searching for detailed guides, I also landed on nba2k20-apk.com by mistake — does anyone know if sites like that can actually provide reliable travel or visa information, or should I only rely on official embassy sources?
This comment is spam. It's a ploy to get people to a game site.
I’ll play the game Jack and remind you of your common or garden usual one word comment …. “Looser”, yes?
I am a German citizen and need a B1/B2 to fly to the US on carriers that do not participate in the Visa Waiver program (e.g private jets).
Do I need to pay the integrity fee as well or are codes from visa waiver countries excluded?
Yes. If you're flying on private jets, are you truly concerned about the fee?
Your comment is sounding as if you are envious of Hej, is that right Jack, the “Looser”!
Latin America has been a bright spot in the otherwise down-in-in-the-dumps tourism sector. This dumb move is going to change that.
Considering there is an exchange rate, one would think twice as that would be a big add on to the already existing fees. This is just a deterrent for ppl to come especially as it's targeting lower earnings countries who just happen to be brown and not white. FIFA and the IOC should take away their hosting rights for the soccer world cup and Olympics
America is a disgrace.
Not as much of a disgrace as your country, for sure. I have no qualms with you calling the current administration as a disgrace, though.
Bullshit. The US IS a disgrace compared to the vast majority of countries out there nowadays
As Ben pointed out, this is going to significantly hurt tourism from Latin America, where upper middle class families often go to Florida for shopping and sightseeing. $250 per person is too much for a family of four, and is more than enough to sway them to visit Europe where they don’t require a visa.
On the other hand, no state is more deserving of a slump in tourism than Florida…
I thought that taxing the rich was a moral obligation?
Andrew, on the right side of the pond, taxing the working and retired population is certainly a priority with the loony, leftist Labour government we currently suffer under. Many who can afford to do so have escaped already, many more are planning to follow in due course.
As far as the U.S. tourist industry is concerned, with the advent of the proposed Tourist Visa Tax, Walt Disney and his colleagues, will not be attracting as many visitors to Orlando in future.
Not really. That is not how the tourist from Latin America mostly behave (at least from Brazil, where I come from). The extra 250 will increase a little bit the cost, but not so much. To travel to USA you are already talking about trips with high budgets (it is pretty expensive here already) and this 250 which will not make a big difference.
Now the added complexity for the visa (interviews are back...
Not really. That is not how the tourist from Latin America mostly behave (at least from Brazil, where I come from). The extra 250 will increase a little bit the cost, but not so much. To travel to USA you are already talking about trips with high budgets (it is pretty expensive here already) and this 250 which will not make a big difference.
Now the added complexity for the visa (interviews are back to be mandatory how they historically where until a couple of years ago), this will discourage some people. In Brazil (and I assume in Latin America), people are used to bureaucracy and paying for everything (It is not so cheap to travel there too), so don’t overestimate the impact of this.
On the other hand, this also should not have impact in discouraging people to overstay their visas, which is the goal, so not a great idea
MAGA are the dumbest people in the developed world, and maybe in the entire world. America was well on its way to becoming third-world before Trump, but he will get it the rest of the way there.
True that.
hear! hear!