What to Know About New U.S. Vacationer Charges

Tourism to the United States has been dropping dramatically since President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office. Turned off by his insurance policies and in some circumstances turned away on the border, would-be international guests are more and more turning their sights to different, extra welcoming locations. And it’s hurting the U.S. economic system.

The U.S. was the one nation amongst 184 analyzed in May that the World Travel & Tourism Council projected to see a decline in customer spending in 2025. While the WTTC estimated a shortfall of $12.5 billion from final 12 months, Forbes suggests that the actual shortfall from 2025 expectations is nearer to $25 billion based mostly on earlier estimates anticipating progress.

New prices levied on guests could solely add one other deterrent.

The Republican Party’s huge tax-and-spending legislative bundle, dubbed the “Big Beautiful Bill,” which Trump signed into regulation on July 4, includes a number of provisions adjusting the charges immigrants and guests should pay to enter the U.S.

The most notable of those for vacationers is a brand new “visa integrity fee” of at the very least $250, to be paid by “any alien issued a nonimmigrant visa at the time of issuance.” According to the invoice’s textual content, the payment can’t be waived or diminished and shall be adjusted in future years for inflation.

A State Department spokesperson tells TIME that the visa integrity payment was enacted by Congress “to support the administration’s priorities of strengthening immigration enforcement, deterring visa overstays, and funding border security.” The spokesperson additionally famous that the Department of Homeland Security is “charged with implementing this fee,” whereas a separate DHS spokesperson mentioned that the payment “requires cross-agency coordination before implementation.”

Who shall be required to pay the visa integrity payment?

Nonimmigrant visa classes embrace vacationers, enterprise vacationers, non permanent employees, college students, and extra. According to State Department data, about 1 million nonimmigrant visas have been issued monthly thus far this 12 months, even with the Trump Administration’s border crackdowns.

Travelers who don’t want a visa to enter the U.S., together with most residents of Canada and Bermuda in addition to nationals of Visa Waiver Program collaborating international locations, won’t have to pay the visa integrity payment.

Will the visa integrity payment be refunded?

According to the invoice’s textual content, the Secretary of Homeland Security “may provide a reimbursement” to the payer of the visa integrity payment after the expiration of the nonimmigrant visa, supplied that the visa holder complied with all its situations and both “has not sought to extend his or her period of admission during such period of validity and departed the United States not later than 5 days after the last day of such period” or “during such period of validity, was granted an extension of such nonimmigrant status or an adjustment to the status of a lawful permanent resident.”

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, nonetheless, noted in a May evaluation of the invoice’s provisions associated to immigration charges that it expects “a small number of people would seek reimbursement.” That’s as a result of, the CBO defined, “many nonimmigrant visas are valid for several years; therefore, a large number of nonimmigrants would not be eligible to seek reimbursement until several years after paying the fee.” Not to say, “the Department of State would need several years to implement a process for providing reimbursements.” 

Steven Brown, a companion at Texas-based immigration regulation agency Reddy Neuman Brown PC, wrote in a July 15 weblog publish that the availability for a compliance-based refund is “a concept not typically seen in immigration fee structures.” The intent, he defined, “is to incentivize compliance with U.S. immigration laws by treating the $250 as a refundable security deposit—essentially rewarding those who follow the rules.”

However, Brown cautioned that “the law leaves several critical details unresolved,” together with who will decide compliance and what documentation shall be required to provoke the refund course of. “It is important to note that the refund is not automatic. The burden will likely fall on the visa holder to prove compliance and affirmatively request the refund through a future process that DHS has yet to define,” he wrote. Until then, potential payers of the visa integrity payment ought to deal with it “as a non-refundable upfront cost and plan accordingly.”

What different charges are charged?

The visa integrity payment comes on high of charges already charged to vacationers to the U.S., together with application processing fees that may be $185 or $205 relying on the nonimmigrant visa class.

Even nationals of Visa Waiver Program collaborating international locations should pay Electronic System for Travel Authorization charges of $21, that are practically doubled by Trump’s invoice to $40.

Trump’s invoice additionally raises the Form I-94 payment—for the arrival-departure document required by Customs and Border Protection—from $6 to $24.

The CBO evaluation estimated that the brand new visa integrity payment and will increase of the ESTA and Form I-94 charges would collectively lower the deficit by greater than $40 billion over the subsequent 10 years. Trump’s general invoice, nonetheless, has been estimated so as to add greater than $4 trillion to the deficit over the identical time interval.

The U.S. Travel Association, a nonprofit that represents and advocates for the nationwide journey trade, provided a combined response to the invoice earlier this month.

“This legislation is a giant step in the right direction when it comes to improving America’s travel infrastructure and security,” USTA president and CEO Geoff Freeman said in a statement, pointing to investments in air-traffic management modernization, elevated customs staffing, biometric entry-exit expertise, and planning for main occasions such because the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.