Traveling To The U.S.? New ‘Visa Integrity Fee’ Will Value $250, And Up To $15,000 With Bonds

An image taken October 2, 2019 reveals an unidentified Chinese Uighur man within the metropolis of Medinah holding his expired Chinese passport (purple) and a one-way journey doc (blue) issued as a replacement by the Chinese mission in Saudi Arabia. (Photo by – / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP by way of Getty Images)

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How a lot is a go to to America price to you?

Well, it will depend on who you might be and the place you might be touring from.

On August 20, 2025, the US State Department launched a one-year Visa Bond Pilot Program, requiring sure candidates for B-1/B-2 customer visas to publish a bond of $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000. While the bond is refundable, the objective is to evaluate and observe the effectiveness in deterring overstays.

Beginning October 1, 2025, a lately enacted home coverage, which requires a “visa integrity fee,” is predicted to extend the price of getting into the US for many non-immigrant visas. The price ticket of $250 will have an effect on lots of the seventy-two million guests who enter the US every year, though some international locations will likely be eligible for the Visa Waiver Program.

While each of those adjustments will probably create a little bit of uncertainty and concern throughout the worldwide tourism trade, the United States is following different international locations, comparable to the UK, which have lately enacted new charges to enter.

When officers start gathering the charges, the cash will go to the US Treasury Department’s basic fund.

A Balancing Act

When it involves charging extra charges, the transfer highlights the balancing act going down: pursuing immigration enforcement whereas sustaining the nation’s place as a premier world vacation spot for vacationers, enterprise guests, college students, and momentary staff.

With the US set to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside Canada and Mexico, trade leaders fear that larger prices and added forms may deter followers, college students, and vacationers alike from making the journey, merely pushing guests — and their {dollars} — elsewhere.

The US Travel Association referred to as the charge a “giant leap backwards” that might discourage tens of millions of potential guests from coming.

“This fee, which will be at least $250 and comes on top of existing visa fees, adds an unnecessary financial barrier for international visitors,” mentioned Erik Hansen, SVP of presidency relations on the affiliation. Pushing the upfront price of visiting the US as much as 144% below the brand new guidelines.

The Trump administration has defended the charge as a part of a broader technique to strengthen immigration enforcement. A State Department spokesperson mentioned the coverage helps priorities of “deterring visa overstays, funding border security, and strengthening immigration enforcement.” Officials argue that this ensures the US advantages financially from guests who fail to comply with visa guidelines, and the visa, as soon as obtained, is legitimate for a number of years. These charges have been all a part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act handed earlier this 12 months.

A New Layer of Costs: How It Will Work

The new charge applies to all vacationers who require a nonimmigrant visa to enter the United States from international locations not lined by the Visa Waiver Program. For these vacationers, the $250 integrity charge cost is along with the usual $185 visa processing charge.
Visitors from international locations within the Visa Waiver Program — which incorporates many European international locations, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Israel, and others — will proceed to be exempt. However, required for entry below the Waiver program, guests should pay the price of the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), which will likely be elevated from $21 to no less than $40.

Beyond the integrity charge, different will increase will likely be levied on these driving throughout the borders. The I-94 entry/exit file charge will likely be rising by 400% going from $6 to $24. All of those charges are primarily based on 2025 pricing and will likely be topic to annual inflation changes.

Bonds Acting As A Refundable Security Deposit?

Meanwhile, some guests could face even steeper up-front prices, though they may very well be eligible to get the cash again. In a separate State Department pilot program, the Visa Bond Pilot program, visa bonds of as much as $15,000 will have to be paidbefore entry into the United States for particular classes of vacationers thought of larger danger.

Suppose vacationers adjust to the phrases of their visa and depart the nation on time with out overstaying. In that case, they could be eligible for reimbursement, giving this charge a novel twist, performing nearly as a refundable safety deposit.

The charge will likely be administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has not detailed how vacationers will request refunds, how lengthy the method will take, or how disputes will likely be resolved. A DHS spokesperson acknowledged that “cross-agency coordination” is required earlier than implementation, and a rulemaking course of by means of the Federal Register is probably going.

Until then, some vacationers from international locations comparable to Malawi and Zambia face an uncommon paradox: paying a hefty charge up entrance with no assure of a straightforward refund.

It’s estimated that the brand new $250 visa integrity charge will usher in round $27 billion over a decade, or $2.7 billion per 12 months, in accordance with The Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Money that may very well be used to cut back the nationwide debt.

Oxford Economics, estimated that the $250-per-person charge may deter almost 1 million fewer visits yearly, finally costing the US financial system $11 billion over three years, in misplaced customer spending and misplaced tax income. That misplaced income may set off the lack of 15,000 US journey jobs.