The United States will require foreign visitors to pay a new „visa integrity fee” of at least $250.
This will be in addition to the existing costs for visa applications, according to a provision in the recently adopted domestic policy bill by the Trump administration, as reported by CNN.
The fee will apply to all visitors who need to obtain non-immigrant visas to enter the United States. This includes many tourists and visitors for business, international students, and other temporary visitors.
Tourists and business travelers from countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program, including Australia and many European countries, are not required to obtain visas for stays of 90 days or less. Romania is currently not included in the Visa Waiver Program.
- US Cancels Romania's Entry into Visa Waiver - Official. Ministry of Foreign Affairs regrets, government wants to know why
- Romania's Ambassador to the US: We had bad luck with Visa Waiver
Payment will be required at the time of visa issuance, and there will be no fee waivers.
Travelers who comply with visa conditions may receive fee refunds after the trip concludes, as stipulated.
In fiscal year 2024, the US issued nearly 11 million non-immigrant visas, according to the Department of State figures.
It is not yet known how the fee will be refunded
Immigration attorney Steven A. Brown, a partner at Reddy Neumann Brown PC in Houston, characterized the fee as a "refundable guarantee" in a recent post about the new policy. The mechanism for obtaining refunds is not currently clear, Brown emphasized.
The Department of Homeland Security, the agency that instituted the new fee, has not yet provided details on the refund process or any other aspects of policy implementation.
"The visa integrity fee requires coordination among agencies before implementation," a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement to CNN.
A Department of State spokesperson stated that the fee was established "to support the administration's priorities of strengthening immigration law enforcement, deterring visa overstays, and funding border security."
Unrefunded fees will be "deposited into the general fund of the Treasury," the bill stipulates.
The initial fee, for fiscal year 2025, is set at $250 or at "the amount determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security by order." The fee is subject to annual adjustments based on inflation.
A Department of State spokesperson stated that details regarding the DHS-implemented change will be published on the State Department's visa information page.
"A giant step backward"
The US Travel Association, a national non-profit organization aiming to increase travel to and within the United States, praised other parts of the domestic policy bill that would invest in customs modernization and air traffic control but deemed the new visa fee as "a giant step backward."
"This fee, which will be at least $250 and added to existing visa fees, creates an unnecessary financial barrier for international visitors," said Erik Hansen, senior vice president of government relations for the association.
According to U.S. Travel calculations, the fee would increase the "initial costs" of visits to the US by 144%. "Even though technically refundable, the complexity and additional costs will discourage visitors," Hansen stated.