Hoping to Visit the U.S.? It Might Cost You an Extra $250.
The fee, which may be refundable, will apply to nonimmigrant visa categories, including foreign tourists, business travelers and students. It will not apply to most visitors from Canada or to visitors covered by the United States' visa-waiver program, which includes much of Europe and a handful of countries in the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere.
The tourism industry is bracing for the impact of the new fee. Even tourism leaders who supported the bill's aims to shore up U.S. immigration rules balked at the fees as an unnecessary impediment to international travel. Concerns have also proliferated among international soccer fans in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Here's what to know about the new fee.
Who will have to pay the $250 fee?
The charge, called a 'visa integrity fee,' will apply to any foreign national who requires a nonimmigrant visa to enter the United States. That includes business visitors, vacationers, temporary workers, students and medical tourists, among other categories. The $250 fee will be levied in addition to the $185 cost of the nonimmigrant visa itself.
Some 11 million visitors were issued nonimmigrant visas in 2024, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of State.
Visitors from countries that participate in the visa-waiver program, which includes most of Europe, as well as Australia, Chile, Israel, Japan, Qatar, South Korea and the United Kingdom, among other countries, will not be subject to the fee. Most Canadian visitors will also be unaffected.
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