What you need to know about a new travel fee to get into the USA

Visitors to the United States have to pay a “visa integrity fee”, according to the recently issued act of the Trump government a large, beautiful bill.

The fee applies to all visitors who have to occur without immigration visa and are not dispensed with.

However, travelers can also be able to receive the fees in accordance with the provision.

Details on the new requirements are scarce, which has led to “considerable challenges and unanswered questions about implementation”, a spokesman for the US Travel Association told CNBC Travel.

However, what is known so far is here.

How much does the fee cost?

The fee is at least 250 US dollars in the U.S. 2025 financial year, which takes place from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025. However, the secretary of the home protection is free to set the fee higher after determination.

The visa integrity fee for inflation is then adjusted.

Who has to pay the new fee?

The “Visa Integrity Fee” applies to all visitors who do not need immigrants -Visa to which tourists, business travelers and international students belong.

When will the fee be paid?

The fee is paid for when the visa is issued in accordance with the provision. Therefore, visitors whose visa inquiries are rejected are not charged.

Does the fee replace other visa fees?

No, in the determination it says that the new fee is “in addition to other fees, including regular visa fees.

“For example, an H-1B worker who already pays an application fee of USD 205 can now expect this fee to pay a total of $ 455,” wrote Steven A. Brown, partner of the immigration law firm Reddy Neumann Brown PC based in Houston, in a post on the website of his company.

In addition, the fee must be paid via a “Form I-94 fee”, which has been increased from 6 to $ 24. This fee must be paid for by everyone who has to submit a form I-94 INCHOUSE and DEPALLE RECEDURE, which applies to most travelers.

How can travelers get refunded?

In order to get their money back, the visa holders must comply with the conditions of the visa to which “are not accepted[ing] Unauthorized employment, “and not exceeded by the Visa's interest date by more than five days after the provision.

Refunds will be made after the travel visa has expired.

According to Brown, the fee has not yet been implemented.

It is not clear when it will start.

“I think it would require a regulation or at least a message in the Federal Register in relation to the implementation for the collection,” said Brown.

It is also unclear how travelers pay the fee, the US Travel Association told CNBC.

“The draft law instructs the DHS secretary to charge the fee, but DHS does not have the visa application, the output or the extension process – where and when would DHS collect the fee?” The spokesman said.

In response to the inquiries from CNBC, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security said: “The visa integrity fee requires coordination by the cross agency before implementation.”

Further questions surround how and when the reimbursement process will go.

Since many visas are valid for several years, the US Budget Office of the US Congress expects “a small number of people would obtain a reimbursement”.

In addition, CBO “expects the Foreign Ministry to take several years to carry out a process to provide reimbursements. On this basis, CBO estimates that issued the provision would increase and reduce the deficit by $ 2825 to 2034 by $ 28.9 billion.”

Brown said he advised the customer to treat the fee as not reimbursable.

“If you get it back, great. But it is usually difficult to get money back from the government,” he said. “I would rather consider it a 'bonus' if you get the refund.”

“President Trumps A large, beautiful bill offers the necessary guidelines and resources to restore integrity in the immigration system of our country,” said a spokesman for the Ministry of Homeland Protection to CNBC.

The data show that most visa holders meet their visa terms. In the financial years between 2016 and 2022, between 1% and 2% of non-immigrant visitors survived their visa in the USA, according to the US Congress Research Service.

An estimated 42% of the approximately 11 million unauthorized population population lived in the United States, however, joined the country legally, but have exceeded their admission period, as the data show.

Brown said the visa integrity fee will probably have an impact on BVISA owners or leisure and business travelers and international students more than other types of travelers.

“You may not want to add an additional 250 US dollar per person to your excursion costs for B -Visa owners,” he said.

The new fee plus the I-94 fee takes place because the United States is preparing to organize several important events in 2026, including the “America 250” celebration in honor of the 250th anniversary of the country and parts of the FIFA World Championship.

These hurdles are reinforced by problems at Brand USA, the target marketing organization that promotes incoming trips to the United States, whereby the One Big Beautiful Bill Act decreased from $ 100 million to $ 20 million.

The cuts came after the US trade department released almost half of the board members of Brand USA in April.

In an explanation, Fred Dixon said that the organization president and CEO that it was “disappointed” by the cuts, but confident that the funds for the 2026 financial year will be restored.

“We continue to concentrate on the cultivation of legitimate international inbound trips and the most important thrust that the US economy offers,” he said.

Before the adoption of a great beautiful bill, the President and CEO of the US Travel Association, Geoff Freeman, praised the contributions to the law on the US infrastructure, air traffic control and border security.

But he added: “The intelligent investments in the travel process make stupid new fees for foreign visitors and reductions for Brand USA, America's advertising arm to swallow so much more difficult.”

– Kaela Ling from CNBC contributed to this report.

Update: This story has been updated to reflect Brand USA's comments on the financing cuts for your organization.