U.S. Introduces New 'Visa Integrity Fee' for All Foreign Visitors Starting 2025
The fee, which is in addition to existing visa costs, is aimed at promoting compliance with U.S. immigration rules. However, travelers may be eligible for reimbursement under certain conditions.
Who Must Pay the U.S. Visa Integrity Fee?
The fee applies to all nonimmigrant visa categories, including:
Tourists (B-1/B-2)
Business travelers
International students (F-1, M-1, etc.)
The visa integrity fee will be paid only if a visa is approved. If a visa application is denied, the fee will not be charged.
Does the Fee Replace Other Visa Costs?
No. The new fee is in addition to existing visa application fees, such as the $205 for an H-1B application. It also adds to the Form I-94 fee, which was recently raised from $6 to $24.
Travelers should prepare to pay significantly more when applying for U.S. visas after the new rule takes effect.
Is the Fee Refundable?
Technically, yes — but only if visa holders comply with all conditions:
Do not accept unauthorized employment
Do not overstay the visa by more than 5 days
Reimbursement will occur after the visa expires, but no system has been announced yet to manage this process. Legal experts are advising travelers to treat the fee as nonrefundable, given the uncertainty.
When Will the Fee Be Implemented?
No specific date has been set. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has stated that inter-agency coordination is required before launching the new fee. It's unclear how or where the DHS will collect it, since the State Department handles the visa issuance process.
Impact on International Travel
Immigration experts warn that the U.S. visa integrity fee could deter tourists and students due to higher travel costs. It also comes as the U.S. prepares to host major events in 2026 — including its 250th independence anniversary and part of the FIFA World Cup.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the policy will generate $28.9 billion in revenue and help reduce visa overstays — a long-standing issue in U.S. immigration enforcement.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Cedar News
15 hours ago
- Cedar News
U.S. Introduces New 'Visa Integrity Fee' for All Foreign Visitors Starting 2025
A new law passed under the Trump administration's One Big Beautiful Bill Act will require all foreign visitors to the United States who need nonimmigrant visas to pay a 'U.S. visa integrity fee' starting in fiscal year 2025. The new charge will be a minimum of $250 and cannot be waived, according to the legislation. The fee, which is in addition to existing visa costs, is aimed at promoting compliance with U.S. immigration rules. However, travelers may be eligible for reimbursement under certain conditions. Who Must Pay the U.S. Visa Integrity Fee? The fee applies to all nonimmigrant visa categories, including: Tourists (B-1/B-2) Business travelers International students (F-1, M-1, etc.) The visa integrity fee will be paid only if a visa is approved. If a visa application is denied, the fee will not be charged. Does the Fee Replace Other Visa Costs? No. The new fee is in addition to existing visa application fees, such as the $205 for an H-1B application. It also adds to the Form I-94 fee, which was recently raised from $6 to $24. Travelers should prepare to pay significantly more when applying for U.S. visas after the new rule takes effect. Is the Fee Refundable? Technically, yes — but only if visa holders comply with all conditions: Do not accept unauthorized employment Do not overstay the visa by more than 5 days Reimbursement will occur after the visa expires, but no system has been announced yet to manage this process. Legal experts are advising travelers to treat the fee as nonrefundable, given the uncertainty. When Will the Fee Be Implemented? No specific date has been set. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has stated that inter-agency coordination is required before launching the new fee. It's unclear how or where the DHS will collect it, since the State Department handles the visa issuance process. Impact on International Travel Immigration experts warn that the U.S. visa integrity fee could deter tourists and students due to higher travel costs. It also comes as the U.S. prepares to host major events in 2026 — including its 250th independence anniversary and part of the FIFA World Cup. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the policy will generate $28.9 billion in revenue and help reduce visa overstays — a long-standing issue in U.S. immigration enforcement.
Nahar Net
2 days ago
- Nahar Net
Congress approves Trump's $9 billion cut to public broadcasting and foreign aid
The House gave final approval to President Donald Trump's request to claw back about $9 billion for public broadcasting and foreign aid early Friday as Republicans intensified their efforts to target institutions and programs they view as bloated or out of step with their agenda. The vote marked the first time in decades that a president has successfully submitted such a rescissions request to Congress, and the White House suggested it won't be the last. Some Republicans were uncomfortable with the cuts, yet supported them anyway, wary of crossing Trump or upsetting his agenda. The House passed the bill by a vote of 216-213. It now goes to Trump for his signature. "We need to get back to fiscal sanity and this is an important step," said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. Opponents voiced concerns not only about the programs targeted, but about Congress ceding its spending powers to the executive branch as investments approved on a bipartisan basis were being subsequently canceled on party-line votes. They said previous rescission efforts had at least some bipartisan buy-in and described the Republican package as unprecedented. No Democrats supported the measure when it passed the Senate, 51-48, in the early morning hours Thursday. Final passage in the House was delayed for several hours as Republicans wrestled with their response to Democrats' push for a vote on the release of Jeffrey Epstein files. The package cancels about $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and nearly $8 billion for a variety of foreign aid programs, many designed to help countries where drought, disease and political unrest endure. The effort to claw back a sliver of federal spending came just weeks after Republicans also muscled through Trump's tax and spending cut bill without any Democratic support. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that measure will increase the U.S. debt by about $3.3 trillion over the coming decade. "No one is buying the the notion that Republicans are actually trying to improve wasteful spending," said Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries. A heavy blow to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting The cancellation of $1.1 billion for the CPB represents the full amount it is due to receive during the next two budget years. The White House says the public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary expense. The corporation distributes more than two-thirds of the money to more than 1,500 locally operated public television and radio stations, with much of the remainder assigned to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service to support national programming. Democrats were unsuccessful in restoring the funding in the Senate. Lawmakers with large rural constituencies voiced particular concern about what the cuts to public broadcasting could mean for some local public stations in their state. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said the stations are "not just your news — it is your tsunami alert, it is your landslide alert, it is your volcano alert." As the Senate debated the bill Tuesday, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the remote Alaska Peninsula, triggering tsunami warnings on local public broadcasting stations that advised people to get to higher ground. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said he secured a deal from the White House that some money administered by the Interior Department would be repurposed to subsidize Native American public radio stations in about a dozen states. But Kate Riley, president and CEO of America's Public Television Stations, a network of locally owned and operated stations, said that deal was "at best a short-term, half-measure that will still result in cuts and reduced service at the stations it purports to save." Inside the cuts to foreign aid Among the foreign aid cuts are $800 million for a program that provides emergency shelter, water and family reunification for refugees and $496 million to provide food, water and health care for countries hit by natural disasters and conflicts. There also is a $4.15 billion cut for programs that aim to boost economies and democratic institutions in developing nations. Democrats argued that the Republican administration's animus toward foreign aid programs would hurt America's standing in the world and create a vacuum for China to fill. "This is not an America first bill. It's a China first bill because of the void that's being created all across the world," Jeffries said. The White House argued that many of the cuts would incentivize other nations to step up and do more to respond to humanitarian crises and that the rescissions best served the American taxpayer. "The money that we're clawing back in this rescissions package is the people's money. We ought not to forget that," said Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., chair of the House Rules Committee. After objections from several Republicans, Senate GOP leaders took out a $400 million cut to PEPFAR, a politically popular program to combat HIV/AIDS that is credited with saving millions of lives since its creation under Republican President George W. Bush. Looking ahead to future spending fights Democrats say the bill upends a legislative process that typically requires lawmakers from both parties to work together to fund the nation's priorities. Triggered by the official rescissions request from the White House, the legislation only needed a simple majority vote to advance in the Senate instead of the 60 votes usually required to break a filibuster. That meant Republicans could use their 53-47 majority to pass it along party lines. Two Republican senators, Murkowski and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, joined with Democrats in voting against the bill, though a few other Republicans also raised concerns about the process. "Let's not make a habit of this," said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker of Mississippi, who voted for the bill but said he was wary that the White House wasn't providing enough information on what exactly will be cut. Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said the imminent successful passage of the rescissions shows "enthusiasm" for getting the nation's fiscal situation under control. "We're happy to go to great lengths to get this thing done," he said during a breakfast with reporters hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. In response to questions about the relatively small size of the cuts -- $9 billion -- Vought said that was because "I knew it would be hard" to pass in Congress. Vought said another rescissions package is 'likely to come soon."
Nahar Net
2 days ago
- Nahar Net
Wall Street drifts near records as it heads for the finish of a winning week
by Naharnet Newsdesk 18 July 2025, 17:07 Wall Street is drifting on Friday toward the finish of its third winning week in the last four, as more big U.S. companies deliver stronger profits for the spring than analysts expected. The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in early trading after setting its all-time high the day before. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 25 points, or 0.1%, as of 9:35 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was up 0.4% after coming off its own record. Norfolk Southern chugged 2.6% higher after an AP source said it's talking with Union Pacific about a merger to create the largest railroad in North America, one that would connect the East and West coasts. Any such deal, though, would likely face tough scrutiny from U.S. regulators. Union Pacific's stock slipped 0.5%. Netflix, meanwhile, fell 4.7% despite reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than Wall Street expected. Analysts said it's not a surprise the stock was sluggish after it had already soared 43% for the year so far, coming into the day. That's six times more than the gain for the S&P 500. Chevron climbed 1.3% after saying it had completed its acquisition of Hess. The buyout got its go-ahead following a favorable arbitration ruling in Paris about some of Hess' assets off Guyana's coast. Stronger-than-expected profit reports for the spring also helped several stocks to rally. Charles Schwab climbed 4.4%, and Comerica rose 2.3%. In the bond market, Treasury yields eased ahead of a report coming Friday morning about how U.S. consumers are feeling about the economy and about inflation. The yield on the 10-year Treasury sank to 4.42% from 4.47% late Thursday. The two-year Treasury yield, which more closely tracks expectations for what the Federal Reserve will do with its short-term rates, also dropped. It fell to 3.86% from 3.91%. A top Fed official, Gov. Chris Waller, said late Thursday that the Fed should cut its overnight interest rate as soon as its next meeting in a couple weeks. That follows sharp criticism from President Donald Trump, who has been castigating the Fed for holding interest rates steady this year instead of cutting them, as it did late last year. Lower rates could give the economy a boost, and Trump has also implied they could help the U.S. government save money on its debt payments, though that's uncertain. The interest rates Washington has to pay on its longer-term debt can depend more on what bond investors think than on what the Fed does, and they can even move in opposite directions. The chair of the Fed, meanwhile, has been insisting that he wants to see more data about how Trump's tariffs will affect the economy and inflation before the Fed makes its next move. The downside of lower interest rates is that they can give inflation more fuel, and prices may already be starting to feel the upward effects of tariffs. Traders on Wall Street still think it's more likely that the Fed will resume cutting interest rates in September, rather than later this month, according to data from CME Group. In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia. Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.4%, but Tokyo's Nikkei 225 slipped 0.2% ahead of an election for the upper house of parliament on Sunday that could wipe out the ruling coalition's upper house majority.
