New $250 ‘visa integrity fee' to raise costs for visiting USA
The new levy was imposed under a provision of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), a domestic policy bill, which has recently been enacted by the Trump administration. The bill is expected to affect hundreds and thousands of visitors, as the fee applies to nearly all nonimmigrant visa categories, CNN reported.
Those visiting as tourists and for business purpose, international students and others visiting temporarily will have to pay this fees. As per the State Department data, the US issued around 11 million nonimmigrant visas last year.
Tourists and businessmen belonging to various European countries and Australia as well as other such countries which part of the Visa Waiver Program will not require to obtain visas for stays up to 90 days.
They will be required to pay while applying for the visas, with no fee waivers offered. As per the bill's provision, fees could be refunded to the travelers who comply with their visa conditions upon completion of their visit.
In a recent post regarding the new policy, immigration lawyer Steven A. Brown, a partner at Houston-based Reddy Neumann Brown PC, described the fee as a 'refundable security deposit.' Brown said that the process for getting a refund is still not clear though.
In an email to CNN, Brown said in terms of the purpose of the fee, 'it's hard to say.'
'Generally, immigration fees are to cover the expense of adjudication or issuance,' but he stated that the refund provision could mean reimbursing all of the fees submitted. 'In a perfect world, there would be no overstays or visa violations.'
Quoting Brown as saying CNBC reported that the fee has not been implemented as yet.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the agency establishing the new fee, believes it will reduce overstays by travellers, Forbes reported.
The DHS has so far not specified about the refund process or any other aspects of the policy's rollout.
'The visa integrity fee requires cross-agency coordination before implementation,' a DHS official told CNN.
A State Department spokesperson said the levy was imposed 'to support the administration's priorities of strengthening immigration enforcement, deterring visa overstays, and funding border security.'
The provision in the bill says fees that aren't reimbursed will be 'deposited into the general fund of the Treasury'.
Meanwhile, the US Travel Association has raised concerns about the potential negative impact on tourism, especially with upcoming international events. The association called the fee 'a giant leap backwards.'
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