US Visa to add $250 Integrity Fee: What it is, who all it will impact and what will be the cost of the total US visa after this

The United States is reportedly introducing a brand new $250 “Visa Integrity Fee” relevant to nearly all non-immigrant Visa classes. The transfer is predicted to considerably improve the cost of journey and work for Indian nationals, and probably impact know-how corporations reliant on H-1B visas. The new charge, half of the not too long ago signed Omnibus Act (dubbed “Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill”), took impact on July 4th, with broad implications for vacationers, college students, and professionals.The “Visa Integrity Fee” is alleged to be designed as a safety deposit and is refundable underneath particular situations, primarily if Visa holders depart the US inside 5 days of their Visa expiration with out looking for an extension or change in standing. The charge can also be topic to annual changes for inflation. Exemptions apply solely to diplomatic visa classes (A and G).

How a lot will be the total US Visa charge together with $250 Integrity Fee

For Indian nationals, the new levy is projected to increase the common vacationer visa charge by 2.5 instances, pushing it to roughly Rs 40,000 ($472) beginning in 2026. This revised cost incorporates the new $250 Integrity Fee, a $24 I-94 charge, and a $13 ESTA charge, in accordance to a report in Economic Times, quoting the US-based immigration companies agency Fragomen.The know-how sector, each in India and the US, which closely makes use of work visas to deliver engineering expertise to the United States, is probably going to be significantly impacted by the improve in the US Visa charge. Experts advise aspiring candidates to think about the elevated working capital prices related to the revised visa processing. He additionally advisable scheduling visa appointments earlier than 2026 to keep away from the new levy.

Explained: What does the US ‘Visa Integrity Fee’ imply for you

The newly launched $250 US ‘Visa Integrity Fee’ is basically a safety deposit that almost all non-immigrant visa candidates will now have to pay as well as to their common visa utility charges. This consists of people making use of for vacationer, enterprise, scholar, work, and change visas. The acknowledged goal of this charge is to encourage compliance with visa phrases and situations. While the charge is refundable, it requires the visa holder to depart the US inside 5 days of their visa expiring with out looking for extensions or adjustments to their standing. For short-term guests like vacationers, this would possibly be simple. However, for college kids or professionals on multi-year visas, their cash might be held by the US authorities for a big length, impacting their monetary planning. The US visa charge can also be set to improve yearly with inflation. This measure is predicted to make US visas significantly dearer, significantly for Indian nationals, probably influencing choices to journey, examine, or work in the United States.