Another blow to India from Trump: US visa will be 2.5 times more expensive, 'Visa Integrity Fee' will be a huge burden on the pocket

Under US President Donald Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill', a new $250 Visa Integrity Fee will be applicable on US visas from 2026. Indian students, tourists and professionals will now have to pay more than ₹40,000.

US Visa Integrity Fee: US President Donald Trump signed 'One Big Beautiful Bill' on 4 July 2025, under which getting a visa for America will now become more expensive than ever. Through this new law, a fee called 'Visa Integrity Fee' has been added, which will directly affect Indian students, tourists and professionals.

What is Visa Integrity Fee?

This is a new non-refundable charge of $250 (approximately ₹21,400) which will be applicable from 2026. This fee will be charged in addition to the existing visa charges. It will be revised every year based on the CPI (Consumer Price Index).

On which visa categories will this fee be applicable?

This fee will be applicable on almost all non-immigrant visas. It is applicable on these categories...

• B-1/B-2: Tourist and Business Visas
• F and M: students
• H-1B: Work Visa
• J: Exchange Visitor Visa
• Only diplomatic visa holders (Categories A and G) will be exempted from this.

How much will the cost increase?

Currently, the fee for a B-1/B-2 visa is $185 (approximately ₹15,800). With the new fees, the estimated total cost will be $472 or approximately ₹40,500. This is 2.5 times more than the current visa fee. That means now one will have to pay $185 basic visa fee, $250 Visa Integrity Fee, $24 I-94 Fee and $13 ESTA Fee to get a visa.

Is the Visa Integrity Fee refundable?

However, these fees cannot be waived or reduced but refunds are possible under certain conditions:

• If the applicant leaves the United States within five days after the visa expires
• or obtains a legal extension of the visa
• Or changes status and gets green card
• However, this amount is not refundable if the person violates visa rules or overstays.

Why has America imposed this duty?

The US government claims that this fee will be a kind of security deposit that will motivate foreign nationals to follow visa rules. It will be monitored by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the fee will be subject to revision every year.

Another blow to migrants: Tax on remittances too

There is another provision in this bill. That is, 1% excise tax on remittances sent from America, which will make sending money to other countries including India expensive.

PC:Asianet news