KARACHI: The United States will soon require international visitors to pay a “visa integrity fee” of at least $250, an addition to existing visa application costs, as part of a provision in the Trump administration’s recently passed domestic policy bill, CNN reported on Tuesday.

In the fiscal year 2024, the US issued nearly 11 million non-immigrant visas, according to the State Department. These visas cover international students, leisure and business travellers and other temporary visitors, the CNN said, according to a Dawn.com report.

The new fee will apply to all visitors requiring non-immigrant visas to enter the US. This does not include tourists and business travellers from countries that are included in the Visa Waiver Programme — including Australia and many European countries — that do not need visas for stays of 90 days or less.

The fee is to be paid at the time visas are issued. Although there will be no fee waivers for the payment, the provision states that travellers who comply with the terms of their visa can have the fee reimbursed after their trip.

Houston-based immigration attorney Steven A. Brown, of Reddy Neumann Brown PC, explained in a post, “The intent behind this refund provision is to incentivise compliance with US immigration laws by treating the $250 as a refundable security deposit — essentially rewarding those who follow the rules.”

However, he added that the refund is not automatic and that “the burden will likely fall on the visa holder to prove compliance” in an as-yet-undefined refund application process.

No specific information has been provided by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding the refund process or other aspects of the policy, including when it will be rolled out.

A State Department spokesperson said that the purpose of the fee was to “support the administration’s priorities of strengthening immigration enforcement, deterring visa overstays, and funding border security”.

The US Travel Association, a nonprofit organisation, called the new visa fee “a giant leap backwards” despite praising other aspects of the domestic policy bill.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2025