Under a provision in the domestic policy bill recently enacted by the Trump administration, international visitors to the United States will have to pay an additional fee of up to $250 — a fee that ensures the integrity of the visa, and is added to the current visa application cost.
This fee will apply to all visitors requiring a nonimmigrant visa to enter the United States.
The fee would also apply to leisure and business travelers, international students and other temporary visitors. In fiscal year 2024, the United States issued nearly 11 million nonimmigrant visas, according to the State Department.
According to CNN, tourists and business visitors from countries participating in the Visa Waiver Program, including Australia and many European countries, are not required to apply for a visa for stays of 90 days or less.
Payment of an additional fee of USD 250 will be required at the time of visa issuance, and there will be no fee waiver.
Steven A. Brown, an immigration attorney at Houston-based Reddy Neumann Brown PC, described the fee as a “refundable deposit” in a recent post about the new policy. However, Brown said the mechanism for getting a refund remains unclear.
“As for the purpose of this fee, it is difficult to say. Generally, immigration fees are to cover the cost of processing or issuing a visa, but the refund provision is meant to refund all fees collected,” Brown wrote in an email to CNN.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which issued the new additional fee, has not yet provided details about the refund process or any other aspect of the policy's implementation.
“The visa integrity fee requires coordination among relevant agencies before implementation,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement to CNN.
On the US State Department side, a spokesperson for the agency said the new fee was established “to support the administration’s priorities of strengthening immigration enforcement, preventing visa overstays, and funding border security.”
Unreimbursed fees would be “deposited into the general fund of the Department of Finance ,” according to a provision in the bill.
Attorney Brown stressed that the rule would likely be implemented through a rulemaking process, including publication in the Federal Register. The fee could be adjusted annually for inflation.
Details regarding the changes made by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will be posted on the State Department's visa information page, according to the State Department.
The U.S. Travel Association, a national nonprofit, had previously welcomed the domestic policy bill, which includes investments in modernizing customs and air traffic control. But with the new additional visa fee, the organization is now wondering how travelers will pay for it.
“This fee, added to existing visa fees, will create an unnecessary financial barrier for international travelers,” Erik Hansen, the association’s senior vice president of government relations, said in a statement.
Although the bill requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to collect fees, the agency does not own the process for applying for, issuing or renewing visas, according to an association spokesman, Erik Hansen.
According to US Travel's calculations, this fee would increase the "upfront cost" of obtaining a visa to visit the US by 144%.
“Even if refunds are possible, the added complexity and cost still deters travelers,” Hansen added.
Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/du-lich/du-khach-den-my-phai-tra-them-muc-phi-len-toi-250-usd-154892.html
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