There is bad news for Indians who are dreaming of traveling, studying or working in America. Soon you may have to loose pockets for a visa, because the visa fee is going to increase more than double. The US has announced to implement a new visa integrity fee, which can be overshadowed by 2026 on your pocket. This fee will be applicable to almost all non-immigrant visa holders including tourists, students, business travelers and technology professionals.
What is visa integrity fee?
US President Donald Trump signed a large law called One Big Beautiful Bill on 4 July 2025, which mentions this new visa integrity fee. Under this law, an additional fee of $ 250 (about Rs 21,400) will have to be paid for every non-resident visa. This fee is a kind of security deposit, which will have to be repaid at the time of getting the visa. The special thing is that this amount will increase every year according to inflation, that is, the burden on the pocket will increase every year.
According to reports, these fees will be applicable to all non-migrant categories like B1/B2 (Tourist/Business), F/M (Student), H1B (Work) and J (Exchange) Visa. Only the diplomatic visa (A and G category) will be able to avoid this fee.
How much will the expenditure increase?
So far, a B1/B2 -visa fee is around $ 185 (about 16,000 rupees). But after the new visa integrity fee, this expenditure will increase to about $ 472 (about Rs 40,456). That is, two and a half times more than the current fee! It includes $ 250 visa integrity fee, in addition to $ 24-94 Fe and ESTA fee of $ 13. According to Sanjeev Rai of Hyderabad Overseas Consultants, Indians will have to spend around Rs 37,500 for B1/B2 visa with new fees.
However, it has not yet been officially confirmed and the exact amount is also not clear. But it is certain that this increase will be a big setback for Indian travelers, especially students and professionals.
How long will this fee be implemented?
Sanjeev Rai said that the rules of the new visa fee are likely to be implemented from January 2026. This means that if you are thinking of going to America next year, then you have to keep more budget ready than before. These fees will charge the US Ministry of Home Affairs (Department of Homeland Security) and it will be increased on the basis of Consumer Price Index (CPI) every year.
What is the rule of refund?
According to reports, this visa integrity fee will act as a security deposit, which can be found back with certain conditions. If you leave the US within five days of the end of your visa period and neither ask for visa extensions nor changes the status, then you can claim this fee for refund. But these conditions are quite strict, especially for students and professionals, whose visa duration can be many years old. In such a situation, their money can be stuck for a long time.
What will be the effect on Indians?
The maximum impact of this fee hike will be on Indian students, tourists and technology professionals. Every year millions of people from India go to America for tourism, education and work. But now this dream will become more expensive for them due to increasing the cost of visa. Especially for students, who already bear the burden of tuition fee and living expenses, this extra fee is no less than a big shock.
Many people can now turn to countries like Europe, Canada or Australia, where visa fees are less and the process is easy. Immigration advisors say that people can hurry to apply visa by the end of 2025, so that they can avoid the new fee. This may increase the congestion and delay in visa appointments.
Why was this fee brought?
The US says that this visa has been brought to ensure compliance with integrity fees visa regulations and to prevent illegal stay. The Trump administration believes that this fee will prevent people from violating visa conditions. However, many experts say that these fees may be overshadowed for common travelers, especially people of developing countries like India and can also discourage a legitimate journey.