“Visa Integrity Fee” Surcharge
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” into law. This piece of legislation contains several provisions regarding immigration, but one that you should know about is the implementation of a “Visa Integrity Fee.” While this Fee is currently in place per the legislation, it has yet to be collected at visa appointments and is unclear when the Fee will take effect. This fee will be $250 and applies to all nonimmigrant visa applications (such as B, E, F, H, and L visas), including dependents. Therefore, an employee attending a visa appointment with a spouse and two children will incur an additional $1,000 in fees. In addition, this fee is unable to be waived through a Fee Waiver. However, nationals of the 42 countries in the Visa Waiver Program, such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Australia, will not be charged the Visa Integrity Fee.
This Fee operates similarly to a deposit, albeit a discretionary one. The Secretary of Homeland Security may provide reimbursement of the Visa Integrity Fee in the event that all relevant visa conditions have been followed, and, the foreign national has not sought to extend their period of admission during the visa validity period and departed the U.S. within 5 days of the expiration of the visa OR during the visa validity period was granted an extension of their nonimmigrant status or adjusted status to that of a lawful permanent resident.
It is important to understand the implication of this new fee and how seeking reimbursement may impact further filings. First, the reimbursement of this fee hinges upon the understanding of the difference between visa stamps and nonimmigrant status. Reimbursement for this fee can only be requested at the conclusion of the validity period of the visa, and if no extension of the underlying status has been requested or granted. Therefore, it is crucial to not confuse these dates and request reimbursement for this fee when an extension of the nonimmigrant status has been requested or approved – such requests could be deemed as fraudulent. Furthermore, reimbursement of this fee constitutes an affirmative statement from the foreign national that all conditions of the visa classification have been adhered to, meaning that any discrepancies found in the future during the Green Card process, for instance, could also result in accusations of misrepresentation.
Thus, now more than ever is the time to ensure full compliance of the visa conditions for your foreign national employees. Please contact our office should you have any questions.