Us Airlines Now Required To Collect New Visa Integrity Fee On International Flights For Certain Travelers

Published on August 14, 2025

The U.S. authorities has introduced a caller “visa integrity fee” that will beryllium applied to definite hose tickets for travelers requiring circumstantial visa categories to participate nan country. This interest intends to screen nan costs of visa compliance monitoring and fraud prevention. The complaint will beryllium added to flights originating extracurricular nan U.S. and will alteration depending connected nan visa type. Travelers pinch B-1, H-2B, F-1, and akin visas will beryllium affected, and nan interest will beryllium collected per formation segment. The caller argumentation highlights nan request for passengers to scheme their trips cautiously to debar aggregate U.S. introduction points aliases formation segments, which could summation their full recreation costs.

The U.S. The authorities has rolled retired a caller “visa integrity fee” that will use to definite hose tickets for passengers requiring circumstantial visa types to participate nan country. The fee, which will beryllium applied to passengers flying to nan U.S., is designed to money visa compliance monitoring, archive verification, and anti-fraud efforts. This inaugural is portion of nan Visa Integrity and Travel Compliance Act, which straight connects backing to world aerial travel.

The visa integrity interest chiefly applies to travelers who request non-immigrant visas, including those for employment, education, aliases semipermanent visits. Its main intent is to screen nan costs of monitoring visa holders aft they participate nan U.S., including biometric information storage, verification against watchlists, and ensuring compliance pinch visa conditions. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has stated that these activities person been historically underfunded, and nan caller interest will supply a sustainable gross stream, avoiding nan request to load taxpayers.

Who Is Affected

The visa integrity interest applies to:

• Travelers holding definite B-1/B-2 visitant visas, particularly from countries pinch precocious overstay rates.
• Temporary activity visa holders, including H-2B seasonal workers and definite J-1 speech visitant categories.
  *F-1 and M-1 student visa holders purchasing one-way aliases open-ended tickets without providing grounds of return aliases onward travel.
• Visa categories identified by DHS that require further post-entry compliance checks.

Travelers from countries participating successful nan Visa Waiver Program (VWP), on pinch immigrants, U.S. citizens, and lawful imperishable residents, will beryllium exempt from this fee. citizens, and lawful imperishable residents, will not look this fee.

How nan Fee Works

The interest will beryllium added to nan value of hose tickets for flights originating extracurricular nan U.S. and landing astatine U.S. airports. Airlines are required to intelligibly show this complaint arsenic a abstracted statement point successful fare breakdowns to guarantee transparency. The interest will scope betwixt \$20 and \$25 per formation segment, depending connected nan visa classification.

For example:

• A traveler from Mexico pinch a B-1 visa flying to Dallas will incur an further \$20.
• A student from Paris walking to New York pinch an open-ended return summons whitethorn look a \$25 fee.
• A worker entering nan U.S. nether nan H-2B visa from Jamaica to Miami will salary \$20 per segment.

Airlines must cod nan interest astatine nan clip of summons acquisition and remit it to DHS. Failure to comply could consequence successful penalties for nan airlines.

Government Justification

DHS explains that this interest is portion of a broader strategy to modernize nan visa oversight strategy and trim fraud. The gross will fund:

• Upgrades to biometric introduction and exit systems astatine airports.
• Enhanced data-sharing programs pinch overseas governments.
• Funding for visa compliance enforcement teams.
• Maintenance of systems for illustration nan Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).

The authorities estimates nan interest will make betwixt \$150 cardinal and \$175 cardinal annually, based connected world recreation volumes.

Airline Industry Response

The hose manufacture has expressed mixed reactions to nan caller fee. Some groups reason that further charges, specified arsenic information fees and biology levies, could complicate summons pricing and create nan cognition of fare inflation. Others person voiced concerns complete nan administrative load of collecting and remitting nan fee, particularly for code-share flights. There person been calls for nan authorities to create a centralized strategy for interest collection.

Impact connected Travelers

For astir travelers, nan added costs will look minimal. However, predominant travelers, specified arsenic students aliases seasonal workers, could look important cumulative costs. For instance, a student walking location doubly a twelvemonth could extremity up paying \$100 to \$150 annually successful visa integrity fees. Additionally, multi-leg itineraries involving aggregate U.S. Each conception of nan travel involving U.S. introduction will beryllium taxable to nan fee.

Examples:

1. A student walking from India to nan U.S. whitethorn salary nan visa integrity interest doubly connected a round-trip pinch connections successful New York and Chicago. Although nan full interest is \$50, predominant recreation could make this a larger fund consideration.
2. A seasonal worker from Guatemala making 3 trips a twelvemonth nether nan H-2B visa whitethorn salary \$120 successful fees crossed aggregate entries. His employer whitethorn reimburse him for these costs.
3. A business traveler connected a B-1 visa whitethorn look further fees if booking a multi-city flight. Even though nan interest is mini compared to nan wide airfare, repeated charges could complicate recreation budgeting.

Global Comparison

Other countries person besides implemented visa-related fees for aerial travel. Australia charges a Passenger Movement Charge for each travelers, though it’s not visa-specific. The U.K. includes definite surcharges successful visa exertion fees, while Schengen Area countries cod astir visa fees astatine nan exertion stage. The U.S. exemplary is unsocial successful linking nan interest straight to nan recreation event, providing a much accordant and ongoing gross stream.

Traveler Advice

Travelers taxable to nan visa integrity interest should:

• Factor nan interest into their budget, particularly for predominant flyers.
• Plan itineraries to minimize U.S. introduction locations and minimize nan number of connecting flights.
• Review hose policies, arsenic immoderate airlines whitethorn waive nan interest successful definite situations.
• Retain receipts for imaginable reimbursement by employers aliases schools.

The U.S. authorities has introduced a caller visa integrity interest for definite visa holders, aimed astatine covering visa compliance monitoring costs. Travelers tin debar further fees by minimizing U.S. introduction points and formation segments.

While nan visa integrity interest is simply a mini summation to summons costs, it highlights a broader inclination toward user-funded migration oversight. As nan interest applies to travelers who make compliance costs, it shifts nan financial load distant from taxpayers. The interest whitethorn grow successful scope successful nan future, depending connected its effectiveness and recreation volumes, but for now, it remains a important alteration successful U.S. visa policy.