US Visa Integrity Fee 2027: $250 Guide

By ExpatMoneyEU Research Team · Reviewed November 2026 · Published 14 November 2026 · Updated 14 November 2026

If you are planning a trip to the United States in 2027 — for a holiday, a family visit, study, or work — you have probably seen the $250 figure quoted as if it were already part of the visa price. The confusion is understandable: the fee exists in law, some consular posts were reported charging it in May 2026, and many travel blogs state a start date that no official source supports. This guide separates what is law from what is actually happening, with every claim tied to the statute, the Federal Register, or the State Department, and checked on 14 November 2026.

One warning up front: US visa fees changed quickly through 2025 and 2026, and parts of the new fee system are still being built. Treat this page as a living explainer — the checked-on date above is the date the facts below were verified, and the page will be updated the moment an implementation notice appears.

What the Visa Integrity Fee is

The fee is a new charge added to the cost of getting a US nonimmigrant visa — the visa stamp issued by a US consulate abroad. It was created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R.1), signed into law on 4 July 2025 as Public Law 119-21, title X, section 100007, and codified at 8 U.S.C. §1806. It sits on top of the existing visa fees rather than replacing them: you still pay the normal application fee (the MRV fee) first, and the integrity fee is charged when the visa itself is issued.

The idea, as the name suggests, is a refundable good-behaviour deposit: the law allows DHS to return the money after the visa expires if the holder followed every condition of the visa. Whether that refund ever works in practice is a separate question — no reimbursement procedure exists yet, as explained below.

Three things the fee is not: it is not a fee for ESTA travellers (ESTA has its own separate fee under section 100014 of the same law); it is not part of the $100,000 H-1B payment announced in September 2026, which is a different measure and is blocked by federal court orders; and it is not an immigrant-visa fee, because the statute covers nonimmigrant visas only.

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Who has to pay it

The statute’s words are broad: the fee applies to “any alien issued a nonimmigrant visa at the time of such issuance.” In practice that means anyone who is issued a nonimmigrant visa at a US consulate — visitors (B-1/B-2), students (F and M), exchange visitors (J), temporary workers (H, L, O, P), intra-company transferees, treaty traders and investors (E, TN), and fiancé(e)s (K-1) all fall under the statute’s plain text.

Be careful with lists you see elsewhere. No official category list and no exemption list has been published by DHS or the State Department. Any blog that tells you exactly which categories are exempt is guessing. The same applies to diplomatic and official visas: the statute makes no express exception for them, and no official guidance has confirmed one either way.

Two groups are clearly outside the fee. First, immigrant-visa applicants: the statute says “nonimmigrant”, so a visa issued for permanent residence is not covered. Second, people who apply inside the United States to change or extend their status: no visa is issued in those cases, so no integrity fee arises — though the separate USCIS fees for those applications are a different matter.

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How much it costs: $250 is a floor, not a fixed price

For fiscal year 2025, the statute sets the fee at the greater of $250 or an amount the Secretary of Homeland Security sets by rule. In other words, $250 is the statutory floor — the lowest the fee can be — not a fixed price. From fiscal year 2026 onward, the amount adjusts annually by CPI-U (the July CPI-U compared with the prior July), rounded down to the nearest dollar.

No official notice sets the fiscal year 2026 or fiscal year 2027 collectible amount. Until one appears, $250 is the only figure that can be quoted with confidence, and even that figure is the floor for fiscal year 2025 rather than a confirmed current price. Do not budget on a figure higher than $250 until DHS publishes one.

MRV fees are the State Department’s published application fees; the $250 integrity fee is the statutory floor, not a confirmed current amount. Reciprocity fees, SEVIS fees for students and exchange visitors, and petition fees for work visas are separate and not shown here. Verify the current fee for your category on travel.state.gov before you pay.

The practical effect is a near-doubling of the cost of a visitor visa: $185 becomes $435, a 135% increase, before any reciprocity fee your nationality may carry. For a family of four applying for B-1/B-2 visas, the integrity fee alone adds $1,000 to the trip’s paperwork cost. That is why the start date matters so much — and why it is worth checking the fee schedule at your own consulate rather than assuming the fee applies everywhere.

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Why it is not being collected yet

The law was signed on 4 July 2025. The fee is not being collected nationwide more than a year later because collecting it is an operational problem, not a legal one. The State Department issues visas at consulates; DHS sets the amount and would handle reimbursement; the money has to be collected, receipted, tracked against each visa holder’s compliance record, and potentially refunded years later. DHS said so plainly in its July 2025 notice: the fee “requires cross-agency coordination before implementing.”

The paper trail since then confirms the delay. DHS’s fiscal year 2027 inflation notice, 91 FR 62534 (1 October 2026), adjusted the parole, I-94, ESTA and EVUS fees created by the same law — and does not mention the integrity fee at all. The State Department’s consular fee schedule (22 CFR 22.1) did not list the fee as of 1 October 2026 checks. A July 2026 DHS rule mentions the fee only because a public commenter listed it among student costs (91 FR 44976) — it is not an implementation notice.

Against that official silence, there are unofficial reports that some consular posts began charging the fee in May 2026 — Boston University’s international office reported this at the time. Those reports are unconfirmed at any official source, and the fee’s status still varies by post. The honest summary, checked on 14 November 2026: the fee is law, there is no nationwide start date, and whether your consulate charges it is something you must check directly with that consulate.

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Can the fee be waived? Will it be refunded?

The fee cannot be waived. The statute says expressly that it “shall not be waived or reduced” — there is no waiver application, no hardship exception, and no discount for students, children, or any other group in the law as written. If a consulate charges it, you pay it or you do not get the visa.

A refund is possible in theory and unproven in practice. The law says DHS “may” reimburse the fee — note the word “may”, not “shall” — after the visa’s validity expires, if the holder complied with all visa conditions (including no unauthorised employment) and either departed the United States not later than five days after the last day of validity, or was granted an extension of status or adjustment to lawful permanent residence.

That is a demanding test: a single day of unauthorised work, or a departure six days after expiry, would appear to defeat it. And even for a holder who meets it, no reimbursement procedure, form, portal or timeline has been published. Do not plan your budget around getting the $250 back — treat it as a cost until DHS proves otherwise.

What to do before your visa interview

Four steps will keep you from paying the wrong amount or being surprised at the window:

1. Check your consulate’s fee page, not a blog. If the integrity fee is in force at your post, it will appear on the consulate’s own fee schedule or on travel.state.gov. A general news article cannot tell you what your post charges.
2. Budget for the worst case. Until collection starts, the total is the MRV fee alone. But carry the $250 in reserve: if the fee is announced between your application and your issuance, it is charged at issuance — the moment your visa is printed, not the day you applied.
3. Pay only through official channels. The MRV fee is paid through the State Department’s official payment system. Never pay a visa fee to a third party, an agent’s personal account, or a link sent by email or message.
4. Keep every receipt. If a reimbursement procedure ever opens, your proof of payment will be the starting point. Keep the MRV receipt and any integrity-fee receipt separately, and keep your entry and exit records as well.

One more timing point: a refused applicant pays the MRV fee and nothing else. The integrity fee only arises when a visa is actually issued, so a refusal does not cost you $250 — but the $185 application fee is non-refundable in any case.

What changes in 2027

Three things to watch. First, the implementation notice: the moment DHS and the State Department publish one in the Federal Register, the fee becomes collectible nationwide, and the notice should also name the current amount (the CPI-adjusted figure for the fiscal year in question). Second, the amount itself: the CPI-U adjustment from fiscal year 2026 means the collectible figure may be above $250 when it finally appears. Third, the reimbursement procedure: if DHS publishes a form or portal, this page will explain how it works — until then, any “how to claim your refund” guide you read is speculation.

For travellers, the practical advice for 2027 is unchanged: budget $435 for a visitor visa, hope to pay $185, and check your consulate before every application. For students and workers, add the SEVIS or petition fees on top, and remember that the integrity fee is charged per visa issued — a family of four pays it four times.

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