Canadian permanent residents, foreign workers, and citizens may need to pay an additional $250 fee to enter the US

By Janice Rodrigues, CIC News

Applicants from non-waiver countries will have to pay this fee when applying for their visa, in addition to other required fees. (File photo: Lumi W/Unsplash)

Canadian permanent residents, foreign nationals living in Canada as well as some Canadians will have to start paying an additional 250 USD Visa Integrity Fee when applying for non-immigrant US visas.

This new fee is part of the H.R.1 Act (commonly called One Big Beautiful Bill by the US administration), which was signed into law on July 4.

While no official implementation date has been confirmed, the fee is expected to take effect in late 2025.

Who will have to pay the US Visa Integrity Fee?

According to the act, this fee will need to be paid by “any alien issued a non-immigrant visa at the time of such issuance.”

Non-immigrant visa categories include tourist and business (B-1/B-2) visas, student (F/M), work (H-1B/H-4), and exchange visas (J).

Applicants from non-waiver countries will have to pay this fee when applying for their visa, in addition to other required fees.

This includes citizens from countries such as China, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Brazil, among others.

This will affect Canadian permanent residents and temporary residents who hold citizenship from countries that require a U.S. non-immigrant visa to enter the country.

Under what circumstances do Canadian citizens need a non-immigrant visa to travel to the US?

Generally, Canadian citizens are exempt from requiring a visa to travel to the US, and are therefore exempt from this fee.

However, this fee will impact Canadian citizens applying for non-immigrant visas, such as specific work or student visas (H1-B or F-1).

Here are some other situations wherein Canadian citizens need non-immigrant visas:

• Government or diplomatic travel (A, G, or NATO visa categories).
• Treaty traders and investors (E-1 and E-2 visas).
• Australian treaty workers’ spouses and children (E-3D).
• Fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens (K-1 and K-2 visas).
• Spouses and children of U.S. citizens immigrating to the U.S. (K-3 and K-4 visas).
• Individuals providing critical information to US law enforcement or intelligence agencies (S-5, S-6, and S-7 visas).

Canadian citizens who fall under these categories will have to pay the additional US Visa Integrity Fee.

Who will not have to pay the US Visa Integrity Fee?

Visitors to the US who are not required to obtain a visa, including those countries on the Visa Waiver Program and Canadian citizens, will not have to pay this fee since no visa is being issued.

Countries covered by the US Waiver Program:

• Andorra
• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Brunei
• Chile
• Croatia
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Israel
• Italy
• Japan
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Monaco
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Qatar
• San Marino
• Singapore
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• South Korea
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Taiwan
• United Kingdom

*Canada does not feature on the list of Visa Waiver Program countries as citizens of Canada do not require an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) to enter the US.

Is the US Visa Integrity Fee refundable?

The legislation specifies that the fee cannot be waived or reduced.

However, those applying for non-immigrant visas may be eligible for reimbursement if they:

• Comply with all the conditions of the non-immigrant visa, including not working without authorization;
• Do not seek to extend their visas, and leave the US not later than five days after the last day of the period of validity; and/or
• Have their visa extended or adjusted to permanent residency status while in the US.

Applicants who meet this eligibility will still have to apply through the Department of Homeland Security. However, as of now, the US government has not shared details about the refund process and when it will be operational.

The fee amount is also adjusted to inflation, and may increase each year.