United States president Donald Trump appears to have come up with another scheme to limit the appeal of his country to international travellers.
Reports out of the US indicate that international visitors will be slugged with a new “visa integrity fee” of at least US$250, on top of existing visa application costs.
What is a ”visa integrity fee”? It has been characterised as a “security deposit” for non-immigrants, refundable if international visitors do not abuse their visa conditions.
In fiscal year 2024, the US issued close to 11 million non-immigrant visas, according to State Department figures.
The mechanism for obtaining a refund is still unclear.
The appeal of the United States for leisure and business travellers has been diminished by reports of harrowing experiences at immigration points where border protection officials have conducted intense scrutiny of visitors’ reasons for entering the country.
Tourists and business travellers from countries that are part of the Visa Waiver Programme are not required to obtain visas for stays of 90 days or less.
A State Department spokesperson, quoted by CNN, said the fee was established “to support the administration’s priorities of strengthening immigration enforcement, deterring visa overstays, and funding border security.”
