Canadian permanent residents
Canadian permanent residents
foreign nationals living in Canada, and certain Canadian citizens will soon face an additional cost when applying for U.S. non-immigrant visas. Under the newly passed H.R.1 Act, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill, applicants will be required to pay a $250 USD Visa Integrity Fee. Although the U.S. government has not yet confirmed the official start date, the fee is expected to come into effect by late 2025. This fee will apply to all non-immigrant visa categories, including tourist and business (B-1/B-2), student (F/M), work (H-1B/H-4), and exchange (J) visas. Citizens of non-waiver countries such as India, China, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Brazil will be required to pay this fee in addition to existing visa application charges. The policy change will directly impact Canadian permanent residents and temporary residents who hold passports from countries requiring a U.S. visa to enter.
According to the H.R.1 Act, the newly introduced $250 USD Visa Integrity Fee must be paid by “any alien issued a non-immigrant visa at the time of such issuance.” This fee will apply across various non-immigrant visa categories, including tourist and business visas (B-1/B-2), student visas (F/M), work visas (H-1B/H-4), and exchange visas (J). Applicants from non-waiver countries such as India, China, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Brazil will be required to pay this fee when applying for their visa, on top of other standard application charges. The fee will affect Canadian permanent residents and temporary residents who hold citizenship from countries that require U.S. visas. In addition, certain Canadian citizens will also be impacted, particularly when applying for non-immigrant visas like H-1B work permits or F-1 student visas. Canadian citizens seeking visas for specific purposes—such as government or diplomatic travel (A, G, NATO visas), treaty traders and investors (E-1, E-2), spouses and children of Australian treaty workers (E-3D), fiancé(e)s of U.S. citizens (K-1, K-2), spouses and children of U.S. citizens (K-3, K-4), or individuals assisting U.S. law enforcement (S-5, S-6, S-7)—will also be required to pay the new fee