The new tax and spending bill, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” was signed into law on July 4, 2025. Apart from allocating an unprecedented $170 billion for immigration enforcement and detention, the law also creates and increases fees for humanitarian immigration protections and certain other immigration-related benefits.

Key Changes for Visa Applicants and Visitors

The following new and increased fees apply to nonimmigrants coming to the United States temporarily:

• Visa Integrity Fee: This is a new $250 minimum fee that applies to all nonimmigrant visa applicants (including students, exchange visitors, and all temporary workers, as well as crime or trafficking victims). It is payable when applying for a visa, in addition to the already existing visa-related fees.[i]
• I-94 Fee: There will be a new $24 minimum fee for online applications for Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record.
• ESTA Fee: Applicants for the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) will have to pay a $40 minimum fee for their ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) application.

New Fees for Humanitarian Programs and Removal & Deportation Relief

The act also establishes new fees and dramatically increases existing fees for many forms of previously free or low-cost immigration relief:

• Asylum: $100 for an asylum application, plus $100 fee for each year that the application remains pending.
• Parole: $1,000, unless the applicant falls under one of several exceptions (e.g., medical emergency; organ or tissue donor; deathbed visit or funeral of a close family member; etc.).
• Temporary Protected Status (TPS): $500
• Employment Authorization: The law also increases fees for asylum, parole, or TPS-related work permits while limiting the validity periods to a maximum of 12 months.
• Special Immigrant Juveniles (SIJ): $250
• Immigration Court Filings:
• • Adjustment of Status: $1,500
  • Waiver of Grounds of Inadmissibility: $1,050
  • Temporary Protected Status (TPS): $500
  • Appeals: $900 (except appeals for bond decisions).
  • Motion to Reopen or Reconsider: $900
  • LPR Cancellation of Removal Application: $600
  • Non-LPR Cancellation of Removal Application: $1,500
  • Suspension of Deportation: $600
• Penalty Fee for ICE Arrests: $5,000

[i] The law states that foreign nationals may be reimbursed for the visa integrity fee at the end of their temporary stay if they can demonstrate that they complied with all visa conditions. However, there is currently no information on how or when such reimbursement might occur in practice.

How to Prepare

Although technically in effect since July 4, 2025, it is not clear when and how collection of these fees will be implemented. All applicants for visas, entry to the U.S., or other immigration benefits mentioned above should be prepared to pay the new fee amounts and expect processing delays. Also, all new fees are minimum amounts and subject to annual increases by regulation and adjustments for inflation.