New $250 visa charge dangers deepening US journey stoop

The additional cost, set to enter impact on October 1, raises the overall visa value to $442, one of many highest customer charges on the planet, in line with the US Journey Affiliation

NEW YORK, USA – A brand new $250 “visa integrity charge” imposed on vacationers to the US dangers piling extra strain on the struggling journey business, as abroad arrivals proceed to fall because of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on immigration and hostility to many overseas international locations.

Abroad journey to the US fell 3.1% year-on-year in July to 19.2 million guests, in line with US authorities information. It was the fifth month of decline this 12 months, defying expectations that 2025 would see annual inbound guests lastly surpass the pre-pandemic degree of 79.4 million.

The brand new visa charge, set to enter impact on October 1, provides an extra hurdle for vacationers from non-visa waiver international locations like Mexico, Argentina, India, Brazil and China. The additional cost raises the overall visa value to $442, one of many highest customer charges on the planet, in line with the US Journey Affiliation, a membership group.

“Any friction we add to the traveler expertise goes to chop journey volumes by some quantity,” mentioned Gabe Rizzi, President of Altour, a worldwide journey administration firm. “Because the summer time ends it will turn out to be a extra urgent problem, and we’ll should issue the charges into journey budgets and documentation.”

Worldwide customer spending within the US is projected to fall under $169 billion this 12 months, down from $181 billion in 2024, in line with the World Journey & Tourism Council.

The visa charge reinforces a bleak notion of the US underneath Trump, whose immigration insurance policies, cuts to overseas support and sweeping tariffs have eroded America’s attraction as a vacation spot — even with main occasions just like the 2026 FIFA World Cup and Los Angeles 2028 Olympics on the horizon.

The Trump administration on Wednesday, August 27, proposed authorities regulation that goals to tighten the period of visas for college students, cultural trade guests and members of the media.

In early August, the administration mentioned the US may require bonds of as much as $15,000 for some vacationer and enterprise visas underneath a pilot program efficient August 20 that can final for roughly a 12 months, in an effort to crack down on guests overstaying their visas.

Tourism Economics, an Oxford Economics consultancy, forecast in December 2024 that abroad journey to the US in 2025 would improve greater than 10% year-over-year. As a substitute, it’s on monitor to fall 3%, mentioned Aran Ryan, director of business research at Tourism Economics.

“We see it as a sustained setback, and we anticipate a lot of it’s in place all through the administration,” Ryan mentioned.

Hardest hit

The most recent visa charge is prone to hit hardest in Central and South American international locations which have been a uncommon shiny spot for US journey this 12 months.

As of Might, journey from Mexico to the US was up almost 14% in 2025, in line with the Nationwide Journey and Tourism Workplace.

Arrivals from Argentina rose 20% and from Brazil 4.6% year-to-date. Total, journey from Central America grew 3% and from South America 0.7%, in contrast with a decline of two.3% from Western Europe.

In China, arrivals have remained muted for the reason that pandemic, with July numbers nonetheless 53% under 2019 ranges. The visa charge additionally threatens journey from India, the place visits are down 2.4% up to now this 12 months, pushed by a close to 18% drop in college students.

For some, the rise in charges can be absorbed as simply one other value in an already costly journey to the US.

“The US has at all times been selective about its guests. In case your monetary standing isn’t as much as par, getting a visa is hard anyway,” mentioned Su Shu, founding father of Chinese language agency Second Journey in Chengdu.

As overseas guests face greater entry charges, US vacationers fear about stricter necessities being imposed overseas, mentioned James Kitchen, journey agent and proprietor of Seas 2 Day & Journey.

“Vacationers have expressed concern round reciprocal charges that could be imposed within the coming months,” Kitchen mentioned. – Rappler.com