Starting 30SEP, 2025, the “Land of the Free” will cost more for visitors to enter: the I-94 land-border fee soars fivefold, the ESTA almost doubles, and Chinese nationals get hit with a new visa fee.
Most Canadians won’t be directly affected, though one of the charges applies in certain scenarios. But for travellers from more than 40 countries —including the U.K., Israel, Qatar, most of Europe, China, Australia, and New Zealand, among other countries and regions—the hikes make the US a distinctly more expensive destination.
And the timing couldn’t be worse. International arrivals to the US are already in a slump, with traffic from Asia, Europe and Canada sliding, and forecasts pointing to billions less in visitor spending for 2025. Rising entry fees may only accelerate the trend, nudging travellers toward destinations that feel more affordable, not to mention more welcoming.
Here’s the breakdown:
ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) Jumps from $21 to $40
The ESTA, an online pre-screening system for Visa Waiver Program (VWP) travellers, now carries a higher fee made up of three parts: $17 for Travel Promotion (unchanged), $10 for operational costs (up from $4), and a new $13 contribution to the US Treasury’s General Fund.
Who does it affect? VWP countries include the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, most of Europe, Japan and South Korea, among other countries and regions, but not Canada
Land Border I-94 Fee Form Soars from $6 to $30
Crossing into the US by road just got five times pricier. Canadians usually avoid the charge, but it applies if staying more than 30 days or entering for work, study or other extended purposes. Given many Mexican nationals travel with Border Crossing Cards that don’t always require an I-94 fee, this increase mainly impacts foreign nationals other than Canadians and Mexicans who enter the US at land borders.
A New $30 EVUS Enrolment Charge
Chinese nationals holding the required visas must now pay a charge to enroll in the Electronic Visa Update System (EVUS). The fee applies to all applications processed on or after 30SEP, 2025; previously, enrolment was free.
'Integrity fee' is likely delayed
If that isn’t steep enough, another fee is looming: the $250 “visa integrity fee” for travellers from non-visa-waiver countries. Set for 01OCT, 2025 as reported by Open Jaw, the fee is essentially structured as a refundable security deposit to encourage compliance with US visa rules, particularly to reduce overstays.
However, its rollout is expected to be delayed, as the Department of Homeland Security has not yet finalized the procedures for collection of the fee as well as reimbursement, A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security also recently told CNN that it “requires cross-agency coordination before implementation.”
Created under the “One Big Beautiful Bill” (H.R. 1) passed by Congress in JUL2025, the charge applies to foreign nationals applying for non-immigrant visas—including tourists, business travellers and international students—from countries such as Argentina, Mexico, India, Brazil, and China. Once implemented, it would push a standard US tourist visa to $442 USD, making it one of the most expensive visas in the world.
“Lots of questions are out there,” Houston-based immigration attorney Steven A. Brown told CNN. “So we pay the fee, but how does it get refunded? Who is tracking compliance? How do you prove compliance?”
With ESTA hikes, land-border surcharges, EVUS fees and now a pending “security deposit” to visit, the US is fast living up to its new nickname: the Land of the Fee.
