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www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know Analysis: Impact Of Trump Bill’s $250 Fee Addon For Some Foreign Travelers. Start Date Not Yet Announced F or many foreign nationals, a new visa fee will increase the cost of traveling to the United States by $250. The “visa integrity fee,” included in the sweeping policy legislation that President Donald Trump signed into law this month, will require visitors traveling on a nonimmigrant visa to pay an additional $250. This group includes leisure and business travelers as well as international students from a wide range of countries such as India, China, Mexico, Brazil, South Africa and the Philippines. Applicants must pay this amount on top of other visa fees that often total nearly $200. The Department of Homeland Secu- rity can adjust the fee based on inflation, starting in October. The bill does not specify when the fee will go into effect. In a statement, DHS said the new law “provides the necessary policies and re- sources to restore integrity in our nation’s immigration system. The visa integrity fee requires cross-agency coordination before implementation.” The department did not answer ques- tions fromTheWashington Post about when the fee will be implemented and how visitors will pay it. The State Depart- ment did not respond to a request for comment. The fee could be refundable once the visitor visa expires, typically in 10 years for business and tourist visas, according to Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, a nonprofit that advocates for the travel industry. The fee does not apply to travelers frommore than 40 countries covered by the VisaWaiver Program, such as Austra- lia, Chile, France, Qatar and Singapore. These visitors, however, will also feel a new financial pinch. Under the law, the application fee for the Electronic System for Travel Authorization will increase from $21 to $40. Freeman said the ESTA fee will be split among a travel promotion fund, Customs and Border Protection, and a general Trea- sury fund. The visa integrity fee, which he called a “junk fee that would make Ticketmaster blush,” will go toward deficit reduction. “Let’s steal money from foreign travel- ers, money that they would have spent in U.S. restaurants and hotels and with small businesses,” Freeman said. “Now they’re going to give it to the U.S. government.” The fee could scare off potential visi- tors, said Steven Brown, an immigration lawyer based in Houston. He said a fam- ily of four headed to DisneyWorld on a tourist visa called a B-2, which costs $185 per person, would have to pay more than $1,700 before they even set foot in the Magic Kingdom. “People might question, ‘Hey, is this an extra expense we want to pay?’” Brown said. According to the new law, travelers may receive a refund if they comply with several stipulations, such as leaving within five days of the preapproved departure date and not accepting unauthorized em- ployment. The provision does not provide details on how a traveler would receive a refund. Brown said DHS and the State De- partment will oversee the refund process. Freeman doubted that visitors will ever see a check. “The U.S. government is not a bank that’s going to be setting aside people’s money and give them interest on that amount when we return it to them in 10 years,” he said. “It is a cynical way to cre- ate an offset on the backs of foreigners.” The Congressional Budget Office esti- mates the fee will generate $28.9 billion through fiscal 2034, though it is not clear whether that projection factors in the yet- to-be-announced implementation date. The United States is gearing up for two of the world’s preeminent athletic events, the FIFAWorld Cup, which the U.S. will co-host with Canada and Mexico next summer, and the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Los Angeles, which will stage the in- ternational competition for a third time, holds the record for hosting the most prof- itable Games in Olympic history, the 1984 Summer Games. TheWorld Cup could be even more lucrative. A Fédération Internationale de Football Association analysis released in March said the country could garner $6.4 billion in tourist spending. “Tourism forecasts for the FIFAWorld Cup 2026 are promising,” the study noted. “This influx of visitors will likely generate billions of dollars in economic activity, benefiting the hospitality, transportation, and retail sectors.” The wildly popular soccer tournament will overlap with America’s 250th anni- versary, a year-long celebration marking the signing of the Declaration of Indepen- dence. The timing of the visa fee is inoppor- tune, Freeman said. According to the as- sociation, international visits declined 3.4 percent in the first half of 2025 compared with last year. The number fell 5 percent in June alone. “Before the pandemic, we had 79 mil- lion visitors. Last year, we had 72 million visitors,” Freeman said. “This year, we’re going backwards.” Though the majority of visitors originate from visa-waiver countries, 45 percent “must go through hurdles to get a visa,” Freeman said. Brand USA, which promotes interna- tional travel, also took a hit, losing $80 million of its federal funding for the 2026 fiscal year. Freeman said the association and other travel industry entities plan to push back against the visa integrity fee. “This is just dumb policy,” Freeman said. -TheWashington Post By Andrea Sachs Indian Diaspora Leaders Urge Government Action Over Passport-Related Delays In Repatriating Mortal Remains A dvocacy groups in the Indian community living in the US, called for streamlined procedures after airlines refused to transport mortal remains without original passports. Indian diaspora organizations have written to India‘s Home Secretary requesting urgent intervention to ad- dress bureaucratic obstacles preventing grieving families from repatriating their loved ones’ remains to India. The letter, sent by prominent advocacy groups includ- ing TEAM Aid and Jaipur Foot USA, highlights a growing crisis affecting Indian families worldwide when Indian citizens die abroad without their passports readily avail- able. The issue has intensified after Air India faced multiple fines from India‘s Bureau of Immigration, prompting the airline to adopt a strict policy refusing to transport human remains without the deceased’s original passport- even when Indian embassies have issued No Objection Certificates (NOCs). Other airlines have reportedly followed suit with similar policies, creating what advocacy leaders describe as a “deeply distressing and devastating situation” for bereaved families. Prem Bhandari, chairman of Jaipur Foot USA, and Mohan Nannapaneni, founder of TEAM Aid, authored the letter to Home Secretary Govind Mohan outlining the humanitarian crisis. TEAM Aid’s Founder and President, Mohan Nannapa- neni, along with his dedicated team of volunteers, has facilitated the repatriation of over 4,000 mortal remains from the United States, Canada, and Mexico to every state across India. The organizations explain that passports often become inaccessible when individuals die abroad due to heart- wrenching circumstances. In cases involving accidents, suicides, or homicides, documents may be held by investigating officers for weeks or months. Immigration authorities sometimes retain passports in cases involv- ing asylum seekers or visa violations, leaving families in agonizing limbo. “In several tragic cases, the deceased individual lives alone, and their passport is often inaccessible at the time of death,” the letter states, painting a picture of isolated deaths far from home. Residences are sometimes sealed during investigations, making document retrieval impos- sible while families desperately wait to bring their loved ones’ home. The human cost of these policies is starkly illustrated in the case of Rahul Patel, whose tragic story has become emblematic of the crisis facing Indian families abroad. “For over a week now, the tragic, untimely, and un- natural death of Rahul Patel has left his mortal remains stranded in a funeral home despite all documentation, By Reena Bhardwaj Representative image of Indian Passport PHOTO:Dreamstime - Continued On Page 10 Community News India Times (August 2, 2025 - August 8, 2025) August 8, 2025 9