US Announces Non-refundable $750 Visa Fee to Enable Travellers Skip Queues

Japan hikes fee by 400% for foreign nationals

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja 

The US Government through the State Department will offer a “premium” expedited service for foreigners seeking business or tourist visas to come to the United States that will set applicants back $750, including the initial fee of $185, it was learnt.

In a notice to be published in the Federal Register, the department said it will unveil a pilot programme that will allow visa applicants to pay the $750 to schedule an appointment for an interview within 10 days of the payment at select US embassies and consulates.

The pilot programme will run from July 1 to December 31, according to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press and a State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the programme has not yet been announced.

According to the report, the move is a potential effort to ease conditions caused by the Trump administration’s push to make entering the US more difficult. The offer includes expedited interview options for B1 and B2 visa applicants. B1 and B2 visas are commonly used by international travelers visiting the U.S. for business or tourism.

The administration has cracked down on most forms of migration for foreigners, demanding that bonds of up to $15,000 be paid for visa processing in some, mainly African, countries and requiring years of personal history, including social media accounts, to be vetted.

The new requirements have caused delays in visa processing around the world, prompting complaints by applicants.

However, wait times for visa interviews for citizens of countries that are not part of the Visa Waiver Programme can be several months if not longer. But paying the fee for the “optional premium add-on service” does not guarantee that a visa will be issued.

The embassies and consulates at which the expedited service will be available are to be announced before the programme takes effect on July 1. The pilot programme will run through the end of the year but could be extended depending on demand.

The initiative comes as many foreign travellers continue to face significant delays when trying to enter the United States. Some visa applicants currently wait months, and in some cases more than a year, for an interview appointment. 

The fee comes on top of the existing $185 visa application charge, bringing the total cost to $935. The expedited service will also be limited. The State Department has not yet announced which select embassies and consulates will participate in the pilot. And applicants who secure one of the expedited interview slots will have only a brief window to complete payment.

They will only have between five and 10 minutes, and if the non-refundable fee isn’t paid in that time, “he or she will lose the hold, and the expedited appointment will be reopened to other applicants,” the notice stated.

The department noted that major events, including sporting events, concerts, and festivals, can drive a spike in demand for visas. “In any given year, the United States hosts special events that draw significant last-minute visitors, including professional sporting events, major concerts, festivals, etc.,” the notice stated.

According to the State Department, 25,705 travellers are expected to use the new service annually. If those estimates prove accurate, the programme could generate approximately $19.3 million in revenue. The announcement comes amid the Trump administration’s continued crackdown on immigration.

In December, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced it would screen social media history of up to five years of travelers from 42 countries. The initiative has not been implemented due to backlash from the travel industry.

Meanwhile, for about the first time in 48 years, the Japanese government has announced the approval of an increase in visa fees for foreign nationals.

Japan Times, the country’s local media outlet reported at the weekend that the decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting and marked the first revision of visa fees since 1978.

According to the review, under the new structure, the fee for a single-entry visa will rise from ¥3,000 ($18.60) to ¥15,000 ($92.99), while a multiple-entry visa will increase from ¥6,000 ($37.20) to ¥30,000 ($187.97). Like the US initiative, the revised fees will also apply to applications submitted on or after July 1.

“The current visa fee was set in 1978, and we have recently revised it to reflect inflation and exchange rate fluctuations since then,” Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told a news conference on Friday.

“We made this decision after carefully considering various factors, and we do not anticipate that it will have an immediate impact on inbound tourism,” he added.

Last month, the Upper House enacted a bill to raise visa-related fees for foreign nationals by up to 30 times the current levels. The increase will enable the government to use the additional revenue to help cover the administrative costs of managing the country’s growing foreign population, the report said. The bill cleared the Lower House in April.

Prior to the bill’s enactment, the statutory upper limit for fees to change residency statuses or extend a period of stay was ¥10,000 ($63), while the cap for permanent residency applications was also set at ¥10,000. Under the revision, those ceilings will be raised to ¥100,000 and ¥300,000, respectively.

Under the revised framework, actual fees are set by Cabinet orders within the new statutory limits.

The government has proposed raising fees for residency status changes and stay extensions from the current range of ¥5,500 to ¥6,000 to between ¥10,000 and ¥70,000, while fees for permanent residency applications would increase from ¥10,000 to ¥200,000. The government is aiming to implement the changes sometime before the end of the next fiscal year on March 31, 2027.

The government said it plans to use the additional revenue for processing Japan’s growing foreign resident population, which reached a record 4.13 million as of the end of 2025, as well as expanding Japanese-language programmes and strengthening measures against illegal overstayers.

It has justified the fee hikes by arguing that Japan must align visa- and residency-related charges more closely with those of Western countries in order to build a more robust immigration system. 

Visa renewal fees, for example, are about $420 to $470 in the United States and €93 ($107) to €98 in Germany, the report added.