From October 1, 2025, Indian travellers heading to the United States will face a new financial hurdle. The government has announced the introduction of a visa integrity fee of 250 US dollars, approximately 22,000 Indian rupees, which will raise the overall cost of obtaining a US visa to about 442 US dollars or nearly 39,000 rupees. This move comes at a time when the number of visitors from India is already showing a sharp decline, raising concerns about the future of travel between the two nations.
Data from the US National Travel and Tourism Office paints a worrying picture. In June this year, the number of Indian visitors fell by 8 percent compared to the same month in 2024, with just 210,000 Indians travelling to America. July’s provisional numbers indicate another fall of 5.5 percent. These figures mark the first significant declines in Indian outbound travel to the United States in decades, other than the slump caused by the global pandemic.
The overall global trend is not much better. International arrivals to the United States dropped by 3.1 percent in July, leaving the total visitor count at just 19.2 million. That makes July the fifth month of decline in 2025, disrupting expectations that inbound travel would finally rise above pre pandemic levels of 79.4 million annual visitors.
The new visa fee is expected to have its harshest impact on travellers from non visa waiver countries, including India, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and China. The additional charge will make the US one of the most expensive destinations in the world when it comes to visa costs. For countries in Central and South America, which had been among the few regions showing growth in outbound travel to the United States this year, this fee could dampen demand further. Travel from Central America has risen by three percent and from South America by less than one percent in 2025, while travel from Europe has dropped by more than two percent.
For India, which is the fourth largest source of visitors to the United States after Mexico, Canada and the United Kingdom, this development is particularly significant. Already, travel from India is down by 2.4 percent so far this year, largely due to a steep 18 percent fall in the number of students heading to American universities. The additional financial burden may deter even more potential travellers, especially families and students who form a large part of the visitor demographic.
This latest hike in visa fees follows weeks of speculation about even stricter entry measures. Earlier in August, the Trump administration announced that certain categories of tourist and business visa applicants could be asked to provide bonds of up to 15,000 US dollars, roughly 1.3 million rupees, under a pilot program intended to discourage overstaying. The scheme is set to run for about a year beginning August 20, 2025. Together, these changes are reinforcing the perception that the United States is becoming an increasingly difficult and expensive destination to visit.
Observers note that these policies could tarnish the nation’s appeal at a time when it is preparing to host global events such as the FIFA World Cup in 2026 and the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028. While such events usually drive up international travel, stricter visa rules and rising costs may prevent many tourists from attending.
For now, Indian travellers planning trips to the United States after October should factor in the higher costs and possible additional requirements. With India being one of the fastest growing outbound travel markets in the world, this change could reshape travel patterns and encourage more tourists to explore destinations with easier entry procedures and lower visa costs.
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