The US's New $250 Visa Fee Starts October 1 — Does Your Hong Kong Passport Pay It?

Washington starts collecting a new $250 "Visa Integrity Fee" on every US nonimmigrant visa issued from 1 October — tourist, student, work, the lot. It was written into law back in mid-2025, but cross-agency rollout dragged for over a year before US consulates were told to actually start charging it this fiscal year. For a Hong Kong traveller working out whether a US trip just got pricier, the honest answer is: almost certainly not, and the reason is entirely about which document is in your hand at check-in.

Who this actually hits

The fee applies only to travellers who need a US nonimmigrant visa — a physical stamp issued after an embassy interview. It does not apply to anyone entering under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) with an ESTA, and Hong Kong SAR passport holders travelling for tourism or business have used VWP/ESTA for years. If your passport says "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" and you're flying over for a holiday or a conference under 90 days, this $250 charge simply isn't yours to pay. Your only US government cost stays the ESTA fee, which sits at US$40.27 (about HK$314) after this year's small inflation adjustment — unchanged by the new rule.

Who does pay it

The gap is BN(O) passport holders and anyone else travelling on a document outside the VWP list. BN(O) is not a VWP-eligible travel document, so a BN(O) holder heading to the US still needs a full B1/B2 visitor visa: an online form, a paid interview slot, and the existing US$185 MRV application fee — regardless of outcome. From 1 October, a newly issued B1/B2 visa adds the US$250 Integrity Fee on top, taking the government-fee line from US$185 to US$435 per person — roughly HK$1,443 rising to HK$3,393. A family of four applying fresh pays an extra US$1,000 (about HK$7,800) in fees that didn't exist a year ago, before a single flight or hotel night is booked.

The fine print that actually matters

Three details change the practical math. First, the fee is charged at visa issuance, not at application — so if your interview lands and the visa is stamped before 1 October, you're not charged, even if you travel later. Second, it doesn't touch a visa you already hold: a valid 10-year US B1/B2 already in an older BN(O) or other passport keeps working exactly as before, at no extra cost, until it needs renewal. Third, it's explicitly non-waivable and non-reducible, unlike some consular fees that can flex by reciprocity agreement — but DHS says compliant travellers can apply for a refund after the visa expires, though the refund process itself hasn't been published yet, so don't bank on getting it back quickly.

Is a US trip still worth it from Hong Kong

For the majority of Hong Kong travellers — HKSAR passport, ESTA, under 90 days — nothing about this changes the trip's arithmetic at all; the US remains exactly as accessible and exactly as expensive as it was last month. For BN(O) holders and anyone else needing a fresh B1/B2, HK$7,800 in extra fees for a family is real money, but it's a rounding error against what a US trip already costs in flights, hotels and a strong-dollar spending environment — this isn't the line item that turns a US trip from worth-it to not. The one move worth making: if you were planning to apply for or renew a B1/B2 anyway this year, an interview slot booked before 1 October is the one lever you can still pull to skip this fee entirely.