Updated November 12, 2026

Cost of a US travel visa: B-1/B-2 visitor fees, ESTA rules, and status extensions

Applying for a standard B-1 business or B-2 visitor travel visa requires paying the State Department's per-person non-petition nonimmigrant visa processing fee listed in the fee table below. Every traveler needs a separate visa application and fee payment, including accompanying spouses and children, and a reciprocal visa issuance fee may also apply under the State Department's fee schedule. Eligible Visa Waiver Program travelers visiting for 90 days or less can apply online for ESTA instead, while visitors inside the US file Form I-539 with USCIS to extend their stay.

US travel visa fee schedule: visitor, border, and extension costs

What you pay to visit the United States depends on how you enter and how long you stay. Separate federal rules set consular visa fees at US embassies and consulates abroad, Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) rules through US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and extension or travel document fees through US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Every consular nonimmigrant visa fee in the State Department's schedule applies per person. Under USCIS B-1 visitor rules, spouses and children cannot use a dependent visitor visa, so each family member traveling with you must apply separately for a B-2 visa and pay an individual fee.

Fees from ecfr.gov, federalregister.gov, and uscis.gov, as of November 2026

B-1/B-2 tourist and business visa fees, reciprocity, and expedite rules

Under the State Department's consular fee schedule, one per-person processing fee covers non-petition-based nonimmigrant visas except the E category, including B-1 business and B-2 visitor visas. USCIS explains that B-1 status covers temporary commercial or professional business trips that do not involve local US employment for hire. Common B-1 activities include consulting with business associates, attending a scientific, educational, professional, or business convention on specific dates, settling an estate, negotiating a contract, and joining short-term training. Certain travelers transiting the United States and certain air crewmen entering as deadhead crew can also use a B-1 visa.

Mexican citizens applying for a Border Crossing Card fall into two age groups on the State Department's fee schedule. Applicants age 15 and older pay the standard adult rate shown in the table above for a 10-year card. Mexican citizens under age 15 qualify for the reduced minor rate when a parent or guardian already holds or is applying for a Border Crossing Card, and the minor card stays valid for 10 years or until the child turns 15, whichever comes first.

Beyond the standard application processing fee, the State Department's schedule lists two additional consular nonimmigrant visa fee items:

• Nonimmigrant visa issuance fee (reciprocity fee): Listed as reciprocal on the State Department's consular schedule, including for Border Crossing Cards, unless you fall into an exempt diplomatic, UN, US Government sponsored, or approved charitable category.
• Nonimmigrant visa appointment expedite fee: A dedicated per-person fee, shown in the table above, listed on the State Department's consular schedule for nonimmigrant appointment expedite requests.

ESTA vs. a B-1/B-2 travel visa: when you do not need a visa

Citizens or nationals of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries designated by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) can travel to the United States for tourism or business for stays of 90 days or less without getting a visa first. Instead of paying a consular visa processing fee, every VWP traveler must receive an approved ESTA before boarding a US-bound airplane or vessel or arriving at a US land border port of entry.

CBP states that an approved ESTA is not a visa and cannot replace a US visa when US law requires one. Border officers still decide whether you are admissible when you arrive. If you already hold a current, valid visa, you can travel on that visa for the purpose it was issued without applying for ESTA. Five CBP rules shape your VWP travel budget:

• e-Passport chip requirement: Since April 1, 2016, every VWP traveler must hold an e-Passport with a machine-readable zone on the biographic page and an embedded digital chip holding biometric data. Without an e-Passport, you cannot use the VWP.
• Children and transit travelers: Accompanied and unaccompanied children of any age must each get their own ESTA approval. Eligible VWP nationals only transiting the United States on the way to another country also need either an ESTA or a visa.
• Two-year validity and reapplying: ESTA approvals are typically granted for two years or until your passport expires, whichever comes first. You must submit a new ESTA application and pay the associated fee by credit card if you get a new passport, change your name, change your country of citizenship, change the facts behind any yes-or-no eligibility answer, or let your prior ESTA expire.
• Skip private third-party websites: CBP notes that private websites offering to submit ESTA applications are not endorsed by or affiliated with DHS and will not speed up approval.
• If ESTA is denied: US embassies and consulates cannot explain or clear an ESTA denial. To continue with your trip after a denial, you must apply for a nonimmigrant visa at a US embassy or consulate.

Worked examples: what three travel scenarios actually pay

These three worked examples from our team apply the State Department's consular schedule, CBP's ESTA rules, and USCIS's fee rules to common family and solo trips using the fee table above.

Scenario 1: A business traveler, spouse, and 8-year-old child from a non-VWP country taking a 3-week conference and vacation trip. The primary traveler applies for a B-1 business visa. Because USCIS rules provide no dependent visa for B-1 family members, the spouse and child each file a separate B-2 visitor visa application. The family pays three separate non-petition visa processing fees from the first row of the table above, plus any applicable reciprocal issuance fees. If a US relative submits Form I-134 to document financial support, USCIS charges no fee for that form.

Scenario 2: Two VWP parents and an infant visiting relatives for 2 weeks. Because their stay is 90 days or less and all three hold biometric e-Passports, each traveler, including the infant, submits an independent online ESTA application through CBP and pays the associated credit card fee instead of consular visa fees. If the infant's passport expires in less than two years, that child's ESTA expires on the same day as the passport.

Scenario 3: A solo B-1/B-2 visitor already inside the United States who needs 4 extra months. Staying past the date on Form I-94 requires filing Form I-539 with USCIS before current status expires. Submitting Form I-539 online rather than mailing a paper form qualifies for the lower online filing fee shown in the table above.

Extending visitor status in the US and USCIS payment rules

When you arrive at a US port of entry, a border officer sets your authorized stay on Form I-94. Under USCIS B-1 guidance, initial admission lasts 1 to 6 months, with 6 months as the standard maximum, though business visitors may be admitted initially for up to 1 year when needed to carry out business activities. Extensions grant up to 6 months, and the total stay on any single B-1 trip is generally capped at 1 year. To stay beyond your Form I-94 date or change from another valid nonimmigrant status to B-1 or B-2, you must file Form I-539 with USCIS. Filing Form I-539 online costs less than mailing a paper packet under USCIS fee rules, and A, G, and NATO nonimmigrants pay no fee.

Other travel situations use separate USCIS forms listed in the table above. Form I-102 replaces a lost, mutilated, or destroyed Form I-94 or Form I-95. Form I-131 covers Advance Parole and Reentry Permits, with no fee while Form I-485 remains pending if you filed Form I-485 with its fee on or after July 30, 2007, and before April 1, 2024. Form I-131A covers carrier boarding documentation if you lose an approved travel document abroad. Form I-192 covers discretionary advance permission to enter as a nonimmigrant, where the online filing reduction applies only when submitted to USCIS rather than CBP. Certain B-1 personal or domestic servants and employees of foreign airlines do not need an Employment Authorization Document for approved B-1 duties, though they can request one by filing Form I-765 for its separate USCIS fee. Under DHS regulations, non-statutory USCIS fees may be adjusted at most once per year based on the April CPI-U inflation measure, rounded to the nearest five-dollar increment.

USCIS rejects any application sent with the wrong fee unless you are fee-exempt or qualify for a fee waiver. Mailed forms can also be rejected if pages are missing or come from different form editions. Follow these Form G-1055 payment rules:

• Online and USCIS office payments: Pay through Pay.gov when filing online. At a USCIS office, pay through Pay.gov by credit or debit card, or by electronic funds transfer from a US bank using Form G-1650. USCIS never accepts cash, even in person at a field office.
• Mailed Lockbox packets: Pay with a credit, debit, or prepaid card using Form G-1450, or directly from a US bank account using Form G-1650. Filers who qualify for an exemption from electronic payment must include a completed, signed Form G-1651 with their paper payment.
• Fee waivers and statutory fees: Most fee waiver requests cannot be filed online and require mailing a paper Form I-912 with your paper application. Additional statutory fees mandated by law adjust each year, cannot be waived, and must be paid by a separate payment alongside any filing fee.

Who is exempt from US travel visa fees?

Under the State Department's consular fee schedule, seven categories of travelers pay no nonimmigrant visa application processing fee. A parallel rule exempts foreign government representatives, UN Headquarters observer missions, UN Headquarters transit travelers, US Government sponsored program participants, and State Department approved charitable-service travelers from reciprocal nonimmigrant visa issuance fees. The seven application fee exemptions cover:

• Applicants for A, G, C-3, NATO, and diplomatic visas under State Department diplomatic visa rules.
• Applicants for J visas participating in US Government sponsored educational and cultural exchanges.
• Replacement machine-readable visas when the original visa was not properly affixed or must be reissued through no fault of the applicant.
• Applicants exempted by international agreement as determined by the State Department, including members, staff, and immediate families of UN General Assembly recognized observer missions to UN Headquarters.
• Applicants traveling to provide charitable services as determined by the State Department.
• US government employees traveling on government business.
• A parent, sibling, spouse, or child of a US government employee killed in the line of duty traveling for the funeral or burial, or visiting a critically injured employee during emergency treatment and convalescence.

5-step budget checklist and interview funding questions

Work through this 5-step pre-payment checklist from our team before you pay any US travel fee:

Step 1: Check Visa Waiver Program eligibility first. Eligible travelers visiting for 90 days or less with a biometric e-Passport can apply directly on CBP's ESTA website instead of applying for a visa or using unaffiliated private websites.

Step 2: Count one separate fee for every person traveling. Accompanying spouses and children of B-1 business visitors must apply separately for B-2 visas, and children of any age need their own ESTA under the Visa Waiver Program. Mexican citizens under age 15 can check whether they qualify for the minor Border Crossing Card fee in the table above.

Step 3: Check the State Department's fee schedule for any reciprocal visa issuance fee, optional appointment expedite fee, or diplomatic, UN, US Government sponsored, or charitable exemption.

Step 4: Watch your passport and Form I-94 expiration dates. Getting a new passport requires a new ESTA application and fee for VWP travelers, while staying past your Form I-94 date inside the US requires filing Form I-539 online or on paper with USCIS.

Step 5: Gather clear proof of your trip funds before your interview. Under USCIS B-1 visitor criteria, you must show enough funds to cover the expenses of your trip and your stay in the United States, along with a foreign residence and binding ties abroad.

Expect three funding questions at a visitor visa interview:

• Who is paying for your trip, and what do they do? State clearly whether you, your employer, or a relative is covering your travel and stay, and know your income or your supporter's job, US status, and relationship to you.
• How long will you stay, and what will it cost? Match your expected trip expenses to the exact stay length on your application so your plan clearly fits a temporary visit without unauthorized local work.
• What brings you back home afterward? Pair your funding explanation with concrete ties outside the United States, such as your residence, job or business, and family.

Practice example

Who is paying for your trip to the United States, and how much do you expect the visit to cost?

State in your first sentence whether you are paying for the visit yourself, your employer is covering a business trip, or a relative or host is paying part of your stay. Give realistic figures in your own currency for flights, lodging, and daily expenses that match the stay length and US address on your visa application. Under USCIS visitor criteria, you must show enough funds to cover both your trip and your stay in the United States, along with a residence outside the United States and binding ties abroad. If you pay your own way, know your monthly income and savings, and bring recent bank statements or an employer leave letter. If a supporter pays, know their job, immigration status, and relationship to you, plus bank proof or a no-fee Form I-134, and hand over documents only if the officer asks.

The consular officer is checking that you have genuine, accessible funds to cover a temporary visit without unauthorized US work and that your spoken numbers match your application.

This is interview practice, not legal advice. For questions about your own case, talk to an immigration attorney. Visaful is not affiliated with the U.S. government or the Department of State.