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This bill would require the State Department to raise the application fee for certain U.S. visitor visa applicants from countries the government says are not cooperating with U.S. immigration or security goals. It targets people applying abroad for a B visa, which is a short-term visitor visa. The fee would go up if the applicant is from a country that has refused to take back its citizens after removal from the United States, has been named a sponsor of terrorism, or is listed as a worst-level country for human trafficking. The more of these problems a country has, the larger the fee increase would be. The bill also says the State Department must review these decisions every month and adjust the fees if a country’s status changes.
- The fee would increase by at least 50% if a country meets one of the listed conditions.
- The fee would increase by at least 100% if a country meets two of the conditions.
- The fee would increase by at least 150% if a country meets all three conditions.
- The State Department would review the country list every month to decide whether to raise or lower the added fee.
Official Summaries
Fee Increases for Reckless Mismanagement Act of 2025 or FIRM Act of 2025
This bill requires the Department of State to increase the fee for certain nonimmigrant visa applicants (i.e., those who are visiting temporarily for business or pleasure) who are nationals of certain countries. In particular, the State Department must increase the fee on the nationals of a country if the State Department determines that the government of the country has denied or delayed the acceptance of certain non-U.S. nationals, if the State Department has designated the country as a state sponsor of international terrorism, or if the country is not meeting certain standards for combating human trafficking.
The fee increases with each of the criteria the country meets. The State Department must evaluate countries based on the criteria monthly and adjust the fee accordingly.
Current Full Text
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1220 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1220
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Secretary of
State to increase the fee imposed on aliens filing an application
abroad for a visa authorizing admission to the United States as a
nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(B) who are nationals of
certain countries, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 11, 2025
Mrs. Wagner (for herself and Mr. Gill of Texas) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to direct the Secretary of
State to increase the fee imposed on aliens filing an application
abroad for a visa authorizing admission to the United States as a
nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(B) who are nationals of
certain countries, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Fee Increases for Reckless
Mismanagement Act of 2025'' or ``FIRM Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. FEE INCREASE FOR CERTAIN NONIMMIGRANT VISA APPLICANTS.
(a) In General.--The Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101
et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 281 the following:
``SEC. 281A. FEE INCREASE FOR CERTAIN NONIMMIGRANT VISA APPLICANTS.
``(a) Fee Increase.--The Secretary of State shall increase the fee
imposed under section 281 on an alien filing an application abroad for
a visa authorizing admission to the United States as a nonimmigrant
described in section 101(a)(15)(B) in accordance with subsection (b)
for any alien who is a national of a country with respect to which the
Secretary determines any of the following:
``(1) The Secretary of Homeland Security has reported to
the Secretary of State under section 243(d) that the government
of the country has denied or unreasonably delayed accepting an
alien who is a citizen, subject, national, or resident of that
country after the Secretary of Homeland Security asked whether
the government would accept the alien.
``(2) The Secretary of State has designated the country as
a state sponsor of international terrorism (as such term is
defined in section 214(c)(4)(F)(ii)).
``(3) The country is listed as a tier 3 country in the most
recent Trafficking in Persons report of the Office to Monitor
and Combat Trafficking in Persons of the Department of State.
``(b) Amount of Increase.--The Secretary shall increase the fee
described in subsection (a) as follows:
``(1) If the Secretary determines that the country meets
one of the criteria described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of
subsection (a), the Secretary shall increase such fee by not
less than 50 percent.
``(2) If the Secretary determines that the country meets
two of the criteria described in paragraphs (1) through (3) of
subsection (a), the Secretary shall increase such fee by not
less than 100 percent.
``(3) If the Secretary determines that the country meets
three of the criteria described in paragraphs (1) through (3)
of subsection (a), the Secretary shall increase such fee by not
less than 150 percent.
``(c) Periodic Review.--On the first day of each month, the
Secretary shall review the determinations under subsection (a), to
determine whether any increase imposed should be reduced, or whether an
increase should be imposed on nationals of any additional countries.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents for the Immigration
and Nationality Act is amended by inserting after the item related to
section 281 the following:
``281A. Fee increase for certain nonimmigrant visa applicants.''.
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