The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has formally published its annual inflation adjustment to immigration-related fees required by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (HR-1). Beginning 1 January 2026, the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) fee will rise from US $40.00 to US $40.27, the Electronic Visa Update System (EVUS) fee from US $30.00 to US $30.75, and the parole-in-lieu-of-visa fee from US $1,000 to US $1,020. Although the headline increases appear modest, business-travel advisers note that they apply each time an employee registers or updates a record, potentially compounding costs for large mobile populations.
The adjustments are automatic under HR-1, which ties select immigration and border-processing charges to the Consumer Price Index. Because most of the affected services—ESTA, EVUS and parole—are collected and processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection rather than U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the changes do not require a separate rule-making period. DHS officials said the limited increases help offset higher technology, staffing and cybersecurity expenses while avoiding major shocks to travelers and employers.
![DHS Confirms 2026 Visa and Border Fee Hikes Under HR-1]()
Corporate mobility managers should audit upcoming travel plans that rely on the Visa Waiver Program (VWP); every ESTA registration or renewal will be subject to the higher fee if paid on or after 1 January. Likewise, Chinese B-1/B-2 travelers must factor in the EVUS increase when updating their profiles, and companies that use humanitarian or public-interest parole—common in large construction, energy and disaster-recovery projects—should budget for the extra US $20 per application.
Practically, the notice gives travel departments six weeks to pre-pay renewals at the 2025 rate. Global mobility teams are therefore advising employees with expiring ESTAs or EVUS registrations to renew before New Year’s Day, and are reminding travel approvers that each modification to an ESTA record—such as changing a passport number after renewal—triggers a new fee. Because HR-1 mandates annual adjustments, organizations should build a rolling fee-monitoring process into their budgets, much like fuel-surcharge tracking in corporate air contracts.
While the increases will be felt most by frequent short-term travelers from VWP countries (including Canada, Japan, Brazil and Mexico) the cumulative financial impact is expected to be limited compared with the much larger USCIS fee overhaul still slated for 2026. Nevertheless, mobility specialists warn that repeated low-level rises can undermine relocation budgets if they go unnoticed—especially when multiplied across thousands of international assignees and commuters.
The adjustments are automatic under HR-1, which ties select immigration and border-processing charges to the Consumer Price Index. Because most of the affected services—ESTA, EVUS and parole—are collected and processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection rather than U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the changes do not require a separate rule-making period. DHS officials said the limited increases help offset higher technology, staffing and cybersecurity expenses while avoiding major shocks to travelers and employers.
Corporate mobility managers should audit upcoming travel plans that rely on the Visa Waiver Program (VWP); every ESTA registration or renewal will be subject to the higher fee if paid on or after 1 January. Likewise, Chinese B-1/B-2 travelers must factor in the EVUS increase when updating their profiles, and companies that use humanitarian or public-interest parole—common in large construction, energy and disaster-recovery projects—should budget for the extra US $20 per application.
Practically, the notice gives travel departments six weeks to pre-pay renewals at the 2025 rate. Global mobility teams are therefore advising employees with expiring ESTAs or EVUS registrations to renew before New Year’s Day, and are reminding travel approvers that each modification to an ESTA record—such as changing a passport number after renewal—triggers a new fee. Because HR-1 mandates annual adjustments, organizations should build a rolling fee-monitoring process into their budgets, much like fuel-surcharge tracking in corporate air contracts.
While the increases will be felt most by frequent short-term travelers from VWP countries (including Canada, Japan, Brazil and Mexico) the cumulative financial impact is expected to be limited compared with the much larger USCIS fee overhaul still slated for 2026. Nevertheless, mobility specialists warn that repeated low-level rises can undermine relocation budgets if they go unnoticed—especially when multiplied across thousands of international assignees and commuters.
