H.R. 1220: Fee Increases for Reckless Mismanagement Act of 2025

This bill seeks to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to implement increased fees for certain nonimmigrant visa applicants who are nationals of specific countries. The key provisions of the bill can be summarized as follows:

Increased Visa Fees

The Secretary of State will be required to increase the fees for nonimmigrant visa applications filed abroad under section 101(a)(15)(B) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. This increase applies to aliens who are from countries that meet certain criteria regarding their actions related to accepting their citizens, supporting terrorism, or human trafficking.

Criteria for Fee Increases

The fee increases will depend on whether a country meets one or more of the following conditions:

• The Secretary of Homeland Security has reported unreasonable delay or denial from the country’s government to accept its own citizen or resident when requested.
• The country has been designated as a state sponsor of international terrorism.
• The country is classified as a tier 3 country in the Trafficking in Persons report published by the Department of State.

Amount of Fee Increases

The amount by which the fees will be increased is as follows:

• By at least 50% if the country meets one of the criteria.
• By at least 100% if it meets two of the criteria.
• By at least 150% if it meets all three criteria.

Periodic Review of Fee Assessments

The Secretary will conduct a review at the beginning of every month to assess whether current fee increases should be modified. This review will determine if any increases should be lowered or if new fee increases should be applied to additional countries based on the established criteria.

Clerical Amendments

The bill also includes a clerical amendment to update the table of contents of the Immigration and Nationality Act to include the new section related to the fee increases for certain visa applicants.

Relevant Companies

None found.