Entering the US in 2026: what it really costs a visa-waiver traveller

Entering the United States costs a visa-waiver traveller $40, about €34, since 30 September 2025: that is the new price of the ESTA. Those who no longer qualify pay $185 for a visa, and up to $435 (€374) if the $250 integrity fee passed in 2025 is charged. These figures were checked on 6 September 2026 against official US and French sources, at the ECB reference rate of 4 September (€1 = $1.1622).

The price of the ticket in is only the visible part. What has changed most since 2025 is what the border officer can ask of you: your unlocked phone, your online accounts, your sex at birth, and an exact answer to every question. Accounts of European tourists held for weeks in 2025 pushed Berlin and London to rewrite their travel advice. Paris, so far, has not followed on that point.

This article sets out what you will pay depending on your situation, who has lost access to the ESTA, what the law says about device searches, and how many travellers are actually affected. For the European rules (EES, the 90-day limit, passport validity), see our piece on why travellers are refused boarding in 2026.

How much does the ESTA cost in 2026, and why has it almost doubled?

The ESTA has cost at least $40 since 30 September 2025, up from $21. The increase comes from the H.R.1 budget law signed on 4 July 2025; the Federal Register notice of 28 August 2025 spells out how it applies: $17 for the travel promotion fund, $10 in processing fees (previously $4), and a new $13 charge paid to the Treasury. The total on screen can slightly exceed $40: according to CBP's help desk, a processing share of around ten dollars is taken when you file, and the rest only if the authorisation is granted. That detail does not appear in the official text, so treat it as an indication.

What those $40 buy

An authorisation valid for two years, or until your passport expires if that comes first, for stays of up to 90 days, for tourism or business. The CBP FAQ states that a change of name, sex, nationality or passport requires a new, paid application. Updating a flight or an address stays free on every trip.

The French foreign ministry recommends filing at least 72 hours before departure. CBP goes further and advises applying before you even buy your tickets, which makes sense: a refused authorisation means going through the visa route, and therefore months of delay.

One official website

Applications are made only on esta.cbp.dhs.gov. The French foreign ministry describes it as "the only site authorised by the US authorities". Private intermediaries, often well placed in search results, fill in the form on your behalf at a price they set themselves. CBP points out that they have no connection with the US government. The official form exists in French, German, Spanish and other languages: the intermediary gains you nothing, except a bigger bill.

Who no longer qualifies for the ESTA?

Three groups of visa-waiver travellers are shut out of the ESTA and must apply for a visa, even for a week in New York: anyone who has been to Cuba since 12 January 2021, anyone who has set foot in one of eight listed countries since 1 March 2011, and dual nationals of five countries. The rule comes from the Visa Waiver Program Improvement Act of 2015, for which CBP publishes an official FAQ.

Cuba: the case that surprises most people

Cuba was placed on the list of state sponsors of terrorism on 12 January 2021. The Biden administration removed it on 14 January 2025; the Trump administration put it back six days later, on 20 January. The result: any presence in Cuba since 12 January 2021 closes the ESTA to you. The question has appeared explicitly on the form since July 2023, and lying in answer to it amounts to a false statement to the US authorities. A stay in Havana in 2019, on the other hand, causes no problem at all.

The eight countries since 2011

Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and North Korea. A single presence there since 1 March 2011 is enough, however short. The only exceptions cover military personnel and officials on official duty for a Visa Waiver Program member state.

Dual nationals

A French, British or other visa-waiver citizen who also holds Iranian, Iraqi, Sudanese, Syrian or Cuban nationality cannot obtain an ESTA, without exception, even if they have never used the second passport. They remain eligible for a B1/B2 visa on their European passport. For the other authorisations you need before flying elsewhere in the world, our piece on eTAs, e-visas and embassy visas covers around twenty destinations.

The B1/B2 visa: $185, an interview in person, and a $250 fee still in limbo

The B1/B2 tourist visa carries a $185 application fee, non-refundable even if the visa is denied, according to the State Department fee schedule. On top of that may come the $250 Visa Integrity Fee created by the H.R.1 law of 4 July 2025. The theoretical total therefore reaches $435, or €374.

An in-person interview for everyone

Since 1 October 2025, all non-immigrant visa applicants attend an interview at the consulate, including children under 14 and people over 79, who used to be exempt. The only exception for a B1/B2 is renewing a visa that expired less than twelve months ago, provided you apply in your country of residence and have never been refused. A French traveller applying for a first visa after a trip to Cuba therefore has to go to the embassy in Paris.

The wait matters as much as the price. As of 17 August 2026, the next available slot in Paris for a B1/B2 visa was two and a half months away. The French foreign ministry advises, for any visa, allowing several months. Booking a non-refundable flight before you have the visa in hand is the first trap on this route.

The $250 fee: passed, but not yet visible

The Visa Integrity Fee is in the law. It applies to every non-immigrant visa issued, and never to travellers on an ESTA. The law describes it as refundable once the visa has expired, provided you did not work without authorisation and left the country no later than five days after the end of your authorised stay. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the refund system could take years to materialise.

As of 31 August 2026, the official consular fee page still showed only the $185, and no State Department announcement had set a collection date. The international students office at Boston University reported in May 2026 that some consulates had started charging it. Our advice: budget $185, keep $250 in reserve, and check the amount requested when you pay.

The general direction is towards paying for access. Since 18 August 2026, a pilot programme offers an appointment within ten working days for $750 on top of the application fee. It covers only a handful of posts in the Americas, not Paris or other European capitals.

Do you have to declare your social media to enter the United States?

For the ESTA, the answer as of 6 September 2026 is no: the "online presence" field remains optional, as it has been since its introduction in late 2016. For a visa, the DS-160 form has asked for your handles from the past five years since 2019. And a much broader requirement is in the works.

The proposal of 10 December 2025

CBP published in the Federal Register a plan that would make it mandatory, for every ESTA application, to list your social media accounts from the past five years, your phone numbers over five years, your email addresses over ten years, your IP addresses, the identity of your relatives and biometric data. The text cites the presidential order of 20 January 2025 on protection against foreign threats. The public consultation closed on 9 February 2026 with around two thousand comments.

According to the travel trade press, CBP announced in May 2026 a revised, "waterfall" version: the history would only be requested depending on the answers given on the form. A new consultation is planned and nothing would apply before the end of 2026. A briefing by the American Institute of Physics confirmed in March 2026 that the rule was not in force.

Public profiles required for some visas

Since June 2025, applicants for student and exchange visas (F, M, J) have had to set their accounts to public for consular review. The requirement was extended on 30 March 2026 to a dozen other categories, including domestic workers, fiancés and religious workers. B1/B2 tourist visas are not on that list.

Sex at birth

Since the executive order of 20 January 2025, both the ESTA and the visa form ask for sex at birth, with only two options. The French foreign ministry flags it in its country advice. Denmark and Finland warned as early as March 2025 that a mismatch between that answer and the passport could lead to a refusal.

What can an officer do with your phone at the border?

They can ask you to unlock it, look through it, and if you refuse, take that refusal into account when deciding whether to let you in. It is written plainly on CBP's page on border searches of electronic devices: for a non-citizen, "CBP may consider noncompliance when determining admissibility". A US citizen cannot be refused entry, but their device can be held.

How many travellers are affected?

In fiscal year 2025, from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025, CBP searched 55,318 devices out of 419 million crossings, or fewer than 0.01% of travellers. The figure was 41,567 in 2023 and 46,362 in 2024 according to CBP's FY2024 annual statistics: a rise of a third in two years. The individual odds stay low; the trend is clear.

In 92% of cases the search is described as basic: the officer scrolls through the content by hand. The remaining 8% are advanced searches, where the device is connected to extraction equipment. Those require reasonable suspicion and a supervisor's approval under internal directive 3340-049B. Airplane mode is requested before any search: the officer examines what is stored on the device, not what sits in the cloud.

What Paris, Berlin and London say

The French foreign ministry's travel advice for the United States, updated on 31 August 2026, recommends "not joking with CBP officers" and recalls the duty to declare more than $10,000 in cash. It devotes no paragraph to phone searches. The German foreign office, by contrast, writes in its advice dated 6 September 2026 that a valid ESTA or visa "gives no right of entry" and that phones or laptops may be checked. The British Foreign Office is the most direct of the three.

How to prepare, in practice

Back up your data before you leave, then travel with a lighter device: fewer apps, and log out of the accounts you will not use on the trip. Some business travellers carry a dedicated phone. Answer questions briefly and accurately. A false statement, even on a detail, is a ground of inadmissibility that will follow you on every future application. And don't argue with the officer's sense of humour: there isn't one.

What the 2025 cases show

The cases documented by the press in 2025 share one feature: an officer's doubt about admissibility, born of a contradiction, a suspicion of work, or the contents of a phone. No comparable case involving a European tourist had been documented by a major outlet in 2026 at the time of writing.

The CNRS researcher, March 2025

On 9 March 2025, a French researcher on his way to a conference near Houston was stopped on arrival. His phone and laptop were searched, messages criticising the Trump administration's science policy were noted, and the equipment was confiscated. He was sent back to Europe the next day. France's higher education minister and the foreign ministry publicly deplored the decision; the Department of Homeland Security disputed the French account.

Three Europeans held for weeks

According to reporting by PBS and the Associated Press, a German tattoo artist spent 46 days in a San Diego detention centre from 25 January 2025, suspected of intending to work with the equipment found in her luggage. A 25-year-old German spent 16 days there in February after a confused answer about where he lived on his way back from Mexico; his return ticket cost him $2,744. A 28-year-old Welsh illustrator was held for nearly three weeks in Tacoma, turned away first by Canada and then by the United States on re-entry.

A disputed case

In June 2025, a 21-year-old Norwegian said he had been turned away at Newark because of a meme found on his phone. DHS replied that he had admitted to drug use. Whichever version is right, the episode shows that the phone was opened and read.

After these cases, Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark and Finland tightened their travel advice in March 2025. Berlin now states that even a minimal overstay or a false declaration can lead to arrest and deportation.

Does the 2026 travel ban affect dual nationals from Europe?

No, as long as they travel on their European passport. The proclamation of 16 December 2025, in force since 1 January 2026, fully suspends entry for nationals of 19 countries and partially, for tourist, student and exchange visas, for 20 others. The partial list includes Ivory Coast, Senegal, Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Gabon, Cuba and Venezuela. The text expressly exempts dual nationals travelling on the passport of a country not on the list.

A French-Senegalese traveller with a French passport therefore keeps their ESTA. A French-Iranian or French-Cuban traveller has no ESTA because of the dual-nationality rule described above, but can apply for a visa on the French passport. Visas already issued have not been revoked.

The other fees and conditions not to forget

The passport must be biometric, which is the case for every European passport in circulation. France is on the list of countries exempt from the six-month rule, updated by CBP on 18 December 2025, as are the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand: a passport valid for the length of the stay is legally enough. The French foreign ministry nevertheless recommends six months' validity beyond the return date, to avoid any discussion at the desk.

The I-94 form has cost $30 since 30 September 2025, up from $6, but only at land border crossings. If you drive in from Canada or Mexico, that amount is added. Arriving by air or sea, the form is automated and free.

No public scheme covers a European tourist in the United States. According to hospital data compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation, one day in hospital represented an average of $3,297 in costs in 2024, before any medical procedure. It is an order of magnitude, not a bill, but it is enough to justify dedicated cover. Our piece on travel insurance details what bank cards actually cover.

Are Europeans still travelling to the United States?

Less than before. The United States welcomed 68.3 million international visitors in 2025, 5.5% fewer than in 2024, according to National Travel and Tourism Office data. Overseas visitors, excluding Canada and Mexico, fell by 2.5%. French visitors numbered 1.59 million.

The NTTO spring 2026 forecast expects an overall rebound of 3.2% this year, driven partly by the football World Cup in June and July. France is the exception: the NTTO forecasts a further 1% decline in 2026, making it the only major European market in decline, while the United Kingdom would grow by 3.5% and Germany by 2.1%.

The 2026 monthly data, reported by Forbes from NTTO figures, point the same way: in May, arrivals from Western Europe fell by 10% and those from France by 9%; in July, despite the World Cup, total international arrivals were still down 3% according to the same outlet on 13 August 2026. The cost of entry does not explain everything, but it weighs on a travel decision that has become less obvious. For an overview of the rules that changed this year, see what changed for EU travellers in 2026.

The real cost of entry in 2026: the recap

Euro amounts are converted at the ECB rate of 4 September 2026 (€1 = $1.1622) and rounded. They apply per person, children included: a baby needs its own ESTA.

To these fixed costs add time: a few minutes for an ESTA, a two-and-a-half-month wait for an interview in Paris as of 17 August 2026, and the trip to the embassy.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a new ESTA if you change passport?

Yes. The ESTA is tied to your passport number and expires with it. A new passport means a new $40 application, as does a change of name, sex or nationality, or a different answer to one of the eligibility questions. Changing a flight number or an address stays free.

Can you refuse to give your phone passcode?

You can refuse, but for a foreign visitor CBP may take that refusal into account when deciding on admission, and may hold the device. In practice, a firm refusal often leads to a refusal of entry. The realistic strategy is not to bring what you don't want seen, rather than to refuse on the spot.

Does a trip to Cuba in 2019 rule out the ESTA?

No. Only a presence in Cuba on or after 12 January 2021 counts. An earlier trip has no effect on eligibility. If you have been there since that date, even on a stopover, the B1/B2 visa route is the only option.

Does the Visa Integrity Fee apply to the ESTA?

No. The $250 fee applies only to non-immigrant visas issued by a consulate. Travellers on an ESTA are exempt under the law itself. The same law did, however, raise the ESTA from $21 to $40.