More Mexicans Travel to the U.S. Despite Higher Tourist Visa Fees

(UNITED STATES) Despite higher U.S. tourist visa costs, more Mexican travelers are crossing the border for leisure in 2025, according to multiple news reports that confirm the trend but offer few concrete details, precise counts, or statements from officials. The rise comes even as the nonimmigrant visa application fee — known as the MRV fee — for most U.S. visitor categories is now $185 USD, and Mexican citizens still face the standard visa requirement for entry beyond the border zone.

The increase matters because Mexicans visiting U.S. destinations usually need a B-2 tourist visa for trips focused on leisure, family visits, or short-term medical care. The process includes the $185 USD MRV fee paid to the U.S. Department of State, and in many cases, additional costs tied to reciprocity agreements depending on visa type. If a trip extends beyond the immediate border area, travelers must also obtain an I-94 permit issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which carries a $6 USD charge. These fees are fixed costs at the application or entry stage and apply regardless of whether the purpose is a beach getaway in California, shopping in Texas, or family visits in Illinois.

While current reporting does not provide exact entry totals for 2025, several outlets have noted that arrivals from Mexico for tourism are up despite the higher MRV fee. That suggests strong underlying demand that has not softened with the price increase, and it reflects a broader story playing out in North American travel this year. Passenger seats between the two countries expanded further in July 2025, when air capacity between Mexico and the United States reached 4.6 million scheduled seats, a 5.5% increase from the same month a year earlier. By volume, that made the Mexico–U.S. corridor the second busiest in the world, a level of connectivity that makes weekend trips, reunions, and city breaks more viable for travelers on both sides of the border.

The infrastructure to handle that volume has been deepening. Airports and carriers have added flights on popular routes that connect major Mexican cities like Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Tijuana with U.S. hubs such as Los Angeles, Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago, and New York. Additional frequencies to secondary cities have helped disperse traffic, giving travelers alternatives that can lower costs or shorten total travel time. Increased seat supply in July 2025 aligns with the observation that more Mexicans are visiting the U.S., since capacity is often a leading indicator for tourism movements.

The macro picture also supports the trend. The U.S. tourism industry reported a modest uptick in total inbound arrivals in 2025, with a 1.3% increase in April compared with the same month in 2024. That figure covers all nationalities, not just Mexican citizens, but it aligns with reports of rising Mexican arrivals this year. On the other side of the border, Mexico is having a banner year of its own: between January and July 2025, the country recorded 47.4 million international visitors, with a substantial share arriving from the United States. Robust two-way travel often reflects stable air networks, strong cross-border family ties, and a diverse set of destinations attracting travelers in both directions.

For Mexican citizens planning a leisure trip, the path remains familiar but structured. A B-2 tourist visa is required in almost all cases, aside from limited circumstances involving border-zone visits. The MRV fee is now $185 USD, and travelers should be prepared for the separate I-94 permit fee of $6 USD if they plan to go beyond the immediate border region. Depending on the visa type and reciprocity agreements, some applicants may encounter additional costs. The U.S. Department of State’s B Visitor Visa (B-1/B-2) — travel.state.gov page explains eligibility and application steps for the B-2 tourist visa, including interview requirements, documentation, and fee payment procedures, and serves as the official reference point for prospective travelers B Visitor Visa (B-1/B-2) — travel.state.gov.

The reports indicating growth in Mexicans visiting U.S. destinations do not pinpoint specific cities or routes driving the increase, and they do not include direct quotes from travelers, officials, or tour operators. Even so, the timing lines up with the measurable increase in bilateral air capacity and the overall improvement in inbound traffic to the United States. Airlines typically add seats when they expect demand to rise or persist, and the 4.6 million scheduled seats recorded in July 2025 suggest carriers anticipate full planes in both directions through the peak summer and into the fall shoulder season.

At the individual level, the fee structure can shape trip planning, especially for families applying for several visas at once. The MRV fee of $185 USD applies per applicant for the B-2 tourist visa, and costs can multiply when parents apply alongside teenage children or when extended families coordinate travel to weddings, graduations, or holidays. The I-94 permit cost of $6 USD is comparatively small, but it is an additional step at the border for those traveling beyond the zone near Mexico’s shared frontier with the United States. Reciprocity fees, when applicable, can add another layer that travelers must budget for before departure.

What stands out in 2025 is that this cost picture has not halted growth. The reports describe a clear year-on-year rise in Mexican tourist arrivals to the United States, even though the MRV fee rose in recent years to the current $185 USD level. In practical terms, that indicates that the perceived value of trips to U.S. destinations — whether to see relatives, shop, attend concerts and sporting events, or visit national parks — remains strong enough to offset higher application costs. It also suggests that visa processes for repeat travelers, who often build experience with documentation and interviews over time, may feel more manageable even as fees have increased.

The lack of precise arrival numbers for 2025 makes it difficult to compare growth rates across months or against pre-pandemic baselines, but the directional trend is consistent across the sources that have reported on it. That picture dovetails with an aviation market that has been adding cross-border capacity steadily, as airlines expand frequencies on routes that fill reliably and experiment with seasonal services. When carriers sustain a corridor with millions of monthly seats, it typically reflects a resilient mix of leisure and visiting-friends-and-relatives travel, combined with business traffic that benefits from flexible schedules.

For border communities, this dynamic can filter quickly into local economies. Shoppers from Mexico have long helped sustain retail districts near ports of entry in Texas, Arizona, and California, and leisure visitors pushing beyond the border zone contribute to hotels and attractions across states like Nevada, Florida, and New York. As more Mexicans visiting U.S. cities make trips this year, tourist-facing businesses — from outlet malls to theme parks — are likely seeing a noticeable effect in weekend and holiday traffic. The reports do not quantify that impact, but it correlates with the broader uptick in inbound arrivals noted by the U.S. tourism sector in April.

The regulatory framework remains stable. Mexican passport holders still need a B-2 tourist visa for standard leisure trips, must pay the MRV fee of $185 USD, and, if traveling beyond the border zone, must obtain an I-94 permit for $6 USD at the time of crossing. There is no indication in the current reporting of changes to these requirements, and no official statements are cited affirming adjustments to interview backlogs or processing times. Prospective travelers therefore continue to follow the established steps, scheduling consular appointments, submitting applications, and preparing supporting documents according to instructions from the U.S. Department of State and U.S. consular posts in Mexico.

The momentum in air capacity underscores how integrated the two tourism markets have become. In July 2025, the 4.6 million scheduled seats connecting Mexico and the United States placed the corridor among the busiest anywhere, trailing only one other global pairing. That scale favors last-minute travel, lowers the risk that a single cancellation strands passengers, and can, at times, temper fare spikes on popular weekends. When capacity grows by 5.5% year over year, as it did in July 2025, it often reflects carriers’ confidence that demand is not only back but expanding beyond earlier peaks.

For now, the emerging story in 2025 is straightforward: higher visa costs have not stalled cross-border leisure trips. More Mexicans are visiting U.S. destinations this year, according to multiple reports, even as applicants pay the $185 USD MRV fee for the B-2 tourist visa and, when needed, the $6 USD I-94 permit to travel beyond the border zone. Without precise arrival counts or official comment, the picture is incomplete, but the supporting signals — stronger air capacity, a 1.3% rise in total U.S. inbound arrivals in April, and Mexico’s own record visitor numbers — point in the same direction. The result is a travel corridor that remains among the world’s busiest, buoyed by steady demand, dense flight networks, and millions of travelers who continue to make the trip.