The Trump administration is weighing a $1,000 payment for expedited visa interview appointments for vacationers and different nonimmigrant candidates, based on a State Division memo obtained by Reuters.
The pilot may launch as quickly as December. Nonetheless, the company’s authorized workforce mentioned there was a “excessive threat” the proposed payment can be rejected by the White Home funds workplace or struck down in U.S. courts, based on the memo. The memo mentioned setting a payment larger than the associated fee to offer the service “is opposite to settled Supreme Court docket precedent.”
Presently, nonimmigrant visa candidates pay a $185 processing payment.
“The Division’s scheduling of nonimmigrant visa interview appointments is dynamic and we’re regularly working to enhance our operations worldwide,” a State Division spokesperson instructed Skift.
The State Division reported it issued 11.5 million nonimmigrant visas throughout the 2024 fiscal yr, together with 8.5 million customer visas.
Studies of a potential $1,000 payment for an expedited visa interview come after Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned final month that the State Division was methods to hurry up the processing of customer visas forward of subsequent summer season’s FIFA World Cup.
U.S. Journey Affiliation CEO Geoff Freeman mentioned in February that the prolonged wait occasions for visa processing at U.S. workplaces overseas have been a serious deterrent to visiting the nation. The group reported final month that the typical visa wait time for candidates from prime inbound markets was 188 days in April.
