The US State Department will soon begin a pilot project for an expedited B1/B2 visa appointment at a fee of $750. This will allow the applicants to get an interview appointment at selected posts within 10 days. The pilot project will run from July 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026.The $740 fee is in addition to the standard $185 visa application fee. This will only get the visa applicant a fast interview appointment, and it won’t speed up the visa processing. And only B1/B2 visa applicants, who want to visit the US for tourism or business purpose, will be able to apply for this premium service.Normally, there are three avenues for an applicant to request and receive an expedited interview at no cost in exceptional circumstances. In each of these cases, the applicant still must demonstrate that he or she qualifies for the visa classification requested. All require personal intervention by consular and mission staff under strict criteria.
- The “Referral” process where a senior US government employee of the US diplomatic mission in the country vouches for the applicant and attests that his or her travel benefits US interests.
- The “Priority Appointment Request” where an authorized US government employee of the US diplomatic mission may request the consular section provide an earlier appointment to a contact who furthers US national interest.
- Applicant-requested Expedite Request: Applicants in extreme circumstances may request an expedited appointment to enable travel for humanitarian reasons or other post-specific criteria for urgent travel. Consular managers at post review each of these requests.
But with the new fee, no written application will be needed.For people with urgent business meetings in the US, this will be a helpful measure, experts said. “$750 to make an important business meeting or conference instead of waiting months at a busy consulate? A lot of people will pay that without thinking twice,” immigration attorney Adrian Pandev said. “Considering some folks need to travel on short notice, this isn’t a bad thing,” attorney Steven Brown commented.Traveling to the US has become harder under the Trump administration because of several new visa rules. While some countries are on the travel ban list of the US, some nationals have to pay $15m000 for B1 or B2 visa. Waiting time for visa appointments has also gone up across the world.
