The United States State Department is preparing to launch a pilot program offering foreign business and tourist visa applicants the option of securing an interview within ten days of payment by paying a non-refundable premium fee of $750, a figure that includes the standard $185 application charge, with the initiative running from July 1 to December 31 and potentially extended depending on demand.
The program, details of which were contained in documents obtained ahead of a Federal Register notice, is targeted at B1 and B2 visa categories covering international travel for business and tourism. It would allow applicants at select US embassies and consulates, to be announced before July 1, to jump the queue at a time when wait times for interview appointments in non-Visa Waiver Program countries can run to several months or, in some cases, more than a year. Payment of the fee does not guarantee visa approval, and applicants who secure an expedited slot will have between five and ten minutes to complete payment before the appointment is released to other applicants.
The pilot comes as a growing backlog in visa processing has drawn complaints from applicants worldwide, against a backdrop of the Trump administration’s wider tightening of immigration entry conditions including demands for bonds of up to $15,000 for processing in some countries and requirements for years of social media history to be vetted.
Japan simultaneously announced its first visa fee revision in 48 years, raising single-entry visa fees from approximately $18.60 to $92.99 and multiple-entry fees from $37.20 to $187.97, with the changes taking effect on July 1. The Japanese government said it was aligning its charges more closely with those of Western countries while using the additional revenue to manage the administrative costs of a foreign resident population that reached a record 4.13 million at the end of 2025.
