Pay to Skip the Line: The U.S. Now Charges $750 for a Faster Visa Interview

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June 22, 2026 | Breaking News | United States | Visitor Visas

Pay to Skip the Line: The U.S. Now Charges $750 for a Faster Visa Interview

If you've been waiting over a year just to sit in front of a U.S. consular officer for your B-1/B-2 interview, the State Department has an offer for you: pay an extra $750, and you could have that appointment within ten business days.

It's not a joke, and it's not a scam. On June 9, 2026, the Department of State published a temporary final rule amending its Schedule of Fees for Consular Services, creating a new paid option for expedited nonimmigrant visa interview appointments. The program launches July 1 and runs through the end of the year.

Here's everything you need to know — and what we think about it.

What the Program Actually Does (and Doesn't Do)

Let's be precise, because the wording matters enormously here.

Although the phrase "B1/B2 premium processing visa fee" may circulate among applicants, the program is more accurately described as a paid expedited interview appointment option. It does not create premium processing for visa adjudication, does not guarantee visa approval, and does not speed up administrative processing after the interview.

In short: you're paying $750 to get in front of an officer faster. What that officer decides is entirely outside the scope of this fee.

The standard nonimmigrant visa application fee for a B-1/B-2 visa is $185. The $750 expedite fee is charged on top of that, bringing the total to $935.

The Numbers at a Glance

Item	Standard	With Expedite
MRV application fee	$185	$185
Expedited appointment fee	—	$750
Total cost	$185	$935
Interview wait time (high-volume posts)	Up to 12+ months	Within 10 business days
Visa approval guaranteed?	No	No
Fee refundable if visa denied?	N/A	No
Fee refundable if appointment missed?	N/A	No

Program Details

Parameter	Details
Rule published	June 9, 2026 (Federal Register 91 FR 34768)
Pilot start date	July 1, 2026
Pilot end date	December 31, 2026
Visa categories covered	B-1 (business) and B-2 (tourism) only
Interview timeline	Within 10 business days of payment
Available locations	Select consulates only (list on travel.state.gov)
Total pilot capacity	~25,000 expedited slots
Revenue expected	~$19.3 million
Public comment deadline	July 9, 2026

Who Can Use It — and Who Cannot

The pilot does not apply to nationals of Visa Waiver Programme countries, which includes most of Europe (including the UK), Australia, Chile, Israel, Japan, Qatar, and South Korea, among others. Citizens of these countries do not need a B visa to visit the United States for short stays, so the program simply doesn't apply to them.

The people most likely to benefit are applicants from countries with high B-visa demand and severe consular backlogs — think India, Brazil, Mexico, China, Vietnam, Nigeria, and similar high-volume markets where wait times at many posts currently average around a year.

Who the $750 option is designed for:

Profile	Is it worth considering?
Business traveler with an urgent meeting or conference	Yes — if your post is participating
Tourist planning a time-sensitive trip	Possibly — weigh cost vs. flexibility
FIFA World Cup fan trying to get to the U.S. this summer	Potentially — but check participating posts first
Student applying for F-1 visa	No — program covers B-1/B-2 only
H-1B or L-1 applicants	No — business immigration visas excluded
EU/UK/Australian citizens	Not applicable — Visa Waiver Program applies

How to Apply Step by Step

Here are the steps to follow once the program launches on July 1, 2026:

Step 1: Complete the DS-160 nonimmigrant visa application form online at ceac.state.gov

Step 2: Pay the standard B-1/B-2 visa application fee ($185)

Step 3: Check travel.state.gov to confirm whether your local U.S. embassy or consulate is participating in the expedited appointment program

Step 4: If your post is participating and slots are available, pay the additional $750 expedited appointment fee

Step 5: Schedule your interview appointment within ten business days at that post

Step 6: Attend your interview with all required supporting documents and demonstrate your eligibility for the visa

One critical detail from immigration law firms: where the option is available, you will be offered the chance to pay the fee, but you will have only 5–10 minutes to commit once the option is presented. Applicants should think through this decision — and consult the budget — in advance.

Why Now? The World Cup Connection

The United States is hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is generating enormous worldwide interest and a significant surge in B-1/B-2 visa applications from fans, journalists, and business travelers across the globe. Looking ahead, the country will also host the 2028 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.

Given that the pilot period does not fully overlap with either event, the practical effect of this program on visa processing for those events is not yet known. The World Cup is happening right now — not in December. For anyone who missed the pre-summer processing window, the $750 option may be too little, too late for World Cup travel specifically.

What Happens After December 31?

At the end of 2026, the State Department will evaluate pilot outcomes and consider whether to adopt the program permanently, modify it, or end it. With a projected capacity of 25,000 slots and an estimated $19.3 million in revenue, there is a clear financial incentive for expansion — but much will depend on whether the pilot actually clears backlogs or simply adds a premium tier while leaving standard wait times untouched.

Editorial Opinion — The Immigrants

There's something uncomfortable about a system where access to a government interview is now, in part, a function of how much you can afford to pay.

Visa backlogs at U.S. consulates are a real and serious problem. We understand that. At several posts, waiting 12 months or more for a routine visitor visa interview is genuinely harmful — for families, for business relationships, for people who simply want to attend a wedding or a conference. The State Department is right to acknowledge that the system is broken.

But the solution on offer here doesn't actually fix the backlog. It creates a two-tier queue: one lane for people who can afford $935, and another for everyone else still waiting a year. The $750 fee doesn't add consular officers. It doesn't reduce the total number of applicants. It doesn't address why backlogs exist in the first place — which is chronic underfunding and understaffing of consular services.

What it does do is generate $19.3 million in revenue from people who have no choice but to pay if they need to travel urgently. That's not a service improvement. That's monetizing a failure.

We're not opposed to premium services in principle. But a premium service should offer something extra, not simply restore access to something that used to be reasonably available to everyone. When a 10-business-day appointment becomes a luxury, something has gone fundamentally wrong with the system.

Our advice to readers: if you genuinely need to travel urgently and your consulate is participating, evaluate the $750 against the cost of your trip and make the call. But be clear-eyed about what you're buying — speed to the front of a line that shouldn't be this long in the first place.

Disclaimer

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Immigration rules and consulate-specific participation lists may change. The list of participating consular posts has not yet been published by the State Department as of June 22, 2026 — check travel.state.gov after July 1 for updated information. Readers are encouraged to consult a licensed immigration attorney for advice tailored to their specific situation. The Immigrants is not affiliated with any government agency or law firm.