State Department Launches Expedited Visitor Visa Pilot

The State Department is rolling out a pilot program that allows visitor visa (B-1/B-2) applicants to pay for an earlier interview date, starting with Mission Mexico as of July 21, 2026. Under this program, applicants in the tourist or business visa category can pay an additional $750 to secure an interview within 10 business days instead of waiting in the standard queue. The pilot runs through the end of 2026 and currently operates only in Mexico, with the possibility of expanding to other posts later.

A B visa is the most common visa travelers use to visit the United States for tourism, family, or business. In many countries, the wait for an interview has stretched for months, and the emergency-appointment process is reserved for a narrow set of urgent circumstances. This pilot program gives applicants who fall outside those criteria another way to get an earlier appointment, without lowering the bar for who qualifies for a visa.

A visitor visa applicant still has to follow the normal steps to schedule an appointment: pay the $185 application fee and book a regular interview. Only then does the expedite option appear, and only where slots remain open. Once an applicant selects an expedited date, the $750 must be paid within ten minutes to lock in the slot. That charge is in addition to the application fee; it will not be refunded and cannot be transferred. The expedited appointment also cannot be rescheduled, so a missed interview means the money is forfeited.

It should be noted that paying the expedite fee does not improve the odds of approval or speed up processing of visa issuance after the interview. An applicant whose request for an emergency appointment was denied may still pay for an expedited slot.

Anyone considering the expedited visa appointment fee should weigh the nonrefundable cost against the actual travel timeline and confirm the slot is one they can reliably attend. The traditional no-fee emergency process also remains in place for serious medical needs and other pressing humanitarian travel, and may be the better route in those cases.

We will continue to monitor the roll-out of this pilot program and provide updates as soon as the State Department extends the program to other Missions. More information about this program is available here.