Your tourists and other non-immigrant visa interviews to the United States can be soon be expadited if you agree to pay a hefty some for it. According to a US official and an internal State Department memo, the Trump administration is considering a $1,000 fee for fast-tracking these visa interview appointments. However, government lawyers have warned that this plan could face legal issues.
Tourist and other short-term US visa applicants already pay a processing fee of $185. The new $1,000 option would provide a premium service to certain applicants to skip the queue and get faster visa interview appointments.
The proposed visa appointment fee, which hasn’t been reported before, is part of Donald Trump’s idea of a gold card plan. This plan would offer US citizenship for $5 million, granting faster access to those willing to pay.
Why lawyers are calling it ‘high risk’?
The program could arrive in pilot form as soon as December, the memo reviewed by Reuters said.
The memo further pointed out, the State Department’s legal team noted there is ‘high risk’ associated with the proposal and it would be rejected by the White House budget office or struck down in US courts.
Setting a fee above the cost to provide the service “is contrary to settled Supreme Court precedent,” the memo said.
Meanwhile, a State Department spokesperson said, as reported by Reuters, the department does not comment on internal documents and communications.
“The department’s scheduling of non-immigrant visa interview appointments is dynamic and we are continually working to improve our operations worldwide,” the spokesperson said.
Since taking office on January 20, Trump has aggressively cracked down on immigration, including revoking some student visas and increasing scrutiny of all visa applicants. The State Department issued 10.4 million non-immigrant visas in fiscal year 2023, including 5.9 million tourist visas, according to the agency’s most recent annual report.
International travel spending in the United States is expected to decline about 7% in 2025 as opposition to Trump’s policies and a strong dollar prompt foreign visitors to opt for other destinations, the World Travel and Tourism Council said in May.
(With inputs from Reuters)
