The US State Department is launching a paid fast-track visa interview programme starting July 1. Pay $750 extra and get your B1/B2 interview within 10 days — no justification needed. Here is everything you need to know.
If you have ever tried booking a US visa appointment from India recently, you know the pain. Waiting times at major consulates have stretched to weeks, sometimes months. Business trips get cancelled. Family reunions get postponed. Wedding invitations go unaccepted. And through all of it, there is nothing you can do except refresh the appointment booking page and hope.
That is about to change — if you can afford it.
The US State Department is set to launch a pilot project offering expedited B1/B2 visa interview appointments for an additional fee of $750. Under this pilot programme, applicants will be able to get an interview appointment at selected US consulates within 10 days. The project will run from July 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026.
At current exchange rates, $750 works out to roughly Rs 64,000. That is a significant sum. But for many Indians — IT professionals flying to client meetings, students attending university orientation, business owners closing deals — it may be the most valuable Rs 64,000 they ever spend.
What Exactly Are You Paying For?
This is the critical detail that every applicant must understand before reaching for their wallet.
The $750 fee will be in addition to the regular $185 visa application fee. However, the payment will only help applicants secure a faster interview slot. It will not speed up visa processing or guarantee visa approval.
Read that again. You are paying for speed of access — not for a better chance of approval. The consular officer who interviews you will make their decision exactly as they would for any other applicant. The premium fee buys you a seat at the table faster. What happens at that table remains entirely up to you and the officer across from it.
The premium appointment option will be available only for B1/B2 visa applicants — the standard tourist and business visa category that the vast majority of Indian travellers to the US apply for.
How Does This Compare to the Current System?
Right now, getting an earlier-than-usual appointment is theoretically possible but practically very difficult.
At present, applicants can request expedited interviews at no extra cost only under exceptional circumstances, requiring strict review and intervention by consular or mission staff. There are currently three main ways to seek an expedited appointment: through the “Referral” process where a senior US government employee vouches for the applicant; through a “Priority Appointment Request” made by an authorised US government employee; or through an applicant-requested expedite for extreme cases such as urgent humanitarian reasons.
In other words, the existing system requires either personal connections inside a US diplomatic mission or a genuine emergency. Most people — even those with perfectly legitimate urgent travel needs — simply do not qualify.
Under the new paid pilot programme, applicants will not need to submit a written request to justify the urgency. No emergency documentation. No vouching from government contacts. Just the fee and your application.
What Immigration Experts Are Saying
The response from immigration attorneys has been cautiously positive — with one important caveat.
“$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.
Attorney Steven Brown also said the move may help those who need to travel at short notice. “Considering some folks need to travel on short notice, this isn’t a bad thing,” he said.
The unspoken concern, however, is one of equity. A fast-track system available only to those who can pay Rs 64,000 on top of their regular fees creates a two-tier system — one queue for those who can afford to jump it, and another for everyone else. For a middle-class Indian family planning their first US trip, or a small business owner trying to attend a trade fair, the premium option may simply not be within reach.
Why This Is Happening Now
The timing of this initiative is not accidental. Travel to the US has become more difficult under the Trump administration due to several new visa rules. Some countries are already on the US travel ban list, while nationals of certain countries reportedly face much higher visa-related costs. In many countries, waiting times for US visa appointments have also increased sharply, making the backlog at consulates a genuine and growing problem.
The paid fast-track programme is, in part, an acknowledgement that the current system is overwhelmed — and that the US government is willing to use a market-based mechanism to manage demand.
Should You Use It?
If you have an urgent, time-sensitive reason to travel to the US between July and December 2026 — a business conference, a medical appointment, a child’s college joining date, a family emergency — and the regular appointment queue puts that travel at risk, the premium option is worth serious consideration.
If your travel is flexible and the regular queue works within your timeline, save the Rs 64,000.
And if you are somewhere in between — as most people are — the good news is that you now have a choice you did not have before. Whether that choice feels fair is a different question. But for the thousands of Indians who have watched critical opportunities slip away because of appointment backlogs, it may feel, for the first time in a while, like a door cracking open.
Key Facts at a Glance
The premium fee is $750, in addition to the standard $185 application fee. The programme runs from July 1 to December 31, 2026. Interview appointment within 10 days at selected consulates. Available for B1/B2 visa applicants only. Does not guarantee visa approval. No justification or emergency documentation required.
