Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday that if Democrats remain in power, the State Department plans to increase visa appointments by one million in 2025. This initiative aims to improve access for travelers to the United States.
Blinken highlighted that the State Department has invested significantly in visa and passport processing in recent years. This effort resulted in a record 11.5 million visas issued in fiscal year 2024, including 8.5 million visitor visas—a 10% increase from the previous year.
“We are committed to continuing this progress,” Blinken stated. “Our goal is to add an additional million visa appointments in fiscal year 2025, building on last year’s record numbers.”
He also noted that visa wait times have decreased by nearly 60% since the peak of the pandemic. The current median wait time for a first-time visitor’s visa interview is now under 60 days.
The U.S. Travel Association, which has often criticized the State Department for its handling of visa wait times, welcomed the announcement. CEO Geoff Freeman stated, “Setting a formal processing goal and prioritizing visa wait time reduction will enhance the United States’ global competitiveness for decades.”
Freeman emphasized that increasing visa appointments would help reduce wait times to 90 days for most visitors. This is particularly important as the U.S. prepares to host major events like the FIFA World Cup, which could bring up to 6 million international visitors.
Blinken mentioned that the increase in appointments would support travel to the U.S. for upcoming major sporting events, including the FIFA World Cup, the Olympics, and the Rugby World Cup. “We are ramping up our capacity to ensure that everyone coming for these significant events receives their visas smoothly and promptly,” he said.
The U.S. Travel Association had previously warned that visa backlogs could prevent international visitors from attending these events.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, also present at the announcement, praised travel industry leaders for expressing their concerns about visa delays. “We heard that visa wait times were a significant obstacle,” she said. “That’s why we collaborated with the State Department to streamline the visa process.”
Raimondo emphasized the importance of travel and tourism as a vital sector for the economy, stating, “This industry supports millions of good-paying jobs in the U.S.” She added that making it easier to travel to the U.S. would provide a significant boost to the travel and tourism sector.
According to Raimondo, the U.S. is expected to attract 90 million annual visitors by 2026, a substantial increase from 66 million last year and 50 million the year before.
Faster Passport Renewals
Blinken also discussed improvements in passport processing. Since launching online passport renewal in September, turnaround times have improved from one month to just one week. “We are modernizing our services to better serve the American public,” he noted. More than one million Americans have already used the online passport renewal service, contributing to a record 24.5 million passports issued in 2024. Current wait times for passports are now four to six weeks.
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