US visas · Expedited appointment pilot
The $750 fast-track US visa interview: what it buys and what it does not
A State Department pilot running July 1 to December 31, 2026 lets B-1/B-2 visitor visa applicants at selected posts pay $750 for an interview within about 10 business days. The fee moves the interview date; approval odds, vetting, and passport return are unchanged.
Written and checked by the QueueCheck editorial team. Last checked July 23, 2026. How we verify information
Before you pay the $750, know what it moves
Under a temporary State Department rule in effect from July 1 through December 31, 2026, B-1/B-2 applicants at selected posts can pay $750 per applicant, on top of the normal $185 application fee, for an interview appointment within about 10 business days, subject to availability. The fee moves your interview date and changes nothing else about the case. You face the usual interview, the usual vetting, and the usual possibility of refusal or administrative processing afterward. Before paying, check your post's actual wait time, whether your post participates at all, and whether a genuine emergency qualifies you for the long-standing free expedite route instead.
Who the paid expedite pilot is really for
Visitor and business visa applicants weighing the paid option against long interview waits, families budgeting multiple fees, and anyone being sold the pilot as a way to skip the queue.
What the June rule created, and until when
- The State Department published a temporary final rule in the Federal Register on June 9, 2026, creating a $750 expedited B-1/B-2 interview appointment fee, effective July 1 through December 31, 2026.
- The fee is optional and per applicant, paid on top of the standard $185 application fee. The rule projects capacity of roughly 25,000 expedited appointments across the pilot.
- It applies only at selected posts, in limited quantities; eligible applicants see a Paid Expedite option in the official appointment system after completing the normal steps.
- Paying moves the interview to within about 10 business days, subject to availability. The rule is explicit that it does not lower requirements, skip security checks, or guarantee approval.
- Posts continue to run their long-standing free emergency appointment routes for qualifying urgent travel; the paid pilot sits alongside that, not in place of it.
The fee, the speed, and the rule's own limits
Rule: a temporary final rule amending the Schedule of Fees for Consular Services, published June 9, 2026, effective July 1 to December 31, 2026.
Price: 750 dollars per applicant for the expedited appointment, separate from and additional to the 185 dollar nonimmigrant visa application fee.
Speed: an interview appointment within roughly 10 business days at participating posts, subject to availability.
Scope: B-1/B-2 visitor and business applicants only, at selected posts listed on travel.state.gov, in limited quantities, with about 25,000 expedited requests projected for the pilot.
Limits, in the rule's own framing: the fee does not reduce visa requirements, bypass vetting, or promise approval, and it does not speed anything that happens after the interview, including administrative processing and passport return.
The paid expedite, line by line
Federal Register rule and official pilot page coverage checked July 23, 2026
The fee buys an earlier interview slot at a participating post. The rest of the case, from the interview itself to the final decision, is unchanged.
Expedite fee
$750
Per applicant, on top of the $185 application fee.
Speed
~10 business days
To the interview, subject to availability at participating posts.
Pilot window
Jul 1 - Dec 31, 2026
The department then decides whether to extend, change, or end it.
Projected capacity
~25,000
Expedited requests across the whole pilot, per the rule.
| What the $750 changes | What it does not change |
|---|---|
| Interview date moves to within about 10 business days | The interview itself, its questions, and its standards |
| Queue position for the appointment slot | Security checks and vetting before and after |
| A trip blocked only by appointment backlog | Approval odds, refusal risk, or 221(g) administrative processing |
| Your place in the appointment queue, and only that | Passport return time after the decision |
Where the skip-the-queue pitch oversells
- The pilot covers B-1/B-2 applicants at selected posts, in limited quantities.
- Emergencies may qualify for the free expedite route; check that first.
- Pricing is per applicant, so costs add up fast for families.
Federal Register rule and State pages checked
- Federal Register temporary final rule of June 9, 2026
- State Department pilot program page and wait-time page
Do not buy a slot from anyone but the system
- The official pilot page and appointment system are the only places the option legitimately exists.
- Figures come from the published rule; availability at any post on any day is not knowable from outside.
Find the trip that matches yours
Your post's wait is months and your event is weeks away
This is the applicant the pilot exists for. Check the Paid Expedite option in the appointment system, confirm the earlier date actually fits your travel after allowing for passport return, and treat the fee as the price of the date, not of the visa.
You are budgeting for a family
Multiply before deciding: the expedite is per applicant, so four travellers means 3,000 dollars on top of the application fees, and one refusal in the group changes the trip anyway. Consider whether the trip date can move instead.
Your post is not participating
The paid option exists only at participating posts. Applying at a different post as a third-country national has its own risks and rules, and the fee at a participating post does not fix a case that belongs at your home post. Check the wait-time page and the free emergency route before booking anything.
A consultant says they can get you a fast slot
The option appears inside the official appointment system for eligible applicants, and nowhere else. Nobody can sell pilot slots, and paying a third party for one is paying for something they do not control.
You have a medical or family emergency
Ask your post about the emergency appointment request route before paying anything. Qualifying urgent travel has long had a free expedite path, and posts continue to run it alongside the pilot.
Fast-track fee worries, answered
Does paying $750 improve my chances of getting the visa?
No. The rule is explicit that the fee does not lower requirements, skip checks, or guarantee approval. It moves the interview date and nothing else.
Is the $750 refunded if I am refused?
Plan as if both fees are spent regardless of outcome, and read the official terms at your post before paying. If the visa is refused, the outcome has nothing to do with how quickly the interview happened.
Can I use it for a student, work, or other visa?
No. The pilot covers B-1/B-2 visitor and business applicants only. Other categories keep their normal appointment processes and any existing emergency routes.
Is this the same as the free emergency appointment?
No, and the order matters: qualifying emergencies, such as urgent medical travel or a funeral, have long had a free expedite request route at most posts. The paid pilot is for people whose reason is real but does not meet emergency criteria. Check the free route first.
What $750 changes for different applicants
For applicants at posts with short waits, the fee buys little; for posts with months-long queues and a near travel date, it can rescue a trip that the normal queue would kill.
The math is per person: a family of four pays 3,000 dollars in expedite fees on top of 740 dollars in application fees, and each applicant still faces a normal interview and decision.
The pilot ends December 31, 2026, when the department decides whether to extend, change, or drop it, which makes this a live experiment in paid queueing rather than a permanent feature.
Checks before paying the expedite fee
- Check the official wait-time page for your post first; if the regular queue already fits your travel date, the fee buys you nothing.
- Confirm your post participates by looking for the Paid Expedite option inside the official appointment system after paying the normal application fee and booking; the pilot page lists participating posts.
- If your travel is a genuine emergency, ask about the free emergency appointment route at your post before paying; qualifying urgent travel has never required the pilot fee.
- Budget per applicant and treat both fees as spent money whether or not the visa is approved, unless the official terms at your post say otherwise.
- Pay only inside the official appointment system. No agent or consultancy can sell you a pilot slot, and anyone offering one outside the system is a scam signal.
Why an earlier interview is not an earlier visa
The interview appointment is one stage of the journey. The paid pilot compresses the wait before the interview and leaves untouched everything after it: the decision, possible administrative processing, and passport return. A trip that depends on those later stages is not saved by an earlier interview alone.
Posts promoting the pilot as a way to skip the queue are describing the appointment slot. Once the interview starts, every applicant is in the same process, on the same standards, with the same waits afterward.
What this pilot coverage cannot confirm
- QueueCheck could not read the participating-post list directly at publication; the official pilot page carries it and posts can change during the pilot.
- This article cannot say whether a specific post has expedited slots available on a given day; availability is limited by design.
- Refund handling for the expedite fee is governed by the official terms, which applicants should read before paying.
Official citation: Official rule and State Department pages checked
Published July 23, 2026. Original source: US Department of State: nonimmigrant visa expedited appointment pilot program.