By MATTHEW LEE
WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department will offer a “premium” expedited service for foreigners seeking business or tourist visas to come to the United States that will set applicants back $750 — on top of the initial fee of $185.
In a notice to be published in the Federal Register this week, the department will unveil a pilot program that will allow visa applicants to pay the $750 to schedule an appointment for an interview within 10 days of the payment at select U.S. embassies and consulates.
The pilot program will run from July 1 to Dec. 31, according to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press and a State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the program has not yet been announced.
The move is a potential effort to ease conditions caused by the Trump administration’s push to make entering the United States more difficult. The administration has cracked down on most forms of migration for foreigners — demanding that bonds of up to $15,000 be paid for visa processing in some, mainly African, countries and requiring years of personal history, including social media accounts, to be vetted.
The new requirements have caused delays in visa processing around the world, prompting complaints.
Wait times for visa interviews for citizens of countries that are not part of the Visa Waiver Program can be several months if not longer. But paying the fee for the “optional premium add-on service” does not guarantee that a visa will be issued.
The embassies and consulates at which the expedited service will be available are to be announced before the program takes effect on July 1. The pilot program will run through the end of the year but could be extended depending on demand.
Related Posts:
- Report: NBA interviews Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard, adviser in Aspiration case News Clippers star Kawhi Leonard and his uncle and business adviser Dennis Robertson are among those who have been interviewed by NBA investigators who are looking into allegations that the team circumvented salary cap rules, according to an ESPN report. Leonard and Robertson are central figures in the team’s dealings with…
- Judge rejects Trump’s $100,000 H-1B visa application fee News By Madlin Mekelburg | Bloomberg A federal judge struck down a $100,000 fee President Donald Trump ordered for H-1B visa applications, providing a reprieve for US technology companies that rely on hiring skilled foreign workers. The president’s decree dramatically increasing the cost of the popular visa is an unlawful tax…
- Flu meds offer potential to help slow aging, reduce dementia in HIV patients, early research shows News Researchers have long known that people living with HIV, even those taking antiretroviral therapy, are more likely to experience cognitive impairments like memory loss than other people but hadn’t fully understood why. Now, a new study published Friday in the medical journal Med finds that widely used flu medications have…
- Arsenal make offer to sign PSG defender on free transfer ahead of Barcelona Sports Revenge for Budapest? Not quite, but Arsenal could land one of PSG’s young stars (Picture: Getty Images) Arsenal have made an approach to sign Paris Saint-Germain defender Emmanuel Mbemba on a free transfer. 18-year-old Mbemba, who plays at centre-half and left-back, has had a bright campaign with PSG’s Under-19 side,…
- Jimmy Kimmel Blasts CBS as ‘Trump Suck-Ups’ Over Scott Pelley Firing Decision Entertainment <p id="par-1_45"><a href="https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/jimmy-kimmels-net-worth.html/">Jimmy Kimmel</a> has thrown his support behind Scott Pelley after CBS fired him following a clash with new management. Pelley has <a href="https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/david-letterman-grim-prediction-future-tv-stephen-colbert-cancellation.html/">since spoken out</a> against CBS leadership for attempting to gain favor with the Trump administration. Kimmel echoed this sentiment, slamming the network as suck-ups.</p> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"…
(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)