State Department Visa Wait Time Data Refresh

Visas and wait times: Obtaining a visa is a necessary step for millions of international travelers visiting the United States. For short-term visits, travelers typically require a B-1 visa for business or a B-2 visa for tourism. For many visitors from countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program, the entry process is seamless, so long as travelers have the appropriate forms filled out. But for millions of U.S. visitors from other non-waiver countries, they must obtain an appropriate visa before being allowed entry into the U.S. 

The U.S. Department of State reports the time it takes for applicants to secure an initial interview at U.S. embassies and consulates—a necessary first step in the visa process. Wait times can vary widely by location, ranging from a few days to several months or even years, depending on the specific consulate and country.

Why this matters: Reducing visa wait times would make visiting the United States more seamless and enable more international visits. In addition to creating lasting memories and global connections, travel spending supports U.S. jobs, businesses and tax revenues. In 2024, foreign travelers generated $181 billion in direct spending. Foreign travel spend is an export and exceeds the value of all U.S. agricultural exports. This spending plays a critical role in strengthening the U.S. trade balance. 

However, in 2024, the U.S. faced a $50 billion travel trade deficit—a reversal from a surplus just five years ago.  While progress has been made in reducing wait times, continuing to address delays is essential to narrowing the deficit and restoring the economic benefits of a strong inbound travel sector.

Current data: The State Department recently updated how it publishes visa wait time data for embassies and consulates around the world. 

• Wait times are now reported in 15- or 30-day increments (i.e., half or full months, instead of specific days).
• Updates are expected monthly rather than daily going forward. The data now tracks the “next available appointment” time for all consulates and no longer shows “average wait time” if the next available appointment is less than three months away. This is a more forward-looking metric for how long new applicants can expect to wait, rather than a backward-looking statistic.

The refreshed April data shows a slight decline in overall visa wait time from January 2025 to the next available appointment time in April 2025. 

• Weighted average visa wait time for the biggest inbound countries dropped from 206 days in January 2025 to 188 days (as measured by next available appointment) in April 2025. 
• Compared to January 2025, India experienced the largest change, from 437 days in January to 268 days (average wait time). Colombia had the second largest decrease, 700 days in January to 540 days in April. 
  • Argentina increased from 30 days (average wait time) in January to 60 days (next available appointment) in April. 
  • Brazil, China, Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Mexico wait times all remained about the same (a less than 25% change in number of days).

Methodology: For countries with multiple U.S. consulates, U.S. Travel calculates a weighted average wait time based on the number of visas issued by each location—giving greater weight to higher-volume consulates. U.S. Travel analyzes visa wait time from the top eight non-visa waiver program inbound markets (Argentina, Brazil, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India, Mexico) to generate a total weighted average visa wait time.