Visa Wait Times Put Drag on U.S. International Travel Recovery
Photo Credit: Capitol, Washington D.C. Unsplash / Harold Mendoza
Skift Take
One more impact of the global labor shortage is the protracted wait time for visas that will continue to hurt the U.S.'s international tourism recovery if quick solutions aren't found.
With the end of the Covid testing requirement on inbound international travel, global tourists are coming back to the U.S. in larger numbers, stirring hopes for a full recovery. A formidable barrier, however, has emerged: exploding wait times for called B-1 and B-2 visas (visitor visas) interviews because of a labor shortage and some still-unopened embassies.
Citizens from India, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil and other countries outside the U.S. Visa Waiver Program must apply for a visitor visa in order to temporarily stay in the U.S. In 2019, 43 percent of international visitors to the U.S. required a visitor visa, according to the U.S. Travel Association. That amounted to an estimated 35 million tourists.
The average wait time for a visitor visa appointment has reached more than eight months (247 days), up from 17 before March 2020, according to the Cato Institute. USTA estimates average wait times for the U.S.’s top visa-requiring in
