Visa Delay Will Cost $12 Billion?

The unprecedented delay in approving visitor/tourist visas could stop a whopping 6.6 million people from visiting the USA in 2023.

Citizens of India, Brazil, and Mexico don’t come under USA’s Visa waiver program, so they will have to apply for B1 and/or B2 visas. But with the delay in approvals, the visitor count could decrease drastically. This would mean the USA would lose an estimated $11.6 billion.

A media outlet surveyed 1000 Indians interested in visiting the USA on a tourist visa, and 66% of them said they would look for other countries to visit if visa approval was delayed.

Travel has been showing plenty of signs of resurgence after the pandemic, but this comes as a big blow. As a result of the delays and revenue loss, the travel industry is now fuming at the State Department.

The report states that the unusually high wait times could send a single globally that the USA is shut for interventional travel, which could lead to a huge dent in the country’s tourism revenues.