- The average U.S. visitor-visa interview wait reached 201 days in fiscal year 2025, up from 26 days in fiscal year 2019.
- Visitor-visa staffing fell about 32%, while worldwide nonimmigrant-visa applications rose to 13.54 million.
- Estimated B1/B2 interview waits in India ranged from 10 to 12 months on September 17, 2026.
The U.S. consular system’s average visitor-visa interview wait hit 201 days in fiscal year 2025, up from 26 days in fiscal year 2019. Demand rose as staffing fell.
The workforce handling visitor visas worldwide shrank from 1,342 full-time staff in fiscal year 2024 to 904 in fiscal year 2025, a reduction of about 32%. The drop came as worldwide nonimmigrant-visa applications climbed from 11.4 million in fiscal year 2019 to 13.54 million in fiscal year 2025.
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The U.S. Government Accountability Office linked delays in part to hiring freezes, staff departures and weak workforce planning. Those pressures narrowed the capacity available to process a larger volume of applications.
The State Department’s Global Repositioning Exercise was designed to align consular staffing with workload. The GAO found that the department had carried it out and put it into effect only once since fiscal year 2019, although the process was intended to happen annually.
India logged 1,455,255 nonimmigrant-visa applications in fiscal year 2025. Sixty-eight consular officers handled them, an average of approximately 21,401 applications per officer. The appointment estimates below were dated September 17, 2026.
Indian applicants face waits of up to a year
| U.S. post in India | Estimated B1/B2 interview wait |
|---|---|
| Hyderabad | 12 months |
| Mumbai | 11.5 months |
| New Delhi | 10 months |
These estimates cover the time to an interview appointment, not the full visa timeline. Adjudication, passport return and any administrative processing can add time afterward.
The queues also stretch beyond India. Sydney’s estimated B1/B2 wait stood at 21 months, while Toronto’s reached 20 months. Vancouver, Halifax, Ottawa, Quebec City and Calgary each reported waits of at least 14 months. Colombia’s average visitor-visa interview wait was 597 days in fiscal year 2025, according to GAO data summarized in the report.
Appointment estimates are not a guarantee
The longest effects fall on people who need an in-person interview, including many first-time B1/B2 applicants. An estimated slot is not a confirmed appointment, and it does not include possible administrative processing after the interview.
The State Department has used remote processing for renewals that qualify, shifted some administrative work to outside providers and changed interview schedules to manage demand. Applicants with bookings can keep checking the official appointment system: posts may release additional capacity and earlier slots.
U.S. tourism remained $28 billion below its pre-pandemic level in 2025. The GAO identified visa-interview delays as one factor that could hold back a recovery.
