The $750 Expedited US Visa Interview: Which Posts, and Is India, Nigeria or Brazil Included?

Since 1 July 2026 the US State Department has been selling something it has never sold before: an earlier visa interview. Pay $750 and, at a participating post, you can book a B-1/B-2 appointment within ten business days rather than waiting weeks or months in the standard queue.

The proposal drew immediate interest from the countries with the longest waits — India, Nigeria and Brazil above all. So the first thing to say is the thing most applicants in those countries want to know: as of 4 September 2026, no post in any of those three countries is part of the pilot. The list is short, it is regional, and it is published by the State Department, not by agents.

This article sets out exactly what the rule says, which posts are in, what the $750 buys and — just as important — what it does not.

What the rule says

The pilot was created by a temporary final rule published in the Federal Register on 9 June 2026 as document 2026-11513, amending the Schedule of Fees for Consular Services at 22 CFR 22.1. It is effective from 1 July 2026 to 31 December 2026.

The rule creates "a $750 fee for a new service that will enable B1/B2 business and tourism NIV applicants to obtain an expedited interview appointment, within ten business days after paying an NIV expedited appointment fee ... subject to availability of expedited appointments at the location selected." The service is "offered at limited overseas posts, as published on travel.state.gov," and "will only be available to B1/B2 NIV applicants." The State Department describes it as a proof of concept "designed to assess demand from applicants for visas who seek to bypass longer wait times for visa interviews."

The key limits are all in that paragraph: B-1/B-2 only, listed posts only, subject to availability, and ending on 31 December.

Which posts are included

The pilot launched on 1 July 2026 at US consular posts in Mexico. On 18 August 2026 the State Department added a second group. According to Fragomen's report of the expansion, which matches the State Department announcement, the current list is:

The State Department has said further posts may be added during the pilot and will be identified on its pilot page. That page is the only authoritative list. If a consultant or agent tells you the service is available at a post that is not on it, they are wrong or worse.

India, Nigeria and Brazil

None of the posts in India (New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata), Nigeria (Lagos, Abuja) or Brazil (Brasília, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Recife, Porto Alegre) is on the list. Nor is any post in Africa, Asia or Europe.

There is no published reason for the selection, but the pattern is clear enough: every participating post is in the Western Hemisphere and most are within a few hours' flight of the United States. The rule notes that expedited appointments "will be capped at a percent of selected posts' overall interviewing capacity" so that the service "will not meaningfully affect wait times for NIV appointments for all other applicants" — which is easier to manage at posts where the queue is already under control than at Mumbai or Lagos.

Whether the pilot reaches India, Nigeria or Brazil before it ends on 31 December is unknown. The rule commits the State Department only to analysing the data "to determine next steps" at the conclusion of the pilot.

What $750 buys

An appointment. Specifically, an interview slot within the next ten business days at the post where you are applying, if one is available when you look.

The process, as described in the rule, works like this:

1. 1Complete the DS-160 and pay the standard $185 MRV fee. The rule is explicit that "individuals seeking an expedited appointment who pay the $750 fee will continue to pay the MRV fee."
2. 2Book a regular, non-expedited appointment first.
3. 3At a participating post, you then see an option to request an earlier appointment, and "the available expedited appointments within the next ten business days" are displayed.
4. 4Choose one and a 5-10 minute hold is placed on it while you pay the $750. If you do not pay within that time, the hold is released.

Applicants who pay also receive "enhanced passback options for return of the passport, if available" — in practice, faster courier return where the post offers it.

That is the whole product. Total outlay is $935 before any courier or service-centre charges. The $250 Visa Integrity and Fraud Prevention Fee enacted in 2025 remains a separate matter; at the time of writing its implementation is still pending, so check travel.state.gov for its status before you budget.

What $750 does not buy

This is where the marketing around the pilot has been misleading, and the rule itself is the best corrective.

It does not speed up the decision. The rule states that applicants who pay "will still be subject to all standard visa eligibility and processing requirements, including any administrative processing deemed necessary," and that the service "will not expedite any processing steps, including any time needed for administrative processing." If your case goes into 221(g) administrative processing after the interview, the $750 does nothing to shorten it.

It has no bearing on the outcome. The rule says plainly that an expedited appointment "in no way" affects whether a visa is issued. The consular officer applies the same Section 214(b) test to a $750 applicant as to anyone else. If your ties to home are weak, paying to be refused sooner is the only thing you have bought.

It is not refundable. The State Department's pilot page, as quoted by the immigration practices that have reproduced it, describes the fee as non-refundable, and the slot and fee are forfeited if you do not attend. Neither the $750 nor the $185 comes back if you are refused.

It does not replace the free expedite. The rule preserves the existing no-fee route: "consular managers at both pilot posts and non-pilot posts will maintain the ability to expedite interviews without a fee for specific humanitarian reasons or for urgent travel when in the U.S. national interest, for example, someone needing serious and urgent medical treatment." If you have a genuine emergency, request an expedite through the normal process at any post — including in India, Nigeria and Brazil — rather than assuming you must pay.

Who can realistically use it

Applicants living in Canada

This is the largest group the expansion actually helps. The pilot is defined by post, not nationality, so an Indian, Nigerian, Brazilian or any other third-country national who lives in Canada and is applying at Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Montréal, Calgary, Halifax or Québec City can request an expedited slot. Canada's posts have carried some of the longest B-1/B-2 waits in the Western Hemisphere for third-country nationals, so a ten-business-day appointment is a material change for people who need to cross the border for work or family reasons.

Two cautions. First, availability is capped, and the rule says slots are offered "in limited quantities" based on post capacity — you may look and find nothing. Second, you must be applying at that post legitimately. State Department guidance directs applicants to interview in their country of nationality or residence, and posts can decline to see non-residents; this is not a route for someone in Delhi or Lagos to fly to Toronto for an appointment.

Applicants in Mexico and Central America

Residents of Mexico, Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Honduras can use the service at their home post. For Colombian and Central American applicants, who have faced long visitor-visa queues since the pandemic backlog, this is the intended market.

Applicants in India, Nigeria and Brazil

Nothing changes for you at present. Your options remain the ones that existed before July: apply early, monitor the scheduling portal for released slots, use the interview-waiver process if you qualify for a renewal, and request a no-fee emergency expedite only if you have a documented urgent reason. Our guides to booking a US visa appointment in India and to US visa processing times in 2026 cover the practicalities.

Be especially wary of anyone offering to "arrange" a $750 expedited appointment in these countries. The service does not exist there, and paying an intermediary for it gets you nothing but a lighter wallet.

Is it worth $750?

If you live near a participating post and have a specific, near-term reason to travel — a conference, a family event, a business meeting with a fixed date — the calculation is straightforward: the fee is cheaper than missing the event, and the interview itself is unchanged.

If you are hoping the fee improves your chances, it does not, and the rule says so. If you are hoping it shortens administrative processing, it does not. If you are applying in India, Nigeria or Brazil, it is not available. And if the pilot is judged a success and extended or expanded in 2027, that will be announced on travel.state.gov — not by a message in a WhatsApp group.

For the underlying application, the US B-1/B-2 requirements page has the document checklist and interview preparation, and the US visa fees guide sets out every charge you can expect to pay.