Julie Stufft travel tips

The U.S. State Department will expand its policy of waiving in-person interviews for select visa applicants next year, a spokesperson confirmed to Skift. The policy was set to expire on December 31, and the travel industry had been pushing for an extension.

Chinese tourists aren’t rushing to get a U.S. visitor visa like they did before the pandemic, according to a State Department official speaking Saturday at IPW, a travel trade conference focused on international inbound travel.

Congress has set aside $50 million for the U.S. State Department to help “reduce passport backlogs and reduce visa wait times” in a bill signed into law by U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday and praised by the travel industry this week.

Millions of FIFA World Cup fans won’t be able to attend the tournament in the U.S. if they can’t get a visitor visa. That was one issue raised this week by hundreds of travel industry professionals at the U.S. Travel Association’s annual Destination Capitol Hill conference.

Chinese tourists won’t be coming back to New York City at their pre-pandemic levels next year. Affordability and limited flights are two issues holding back the rebound, say travel executives.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Wednesday, November 29. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Wait times for first-time visitor visas in Colombia, Mexico and India stretching to hundreds of days will continue to be a headache for the U.S. travel industry. 

American embassies are working around the clock to bring down the amount of time international travelers have to wait to get a visitor visa interview in order to travel to the U.S., according to Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Visa Services Julie Stufft. The global median wait time for a B-1 or B-2 visa, also known as a visitor visa, has been reduced from 17 weeks in June to five weeks now. 

Good morning from Skift. It’s Monday, February 13. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.