WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio urging him to increase capacity at U.S. embassies and consulates around the world to address dramatic visa delays that threaten to stall international tourism to the United States, negatively impacting American communities and businesses. This letter comes in anticipation of two global events in 2026, the FIFA World Cup and America’s 250th anniversary, that are expected to bring in millions of visitors and major economic opportunities. In Virginia alone, the 250th anniversary events are expected to draw more than 9 million visitors and deliver over $1.5 billion in economic activity, including 22,000 new jobs. 

“We are increasingly concerned that the Department of State is not prepared for the influx of international tourists we hope will come enjoy our nation’s and Virginia’s many exciting offerings during the America’s 250th celebrations. International visitors were projected to bring in more than $200 billion to the United States in 2025, though this administration’s tariffs and treatment of foreign visitors is actively driving down international tourism, resulting in a projected $9 billion loss in visitor spending,” wrote the senators. “Very little time remains to recover, but the rewards for doing so will be tremendous. America’s tourism industry has the opportunity to be dramatically buoyed when the United States begins hosting millions of international soccer fans for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be the first tournament that includes an expanded field of 48 nations. Virginia is eager to welcome visitors during their time in the United States to enjoy our beautiful state and national parks, historical sights, cities, restaurants, and small businesses.”

“Recent reporting indicates that, instead of increasing capacity at foreign embassies to address this influx of tourists to the United States, staff is being cut from the State Department, including at embassies and consulates around the world. These staff are responsible for interviewing potential visitors and processing visas ahead of tourist travel to the United States,” they continued. “Visa wait times at United States embassies and consulates have been a challenge for years, and there were bipartisan efforts in Congress during the past administration to increase resourcing commensurate with demand. We have strong concerns that, rather than working to chip away at these backlogs, the staffing policies by this administration threaten to dramatically increase tourist visa wait times.”

Emphasizing the need to address visa delays, the senators noted that wait times at some embassies already eclipse the number of days until next year’s events. They stressed that international visitors – including soccer fans from several likely FIFA World Cup qualifiers – will simply not be able to travel to the United States if no action is taken to address visa wait times.

A PDF copy of the letter is available here and full text can be found below.

Dear Secretary Rubio:

In just over a year, our nation will celebrate America’s 250th anniversary. As the Senators from the Commonwealth of Virginia, we are particularly proud and excited to welcome our fellow Americans and visitors from across the globe to celebrate our nation’s history, our people, and our democracy in the place where this great experiment began – Virginia. The events surrounding the celebration of our America’s 250th anniversary are anticipated to bring in over 9 million visitors to participate in the programming with an estimated $1.5 billion economic impact to the Commonwealth, including the creation of 22,000 jobs.

We are increasingly concerned that the Department of State is not prepared for the influx of international tourists we hope will come enjoy our nation’s and Virginia’s many exciting offerings during the America’s 250th celebrations. International visitors were projected to bring in more than $200 billion to the United States in 2025 , though this administration’s tariffs and treatment of foreign visitors is actively driving down international tourism , resulting in a projected $9 billion loss in visitor spending.   Very little time remains to recover, but the rewards for doing so will be tremendous. America’s tourism industry has the opportunity to be dramatically buoyed when the United States begins hosting millions of international soccer fans for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be the first tournament that includes an expanded field of 48 nations. Virginia is eager to welcome visitors during their time in the United States to enjoy our beautiful state and national parks, historical sights, cities, restaurants, and small businesses. 

The Commonwealth and our nation are reliant on Department of State infrastructure and resourcing to make that happen, and our confidence is flagging. Recent reporting indicates that, instead of increasing capacity at foreign embassies to address this influx of tourists to the United States, staff is being cut from the State Department, including at embassies and consulates around the world.  These staff are responsible for interviewing potential visitors and processing visas ahead of tourist travel to the United States. This function is critical to ensuring U.S. national security by evaluating the safety and suitability of those visiting our country, and ensuring our visitors are secure in their status during their time in the United States. This vital work is labor-intensive and time-consuming. It requires a robust diplomatic corps free to exercise their expertise. Given the broad international interest in visiting the United States when we host global events, increasing capacity at embassies and consulates to screen and process the increased volume of potential visitors will have a direct positive economic benefit on American communities and businesses.

Visa wait times at United States embassies and consulates have been a challenge for years, and there were bipartisan efforts in Congress during the past administration to increase resourcing commensurate with demand. We have strong concerns that, rather than working to chip away at these backlogs, the staffing policies by this administration threaten to dramatically increase tourist visa wait times. Based on publicly available federal data, the wait time at some U.S. embassies abroad already eclipses the number of days until next year’s events. In the absence of intensive efforts to reduce visa wait times, international visitors will be unable to visit Virginia and other states for America’s 250th anniversary celebrations, and soccer fans from several likely FIFA World Cup qualifiers will be unable to obtain visas to see their national teams play in the United States. The economic and reputational losses our nation will suffer if you do not resolve the current backlog and implement a surge visa processing plan would be significant. 

As our nation’s top diplomat, we do not have to tell you that our greatest tools in diplomacy are America’s democracy and our culture. America’s 250th anniversary and the FIFA World Cup are historic opportunities to share both with an enormous international audience, while bringing in tremendous economic benefits. We urge you to ensure your staffing model for embassies and consulates is calibrated to the unprecedented influx of international tourists our nation can expect over the coming months.

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