About Us

About “They Wait, We Lose”

“They Wait, We Lose” is U.S. Travel’s advocacy effort to spur federal action to improve excessive visitor visa wait times, which now average a staggering 400+ days for first-time applicants from top inbound source countries. 

Aimed at compelling the Biden administration and U.S. Department of State to recognize the economic consequences of inaction and prioritize visitor visa processing, the integrated effort captures the voices of potential visitors affected by lengthy delays in visitor visa issuance, as well as U.S. businesses impacted by the loss of visitor spending from key markets. 

Visit ustravel.org for more information and click here to see U.S. Travel’s fact sheet on the issue, which includes policy solutions to lower wait times and accelerate visa processing. 

About U.S. Travel Association

U.S. Travel Association is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of America’s travel industry. Our mission is to increase travel to and within the United States, focused on returning all sectors of the industry to growth and boosting the national economy. Learn more at USTravel.org. 

U.S. Travel estimates that $1.05 trillion (in 2019 dollars, adjusted for inflation) will be spent on travel in the United States in 2022––10% below 2019 levels and 16% below where it should have been in 2022 if not for the pandemic.

Compounding that economic loss, U.S. Travel’s biannual travel forecast shows a significant downgrade in international inbound travel to just 63% of pre-pandemic volume for 2022 and 75% for 2023. This reflects an additional loss of 8 million visitors over those two years and $28 billion in lost spending since the last forecast. At this rate, the international inbound travel sector is not projected to fully recover to pre-pandemic levels until 2025. 

For media inquiries, please contact Greg Staley, Senior Vice President, Communications at [email protected].  

For other questions regarding the campaign, please contact us at [email protected].